Halloween 2018 #17: Invaders From Mars *** (1986)

Tobe Hooper's remake of the 1958 classic Invaders From Mars goes full on retro as a homage to 1950's alien invasion movies, with some 1980s twists dashed into the mix. Much has been written on many similarities between the decades, especially the obsession with the nuclear family. David Gardner (Hunter Carson) wakes up one morning and realizes his loving parents, wonderfully played by Timothy Bottoms and Lorraine Newman, are not acting like themselves. With the help of the school nurse Linda (Karen Black) David discovers martians are taking over humans. An allegory of a child's discovery that adults (even parents) are not perfect, Invaders From Mars often goes into camp mode and gets downright cheesy in the last act. Still, it makes for a fun diversion if you're in a 1980s mood. Invaders From Mars would pair up nicely with Poltergeist, the Hooper/Spielberg extravaganza or the new wave vibe of Michael Laughlin's Strange Invaders.