I'm so excited that Creepy Cinema is back. This first week had a lot of great films and helped me once again become acclimated to scary movies. Despite having quite a bit of alien story lines, every film was different and had it's own unique story to tell. I hope enjoy my thoughts and opinions and continue to join me on this journey through the month of October!
1. Phantoms - 1998
Originally, Phantoms was a book written by Dean Koontz. The film is set in a small town and something isn't quite right. Everyone in the town has disappeared and a force of evil takes over. The story is quite original and doesn't follow the same tropes you see in scary movies. It’s mildly Lovecraftian in the fact that it deals with a shapeless evil. The film was well acted with veteran, Peter O’Toole and relatively unknown actors Ben Affleck and Liev Schreiber. Every time I heard the song "I Fall to Pieces" in the film, I knew something bad was going to happen. As for Affleck, he was totally the bomb. (If you get that reference, you're okay in my book). 
2. Them - 1954
Them was one of the first atom age monster movies from the 1950s and formed a cult following. The film is about giant radioactive ants that begin terrorizing human civilization. For a film made in the 50s, it was very impressive. The ants themselves looked amazing and very believable. The special effects team were even nominated for an Oscar. Despite being an older film, I was hooked from the beginning. I thought it was going to be a poor B-movie similar to Plan 9 from Outer Space, but it wasn't even in the same realm. Them is a clever movie which uses science fiction to it's advantage to create a world where giant ants could possibly take over the world. 
This film is one of the funniest on this year’s list. I was so pumped to watch it again. Following the same tropes as its 1950s predecessors, a meteor crashes on earth and is, of course, infected with some sort of alien substance. Then, two community college professors, Orlando Jones and David Duchovny, investigate the meteor, only to realize that the substance is an extraterrestrial organism that evolves at an extremely rapid pace. There is so much to like about this movie. Jones and Duchovny are hilarious and carry the movie with great comedic delivery. I was surprised that even 13 years later, this movie still holds up and is a great popcorn film.
This 80s classic is often overlooked and definitely one that I’ve never heard of. The film is an homage to 50’s horror films as well as some of the big names in the horror genre. The main characters are all named after a famous director like Romero, Raimi, Carpenter, etc. The film is a grab bag of all the things that make horror movies great. It has aliens, zombies, axe murderers, you name it, it's in here. Surprisingly, this movie is a lot of fun and better than some of the movies that it pays an homage to. I think that’s partly due to the fact that it’s a comedy wrapped in horror. Sure the acting is a bit off, the lead female is hard to watch, and a lot of things don't make sense, but that’s 80s at its best. I enjoyed it immensely and it definitely deserves, at the very least, a one time watch.
Of all the movies we've watched so far, Monsters is my absolute favorite. The film takes place in a world that has been invaded by aliens after an infected NASA probe crashes on earth. We follow the main characters, Sam and Kauler, on their journey from the "infected area," in Mexico, back to America. It's an intense, intelligent, and dramatically moving film. The actors are brilliant and it’s their chemistry and character development that really drives the movie. If you only watch one movie from this year's list, I highly recommend Monsters. You won't regret it.
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978
If there was one movie that was on all the lists of alien invasions movies, it would definitely be Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It’s one of those films that everyone knows about and has seen. The 1978 version is a remake of the original 1956 version and stars Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy and a hunky Jeff Goldbum. The story revolves around an alien species that begins to replicate and replace human beings to form a conformist society. Despite the film being iconic and highly regarded, I didn’t really like it. It felt really long and suffered from what Markus calls “The 70s pacing.” The special effects were great, there were a lot of great scenes, and the story was well done...but it was just way too long. In the end it just fell flat for me. Unfortunately, this isn’t a film that I would watch again.
7. Invaders from Mars - 1986
This film follows David Gardener, a young boy, that watches as his parents those close to him slowly become overtaken by aliens. It’s similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In order to overcome these aliens, he enlists the help of the military and his school nurse. Sounds a bit ridiculous right? Well it was! Out of all the movies this week, this one was probably my least favorite. The acting was horrific. The actor that played David was the worst. In fact most of his co-stars were just as bad, and I cringed so many times during the film. There were certain parts that were good, like the creature designs. I was really impressed and creeped out, but I thought that maybe the ending could’ve saved the movie. However it was the worst! I would rather watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers again than sit through this film.
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