MovieChat Forums > Invaders from Mars (1986) Discussion > Weak compared to 1953 version

Weak compared to 1953 version

posted 14 years ago by uscmd
10 replies | jump to latest

I saw the original when I was roughly the age of the boy, David. It scared me s**tless.

mild, tangential spoilers:

Something about an evil entity that deprives a child of his traditional support. All of the other childhood boogiemen, are external to the home. Not this one.

I'll confess, its possible the remake finds me now an adult, and suffers that way......but I don't think so. Imho, its just no where as taut and suspenseful, i.e., scary...... as the original.

If you can only see one, see the 1953 version....... not the 1986 remake.

[–] wallacesawyer 14 years ago

I saw the remake before the original, but I caught the original on TV years back. I didn't like it as much as the remake.

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[–] MystMoonstruck 14 years ago

I agree about the original! It still has some startling moments, including when David's alien-controlled father slaps him! In the Fifties, that was absolutely shocking! This is a gentle, sweet giant of a father (Leif Erickson) now cold and heartlessly striking his son. WOW!

For a related moment, I think of the abusive father in "The Space Children". When he attacks his son, the alien entity kills him (as I recall). For a little, low-budget film about children befriending an alien, it had some very dark moments.

The Fifties and Sixties had some harsh moments unexpected in the movies they appear in, yet people often think of the old movies as fluffy and friendly. I always say they have a short memory about such TV series as "Leave It to Beaver", in which Ward sometimes spoke of a "spare the rod, spoil the child" type father and the boys weren't above lying and other less-than-admirable behavior. After all, this was the era that yielded "Old Yeller"!

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] alanmaretsky-1 14 years ago

The original '53 version is by far the better.

[–] paliazzar 13 years ago

I agree with you. The remake is nowhere near as good.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TheSolarSailor 8 years ago

I never got to see the original movie as a child, so I don't have those nostalgic memories. Hell, I even missed the remake in theaters, though I saw it a few years later and didn't like it. Many years later, I revisited the remake and rather enjoyed it as the campy nonsense it is. Hell, I am a fan of it. After that, I ordered a VHS copy of the original film and I didn't really care for it. Maybe I was expecting more? I don't know. I think you make some great points about how it was very shocking and scary for its time. I wish I would have seen the film when I was a kid!

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[–] rateater (9230) 4 years ago

not sure if i saw the original but i didn't think this one was that great, some good effects but it needed something more.

[–] jdforyou1983 (1469) 4 years ago

The 1953 verison is better but i still enjoy the 1986 one

[–] SandyR (7347) 3 years ago

Not one of Tobe Hooper's finer moments.

[–] SandyR (7347) 2 years ago

The original seems more sinister.