So earlier today I was lurking around the interwebs as you do and found a little clip of Spaced Invaders. Oh my God! Last time I saw this movie I was about 9 years old, give or take. This was one of those movies I saw in the good old days of VHS AND we had video stores too. It is sad that many kids now a days won’t know what it is like to go looking around a video store. That was always a fun time for myself…. Anywho! Spaced Invaders, yes! So the plot for the movie goes as follows:
A crew of Martians overhears a radio broadcast of Orson Welle’s _War of the Worlds_ coming from Earth, and, thinking the Martian fleet is attacking Earth, they land their broken-down ship in a backwater mid-American town. As luck would have it, they land on Halloween and get mistaken for trick-or-treaters. Comedy ensues as the Martians try to get taken seriously.
When one saucer of an invasion force has engine trouble, it lands on Earth. It happens to be Halloween and it happens the invaders are only about 4 feet tall. As the bumbling aliens wander around the countryside they are taken to be children and they make friends with two children, one of whom is the daughter of the sheriff. As their troubles mount (it’s difficult for five aliens to conquer a world) they begin to give up their plans of conquest, but then there is that nasty killer robot.
This movie is down right cheese fun! Always wished they made another one haha. I did find the full movie on YouTube and I’ll post it on the bottom of the post.
So some fun facts:
1: The actors performing as the Martians were virtually blind when the Martian heads were in place, so they had to be talked through their actions.
2: The call letters for the radio station playing the “War of the Worlds” program are W.E.L.Z. after Orson Welles, or H.G. Wells, or both.
3: Many of the special effects shots were done “in camera”. Meaning they were composed on the raw film.
4: Star Ariana Richards received an “Introducing” credit although it was her fifth feature film role.
5: There was a notion to cast DeForest Kelley as Wrenchmuller.
6: Kathy introduces her three ‘cousins’ as “Clutch”, “Spinner” and “Paddlefoot”; these are the names of the main characters of the cult classic cartoon “Clutch Cargo”.
Home of the Nerdy Viking 
OMG, I think I remember this! And by that, it’s tucked away in the mental playground of ridiculous movies I loved as a child (like Garbage Pail Kids. or Ghost Dad)
I agree that kids these days have lost something when it comes to waiting for Friday night or the weekend to head down to Blockbuster (when it was the only one, then Hollywood Video) and pick up a movie. Alas, it’s like our parents telling us how we’ve lost something when it comes to gathering around the TV when it was first introduced or our grandparents telling us about radio.
There is something to be said about being able to be there when things were “new”. Watching Kermit the Frog ride a bike (and then the rest of the Muppets two movies later) was the most awesomest thing ever and pretty much convinced me the Muppets were real (there’s still only 30% of me that’s totally knows they aren’t, but hello! Puppets don’t ride bicycles!)
Between me and my friends, I think I’m the only one who saw a majority of classic Disney movies when they were re-released in theaters – Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Song of the South, the REAL Jungle Book – and sadly, kids won’t get that (maybe a rerelease of Aladdin or the Lion King). I’m also one of those kids that are on the cusp of being able to say that I saw two out of three of the original Star Wars trilogies in theaters (I only remember Ep VI).
I’m not sure which is sadder – kids not knowing the awesomest of seeing great movies or them seeing shitty movies and thinking they’re great. Like, I have this horrible image of kids these days becoming adults and saying anything by Michael Bay is the greatest thing alive (I slowly die inside when I have to say or type his name)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to agree with most of your comment.. What you said got me thinking about how kids are growing up now a days. I think I’ll make a post centered around that soon.
LikeLike
Great classic awesome terrible movie. This is one I’ve tried popping in (I own this bad boy on DVD) for Halloween for my kids to enjoy, only to find myself watching it alone. C’est la vie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was thinking about hey my kids to watch it.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Team Hellions.
LikeLiked by 1 person