Invader
(1992)
Director: Philip J.
Cook
Cast: Hans Bachmann, A. Thomas Smith, Rick Foucheux
Invader is a triumph in low budget
filmmaking
- make that
ultra
low budget filmmaking. It's obvious throughout
this movie that the budget must have been quite small, though the fact
that producer Menahem Golan helped to put up the cash for the movie
shouldn't
make this a surprise. In almost every scene, there is some kind of
aspect
showing the movie's cheapness; for instance, there's a dark look to the
cinematography, scenes taking place in certain locations are obvious
shot
elsewhere because of the tight close-ups, and then there are special
effects
that could have come right out of an 8 mm home movie.
But unlike other low budget movies, Invader
does
seem to have a good idea of its limitations. It does not try to make
believe
its shabbier moments are really greater than they really are, and
actually
builds its own little universe where you actually accept the inferior
technical
quality. Most importantly, the movie, knowing it can't improve on the
technical
side, concentrates instead on giving us a science fiction movie with a
swift pace, ample action, sympathetic characters, and good acting.
Actually, maybe I was a little too hard with the movie's
special effects. Yes, some are pretty bad. When we see jet fighters
flying
in the sky during the night, the city lights below look like they are
simply
light bulbs sticking out of a black floor. When a jet fighter explodes,
it explodes into a cloud of sparks that seems to have been made from
fireworks.
And those jet fighters are, of course, obvious models. But sometimes
they
are not so obvious. A few scenes where aircraft land or take off and we
see the model work of the airport landing area in the background, it is
very impressive to see not only the amount of aircraft,
buildings,
fences, etc. in the scene, but their construction and photography make
the effect several notches above the model work in even the more
expensive
Godzilla
movies.
Some scenes, like when a stealth fighter moved slowly
out of its hanger, I was absolutely amazed - I knew it was model work,
but I knew some people could be fooled to thinking what they were seeing
was full-sized and really taking place on location, instead of on a
soundstage.
It's obvious some real hard work went into making these special
effects.
Even when the budget made some effect not so special, a lot of them
still
keep our interest. Just witness the stop motion animation (of what, I
will
not tell) used in the climatic sequence. Sure, the animation is kind of
jerky, and the moving object is very obviously not full-scale, but it's
presented in a deliberately goofy style that makes it fun to watch. And
that is what the real key that makes Invader work - a
sense
of fun.
After an opening teaser sequence involving rogue
soldiers
with flashlight bulb eyes (you read that right), we are introduced to
Frank
McCall (Bachmann), a reporter for The National Scandal, a rag
with
articles and typesetting that would even embarrass The Weekly World
News. After covering a story on a two-headed dog, he gets a call
from
his boss to head to Virginia, to report on several dead soldiers from a
nearby Air Force base found in the woods. Most of the soldiers were
shot,
though one was mysteriously fried into a crispy critter. While taking
pictures
and trying to find out what's wrong, he bumps into Captain Harry Anders
(Smith) from the Department of Defense. He's mostly incommunicado, save
for a few insults at Frank's expense, though it's clear he himself is
trying
to find out what's going on.
Frank soon discovers there will be a test flight that
night of a jet fighter with a new computerized control system code
named
ASMODS. He manages to sneak onto the base and get some pictures, including
when the plane suddenly crashes, though his general ineptness
(including
blatantly taking those pictures in front of military brass) get him
seized
by Harry. While Harry is gone for a moment, the soldiers guarding Frank
forcibly move him, and attempt to drug him and hook him up to a
strange-looking
helmet. Harry comes to the rescue, guns a-blazing, just in time. Almost
immediately afterwards, the activity on the base goes to hell, and
Frank
and Harry find themselves on the run from the other soldiers on the
base,
who are determined to kill them. It's up to them to pair up to not only
save themselves in a daring escape, but to find out what's going on and
try to stop it.
