Invaders From Mars (1986) #389

Incredibly campy and comically overacted, the 1986 remake of"Invaders from Mars" is a both a let down and yet an entertaining gem of classic sci-fi fare. The fact that the screenplay was written by Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"), was directed by Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Poltergeist"), and starred horror veterans Karen Black and James Karen should have been more than enough to ensure a thoroughly frightful and creepy movie, even if it was rated PG. Perhaps it was because the movie DID star horror veterans Karen Black and James Karen is why the movie felt over the top and campy? Or maybe it was because most of the aliens looked more comical than frightening? Hunter Carson (Karen Black's real son) delivers a fairly strong performance that is comparable to the 1950's source material that the movie is based on. Further more, the scenes between Carson and Louise Fletcher (who plays the alien controlled school teacher) are the most genuinely intense scenes in the film. Overall, "Invaders From Mars" is a fun film that brings back memories of watching it during summer afternoons as a child and is still entertaining enough for kids today.

Young David Gardner believes that a UFO landed behind a hill near his house during a meteor shower. He soon believes that his dad, and soon his mom, have become pawns of the alien's invasion of his small town. One by one, the population of the town is assimilated and only David and Linda, the school nurse, are left to warn the military about what is going on. Will the military save the town and David's parents or are they already too late?

April Fools Day (1986)

Although the scares are mild and most of the violence occurs off screen, the horror film "April Fools Day" is still worth checking out if you love slasher films from the 1980's. The premise is a little different than everything else that was offered at that time and really takes the theme of April Fools Day to heart. There were even a few moments that the film could have really excelled and be more than it was, crossing over to a real mystery and horror hybrid but alas, it was just for a weaker set up. The actors were very much typical stereotypes of the various 80's cliches and didn't offer anything new in that respect.


Muffy St. John is holding a party at her family's remote island mansion on April 1st and several of her various friends from college have been invited. Only a few of the seven guests know each other but they all seem to get along and mingle while they take a ferry from the mainland to the island. While they are trying to dock, a ship hand is badly injured and the local sheriff blames the college aged kids because they had been playing pranks on each other on the trip over. Once they arrive at Muffy's estate, they all fall victim to an array of practical jokes that Muffy had prepared. Some jokes are just plain creepy while others take things a bit too far. And then the guests start to disappear and a body count rises. Who is the killer? Who is taking the joke way too far? When it's discovered that Muffy has an insane twin sister named Buffy, things really take a turn towards the unexpected!

House (1986)

The use of silence to instill fear and increase the tension in scenes is a completely alien concept for most horror films from the 1980's; instead, directors or at least musical composers, felt that is was necessary to fill every scene with background music or sound effects. One movie that could have had some genuine scares if it wasn't for the overbearing and at times obnoxious musical score is 1986's "House" starring William Katt. The ending scene with the big showdown between Roger (William Katt) and his greatest fear could have been amazing if the background music didn't try to tell you that this was an intense scene a drowning out the action and dialogue that the actors were trying to convey.

Music aside, "House" is a clever and refreshing take on the classic haunted house motif. The house plays on the fears of it's tenant, first Roger's aunt and then Roger himself. Roger moves into the house after the disappearance of his young son and the divorce for his wife, who works as an actress, so he can work on his next book which is about his time in Vietnam War. It's not long before Roger notices the ghostly activities inside the house and is soon attacked by various ghouls and inanimate objects. With the help of his neighbor Harold, Roger tries to discover the source of the supernatural activity and finds his son in the process.

Big Ben

Feels like a Lovecraft creation

Poltergeist 2: The Other Side (1986)

When a film is so extremely successful, the temptation to try to recapture that magic in a sequel is hard to resist. Sadly, the magic was not to be found in "Poltergeist 2: The Other Side". While the film is decent and watchable, it brings down the quality of the franchise by being such an inferior entry; the good news is that it is still vastly better than the third and final entry of the franchise! The movie focuses on the Freeling family, with all the same characters and actors as before with the exception of the older daughter Dana, played by Dominique Dunne and who killed in 1982 by a jealous boyfriend. Jerry Goldsmith wrote a new score for the sequel, only using Carol Anne's theme from the original film.

The Freeling family has relocated to Arizona and is living with Diane's mother, Grandma Jess. Grandma Jess is a clairvoyant and tells Diane that she and Carol Anne have this ability as well. This is one reason why the evil Beast from the original film is able to find them; the Beast has taken on a human form known as Kane. He finds the family and makes several attempts to steal back Carol Anne. It's discovered, by Tangina and her friend Taylor, that Kane was an deluded reverend who led his congragation into a cave believing that the end of the world was coming, but after the date had passed, he refused to let anyone leave. And of course that cave was right underneath the Freeling's home in the original film! The family decides to take a stand against the Beast/Kane by following him into the cave and on to the "Other Side". Indian Shaman magic takes place, Carol Anne almost goes in to the Light, and Grandma Jess makes a last moment appearance saving the day.

