Invaders from Mars

While certainly not the most influential of the ‘50s sci-fi classics (Forbidden Planet and This Island Earth would win that competition), director William Cameron Menzies Invaders from Mars (1953) is easily the most memorable.  Told with surreal, dream logic, the film was one of the first to bring the perils of alien invasion right in our backyard.  While Invasion of the Body Snatchers would take this idea to the next-level a few years later, Menzies’ film is particularly disturbing by virtue of its focus on a child protagonist whose helplessness only amplifies the feeling of a waking nightmare.

David (Jimmy Hunt) is a scientific-minded adolescent whose small town just happens to be the site of a hush-hush government project.  And that’s exactly what lures the titular invaders to the sand pit in his backyard, burying themselves beneath the earth and luring important adults (including David’s parents) for mental reconditioning as spies, saboteurs and assassins.  David immediately sorts out the plot and convinces a local doctor (Helena Carter) and astronomer (Arthur Franz) to call in the troops.  Soon it’s all-out war inside the burrowed tunnels, with America’s best coming face-to-face with oversized “mu-tants” and the Martian mentalist itself!

 

It's easy to punch holes in Mars plot – how did the alien ship escape detection, why is everyone so quick to believe Jimmy’s wild story and exactly what are those zippers doing on the mutants’ costumes? – but the dream-within-a-dream ending provides a narrative escape hatch.  Plus, Menzies’ visual approach (he was also the production designer) makes it clear we’re not in Kansas anymore.  From the empty stage of the maze-like police station to the iconic split-rail fence disappearing over a menacing bluff, the film exists in the mind of its adolescent hero whose world has been turned inside out.

 

Particularly frightening is the idea that every respected adult has been corrupted by an evil influence.  The reappearance of Jimmy’s dad, now transformed into a quick-tempered, misogynistic child beater, is nightmare fuel for every kid under 10 (unless they live with it already).  And, up against a small budget, Invaders from Mars simply uses the idea of a mass invasion without ever having to resort to showing it implicitly.  Although there’s plenty of stock footage tanks to convince you that the red planet means business.

 

Passed through a few different distributors, Menzies’ film has never received a proper home video release…until now.  Initially sold direct from Ignite Films who completed the lengthy restoration work, Invaders from Mars is now available everywhere in all its 4K Ultra HD glory.  The transfer is miles better than anything out there, still retaining that grainy, colorful look of ‘50s film stock.  Extras include interviews, featurettes, a 20-page booklet and fascinating alternate sequences – shot almost a year after the film’s release – that beef up the running time and slap on a happy ending.  It’s been a long time coming, but Invaders from Mars is finally worth adding to your collection!

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