MovieChat Forums > Invaders from Mars (1953) Discussion > Not for children

Not for children

posted 17 years ago by vrbarbosa
45 replies | jump to latest

"I think this movie was exactly what it was intended to be--a child's nightmare. And I think the movie makers succeeded very well; what with the most nightmarish thought of any child--the warm, fuzzy security of their families and familiar adults turned into monsterous beings. I think this movie is best viewed when one is a child."

I have to disagree with this poster.(Sorry, I didn't get your name.) I saw this movie as a child and it terrified me (which it was supposed to) beyond reason. Maybe I was insecure, but I would never show this to a child. Kids should not be subjected to this kind of terror during their formative years. I still remember it fifty years later.

[–] daryavaush 17 years ago

I saw it as a child, the only effect it had one me, it turned me into a fan of Arthur Franz, he's a great actor, and very much missed.

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 17 years ago

Arthur Franz in "The Sniper" was his finest. Check it out.

Nothing is more beautiful than nothing.

[–] ickystay 17 years ago

This is the first movie that ever gave me a nightmare. Of course, it holds a special place in my heart for just that reason!

[–] pery-1 17 years ago

Very scary to kids who were told to sleep in the back seat at the drive-in, and who peeked occasionally. It would have been less scary to watch all of it!

[–] midnitelamp 17 years ago

i saw this movie on a b+w tv by Myself,and it was even scarier in b+w. very frightening.

[–] lrcdmnhd72 17 years ago

Via: vrbarbosa

"Kids should not be subjected to this kind of terror during their formative years. I still remember it fifty years later."

I'll have to disagree with you somewhat. I first saw this movie as a child. After 54 years, I still have a warm, soft spot for this film. This film, plus War of the Worlds (1953) are probably the first movies to get me interested in Science Fiction, an interest that I still hold today.
Now, if you want a movie that should NOT be viewed by children, try the 1986 remake of IFM. This version is really bad!

[–] gayspiritwarrior 15 years ago

I first saw this movie divided into fifths, one fifth a day in our auditorium at lunchtime, when I was in junior high school. Loved it then and love it now.

"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde

[–] alainafl 17 years ago

I totally agree. I saw this movie when I was about 10 and it scared me to death!!! What scared me the most was the martian head in the glass bubble - that totally freaked me out.

[–] lrcdmnhd72 17 years ago

"I saw this movie when I was about 10 and it scared me to death"!!!

Acknowledged. Thanks, alainafl.

[–] arbilab 16 years ago

I saw it in theatrical rerelease with my dad in 1955, which would have made me 9 years old. No, it didn't terrify me. Incredible Shrinking Man did, a few years later.

[–] rboinaz 13 years ago

This movie never scared me as a child and my grand children have watched it and were not scared either. The movie that scared me the most as a child was the original "The Thing From Another World", with James Arness as the THING. I remember I had to go to the rear of the theater and hide behind one of the seats as you never new when the THING would appear.

[–] FoggleCopter 16 years ago

I saw this when I was 6 and it freaked me out quite badly. I remember having nightmares about that head in the bubble.

[–] novastar_6 16 years ago

Well I'm 18 and have only seen this movie just tonight, even so it was able to scare the hell out of me...I was particularly thinking it WOULD be a child's worst nightmare in that he couldn't trust his own parents...however I think it's a PERFECT sci-fi movie to show kids, right up there with the original The Blob, and The Day the Earth Sood Still.

[–] bananabry 9 years ago

And, I absolutely agree with you -- that alien head was terrifying even on a tiny B&W TV screen.

[–] tanner3212001 16 years ago

I agree I was a kid in the early 70`s I saw it on TV and it scared the crap out of me ! It didnt help that my Aunt lived next to a giant sandpit. Everytime we went to visit her my parents would say to my brother and I "go outside and play" The only place to go was the sandpit. I always thought about this movie while down there. SCARY ! As far as not letting kids watch it today they are so bombarded with filth and pornagraphy from the perverts in hollyweird and the media they dont even have a childhood anymore. They are desensitized to everything ! Me personally.... I wouldnt let my kid watch any of the crap in the media today ! Disgusting !

I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me

[–] novastar_6 16 years ago

Amen to that, I would sooner let my kid watch this movie than ANYthing they put out today.

[–] tanner3212001 16 years ago

* Smiling *

I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me

[–] alan-1217 15 years ago

As a 5 year old I was taken to see a Norman Wisdom comedy in the school holidays, but unfortunately this was the accompanying B movie. I suffered recurrent nightmares for many years afterwards, especially the bit where a needle was was injected into the back of the people's necks after they fell into the buried flying saucer. As an adult some years ago, I tuned into it by chance as a late night movie on satellite tv. It re-awoke the childhood terror and honestly took many days to forget again. Vivid memories!

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]