Taglines: 25 Years ago they arrived from another galaxy. Surprise–They’re still here.
Strange Invaders movie storyline. Charlie’s ex-wife disappears, and he travels to where she grew up–a rural town in the Midwest–to look for her. But, surprisingly, nobody knows about her or any of her many relatives, the Newmans. He meets aliens; but when he contacts the FBI, they don’t believe him. He tells his story to a tabloid; and suddenly, he is chased by the aliens.
Strange Invaders is a 1983 science-fiction film directed by Michael Laughlin. It was made as a tribute to the sci-fi films of the 1950s, notably The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It stars Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen and Diana Scarwid. The film was intended to be the second installment of the aborted Strange Trilogy with Strange Behavior, another 1950s spoof by Laughlin, but the idea was abandoned after Strange Invaders failed to attract a wider audience. Scarwid’s performance earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.
About the Story
In 1958, the town of Centerville, Illinois, was invaded by a race of aliens. The invaders could fire lasers from their eyes and hands and reduce humans to “crystallized” glowing blue orbs. They took over the form of the humans who were either captured or killed.
Twenty-five years later, university lecturer Charles Bigelow (Paul Le Mat) learns that his ex-wife, Margaret Newman (Diana Scarwid), has disappeared while attending her mother’s funeral in Centerville, and travels there to find her. The disguised aliens all appear human and the town of Centerville appears to have not progressed beyond 1958. The aliens try to capture Bigelow as he escapes, but only capture his dog, Louie.
Seeing a photo of an alien in a tabloid magazine, Bigelow soon finds Margaret, who is now revealed to be one of the aliens. She warns Bigelow to escape with Elizabeth (Lulu Sylbert), their human/alien hybrid daughter, to protect her from the aliens, who want to take her to their home-world. Bigelow and Elizabeth escape from the departing alien ship and the townsfolk’s blue orbs are transformed back to their original human forms.
Strange Invaders (1983)
Directed by: Michael Laughlin
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen, Diana Scarwid, Michael Lerner, Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, Fiona Lewis, June Lockhart
Screenplay by: Bill Condon, Michael Laughlin
Production Design by: Susanna Moore
Cinematography by: Louis Horvath
Film Editing by: John W. Wheeler
Costume Design by: Susanna Moore
Set Decoration by: Gustave Meunier
Art Direction by: Emad Helmy, Mischa Petrow
Music by: John Addison
Distributed by: Orion Pictures
Release Date: September 16, 1983
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