On the 50th anniversary of Orson Welles' famous War Of The Worlds broadcast, an Illinois radio station puts the play out again, and the signal happens to be picked up by a passing spaceship crewed by a lost unit of the Martian Space Navy, who are fooled into thinking that their comrades are mounting a mass invasion of the Earth and thus promptly zap down to Big Bean, Illinois, in order to join in the fun.
by Jack Yeovil |
Published on
Release Date:
01 Jan 1990
Running Time:
100 minutes
Certificate:
PG
Original Title:
Spaced Invaders
With the cheery catch-phrase, "Prepare to die, earth scum", a gang of 4ft aliens romp around on Halloween night, getting mixed up with trick or treaters, farm closures, crazy old coot Royal Dano, a gas pump attendant dressed as Zorro and some cutesy kids, ET-stylee.
Although this is basically just another film in which a bunch of midgets in green rubber masks run around shouting, it's still vaguely endearing, if about 15 minutes too long for the material. Of the Martians, only the Jack Nicholson-impersonating pilot makes much impression, but there are just enough dumb jokes and snappy ideas to keep the plot bubbling along nicely.
Unashamedly rubbery fun
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