In 1958 something happened to the town of Centerville, Illinois. Twenty-five years later Margaret Bigelow (Diana Scarwid) leaves her young daughter, Elizabeth (Lulu Sylbert), with her ex-husband Charlie (Paul Le Mat) telling him that her mother died and she needs to go back to her hometown of Centerville for the funeral. More than a week later Charlie has not heard from Margaret. Leaving Elizabeth with his mother (June Lockhart) he travels from New York City to Centerville to find out what happened to her.
Charlie has his dog, Louie, with him when he arrives in Centerville. He takes a room at a boarding house run by Arthur Newman (Kenneth Tobey). Leaving the dog in the room Charlie wanders around the small town looking for information on Margaret. The inhabitants of the town are standoffish and emotionless. The town seems to have not progressed since the fifties. Charlie hears Louie growling and barking. He runs back to the room to find the dog gone. Realizing something is not right Charlie tries to run away but is attacked. He manages to escape but in his haste he sees an alien standing alongside the road.
Back in New York he reports his experience to Mrs. Benjamin (Louise Fletcher) at the National Center for UFO Studies, but is looked at as a kook. Then he sees a picture of an identical alien on the cover of a tabloid paper. Betty Walker (Nancy Allen) is the author of the article. She tells him that the story is a fake and the picture came from their archives. The next night the aliens attack Betty. Charlie finds out that the aliens have been in Centerville for twenty-five years and will soon be leaving. Margaret shows up and tells Charlie that when the aliens leave they want to take Elizabeth with them since she is half human and half alien. Elizabeth is kidnapped and Charlie and Betty are on a desperate search to find Elizabeth and save her.
“Strange Invaders” was released in 1983 and was directed by Michael Laughlin. It is a low budget American science fiction film. Laughlin had planned to make a “Strange” trilogy. The first film was “Strange Behavior” 1981. The second “Strange Invaders” 1983. Due to the movie tanking at the box office the third film was never made and the trilogy idea was abandoned.
Laughlin also intended for the film to be both as an homage to 50’s sci-fi films and a parody which can be used to explain why the totality of the film is not that great. The parody part I didn’t see but the film does have a few throwbacks from other movies such as “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” 1956 and “It Came From Outer Space” 1953. It also incorporates some cold war nuances as well.
The movie does boast a few stars from films and television shows of the 50’s and 60’s. Mark Goddard and June Lockhart from the television series “Lost in Space” and Kenneth Tobey from several science fiction films from the 50’s have small roles. It also has some better known stars and a few character actors that have fairly large resumes such as Nancy Allen, Louise Fletcher, Michael Lerner and Wallace Shawn. With such a cast you would think the film would have been a better box office draw. It shows that even with a cast of experienced actors pace and dialogue can make or break a film.
Far from being a good movie it is nevertheless one that sticks with you if for no other reason than having aliens wearing the skins of humans, and that's cool. What I remember most about this movie is that it was as slow as molasses punctuated by moments of eeriness, creepiness or grossness. Seeing it again my opinion hasn’t changed. Of course anytime anyone tears off their own face it’s a little unsettling. Granted it’s not a great movie but it does have some interesting aspects to it that keeps it in my memory banks as a movie I saw and liked to some extent.
During the scene where Mrs. Benjamin from the Center for UFO Studies shows Charles Bigelow file pictures and drawings of reported aliens one of the photos is of Steven Spielberg. The movie was filmed on location in Centerville, Illinois.