Steven and Taylor

In the cave

The Beast, the Reverend Henry Kane

From Beyond (1986)

“From Beyond” holds a special place for me for a couple of reasons. One reason is because the first time I saw it was on the big screen at the Lovecraft Film Festival around 2007. Seeing a movie like this surrounded by die hard Lovecraft fans allows you to appreciate all of the fun and over the top moments that you might otherwise judge as silly if you saw it by yourself. People cheer when Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton first appear on the screen and they cheer even louder with every gruesome death that takes place. The other reason why I’m fond of this movie is because I was able to meet Barbara at this showing! She gave a wonderful 30 minute Q&A session during the festival, talking about this film as well as the “Re-Animator”. She is every bit as wonderful and gracious as you could hope.

“From Beyond” is essentially a sequel to the original Lovecraft short story of the same name, picking up right before the story's climax. As I previously mentioned, this films stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, who both starred in Mr. Stuart's "Re-Animator". Joining this stellar cast is another horror heavy weight, Ken Foree, best known for at the time for his role as Peter from "Dawn of the Dead". This film is an improvement upon the "Re-Animator", allowing each of the actors to grow and flesh out their characters. It's great to see Barbara's Dr. McMichaels as the lead, taking control and leading the narrative.

Dr. Pretorius has created a machine called the Resonator which stimulates the pineal gland and allows those near the machine to see creatures from other dimensions. During their first experiment, something comes and kills Dr. Pretorius and his assistant Crawford is blamed for his death. Psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels and police detective Bubba Brownlee take Crawford from the psychiatric ward that he is being kept and back to the house where the Dr. Pretorius died so they can recreate the murder scene and find out what really happened. The Resonator is rebuilt, and throughout the movie both Crawford and Katherine fall under its power and exhibit strange behaviors. The three end up fighting more dimensional monsters and the perverted beast that Dr. Pretorius has become.

Favorite moment - When Bubba is consumed by dimensional bees while saving Crawford and Katherine from the Resonator.

Rawhead Rex (1986)

Raw head Rex is precisely what you would expect a monster on the loose movie to be like from the mid 80's. Cheesy make-up and gore, inconsistent acting, and a monster that looks more mangy than scary. So what I'm saying is that it was over the top, stupid and fun! Perfect for a late night viewing when you’re in the mood for something not too serious.

This is an adaption of a Clive Barker story of the same name; one of the few that I have yet to read. It's a gruesome tale about a demon that runs rampant across the Irish countryside after being freed by a farmer trying to pull up an old tree trunk in his field. Rawhead Rex cannot be stopped by normal means, and only an ancient weapon hidden in a church can vanquish him. Only Howard Hallenbeck, who is in Ireland with his family to study religious artifacts, can vanquish Rawhead Rex.

Shocking moment - When Rawhead Rex kills Howard's son. This still stands out as the part I remember the most (I rented this movie on VHS if that gives you an idea how long ago I saw it!) because I knew it might happen and when it does, I was shocked and in disbelief. No chance to try to save him, as you would expect in most movies, and the actors really seemed devastated.

The Fly (1986)

In 1986, famed horror director David Cronenberg decided to remake one of Hollywood’s most famous horror movies from the 50’s, “The Fly”. The basic premise is the same; a scientist who has created a machine that allows teleportation but is forever changed when tries to use the machine himself, unaware that a single household fly is in the pod with him, and the horrifying results that come from this experiment. In the original film the doctor and the fly swap body parts, an arm and their heads. In this version it’s not as simple. Instead the scientist Brundle and the fly are merged and throughout the film, we watch as Brundle slowly becomes a human sized fly. The change comes slowly first effecting his confidence, strength and stamina. Soon fingernails and teeth fall out and the doctor discovers new methods to eat. The movie is graphic and violent and we love it.

Practically everything about this movie is perfect from the quality of the story to the strength of the actors; both Jeff Goldblum, as Brundle, and Geena Davis delivery quality performances throughout the film. And since the movie was produced in the 80s, the special effects are clever and relied more on make-up more than anything else. I strongly believe that a movie of this nature would include too many CGI effects if this was filmed today. I also strongly believe that this is one of the best remakes of any movie I've seen; it honors the original while feeling updated and current. This is a horror movie for people who like horror movies.

Favorite moment – When Gina Davis delivers the famous line “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” 

A man and his teleportation machine

A man and his baboon

A fly-man and his food