Captain Anders is played by a black actor, and yes, this
is yet another example of the movie rule about team-ups such as this:
Whenever
there is a buddy team consisting of a black actor and a white actor,
the
better acting comes from the black actor. (One exception: Men In
Black.) As the slightly wimpy reporter, Bachmann actually is
decent;
he gives his character a lot of enthusiasm and just the right touch of
naivety to make his occasional foolish remarks or decisions believable.
Also, he delivers some one-liners well, as when he tells the Captain,
"You're
Superman - I wanna see you kick some ass!" His character is
unfortunately
too much of a chatterbox, so it's understandable why the Captain keeps
exclaiming "Shut up!" to Frank, calling him "Peckerbreath" in-between
utterances
of that exclamation.
Some viewers will probably exclaim these and other
insults
towards Frank on occasion when he becomes really annoying. They will probably
be pleased with Smith's performance as the Captain, as I was. He plays
his role seriously, appropriate for someone belonging to the D.O.D.,
and
he plays his role as a professional, though one who knows when it's
appropriate
to break the rules. The amusing lines of dialogue his character
occasionally
says are delivered in a nice, understated way, which makes them amusing
without suddenly changing his character. Put together, both actors
generate
chemistry, and it's fun seeing them working together and arguing with
each
other. Special mention must also go to the great performance of John
Cooke
as General Anheiser, an older fellow introduced late in the movie that
is a stuffed shirt at first, but then soon gets a bloodthirsty gleam in
his eye when he gets into the action.
Philip J. Cook not only wrote and directed, but is
listed
several times in the closing credits in the special effects
departments.
You've got to give him at least an "A" for effort, especially
considering
the little money he probably had. For one thing, there's only one
actual
flying helicopter seen in the movie - the rest are models, and are seen
flying at night, no doubt to make the models look better. In fact, most
of the action in the movie takes place outside at night, or in dark
rooms,
to make the other effects look better as well. The fog machine is put
into
overdrive and big bright spotlights are placed in the background in
attempts
to hide wherever the movie was really filmed, instead of where it is
actually
taking place. I didn't mind this so much, since I was caught up with
the
swiftly moving story and action. There are car chases, shoot-outs,
hand-to-hand
fights, dogfights in the air, and that big action sequence at the
climax,
which I still won't reveal. Each of these scenes is directed well
enough
to manage to create tension, and wonder if our heroes will get through
the challenge they currently face. Okay, these scenes aren't perfect.
Maybe
a rocket launcher would make more damage to a bus than destroying its
radiator.
Maybe the integration of actors into the matte paintings has the live
footage
placed on top jiggling a little. But Invader is one of
those
movies where the gaffs just add to the fun, because you sense the
makers
of the movie were really trying, and they were having fun themselves.
It's
a fun movie.
UPDATE: I received
this letter from John Ellis:
"Heartily enjoyed your review of my film INVADER
(I produced it, and co-created the effects and pretty much everything
else)...I
want to point out that Menachem Golan had nothing to do with the
creation
of the film with the exception of putting up some finishing funds.
"Also, there are no (read: NONE) actual real flying
helicopters in the film...they
were all models...what you thought was the
real thing was a radio controlled 5' long scale Huey built
for us (and
flown) by RC enthusiast Royce Brademan. I should note that the shell of
the helo model was the only leftover (unfinished) fiberglass pull from
the movie DIE HARD. We did film in a real Huey...sitting on the ground
in an outdoor air Museum in Hampton Roads Virginia.
"The film was shot entirely in 16 and 35mm.
"Glad you liked the film. Makes me feel good!"
UPDATE 2: Director Philip J. Cook wrote in:
"Surprisingly, I just recently came across
your review concerning
our '92 film of Invader. I just thought I'd write and say it
was very fair and well considered review. It's been quite a
few years since I've had the nerve to try this low-no-budget film thing
again. I've recently completely production on Despiser which
just hit home video in April. To learn more, check out:
http://eaglefilms.com/despiser/DespiserWebsite.htm"
Mr. Cook also directed me to this page dedicated to Invader:
http://eaglefilms.com/despiser/Invader2.htm
UPDATE 3: From another member of the crew:
"Just like to say that although this film was indeed
a low budget production, the special effects team and related
"behind-the-scene" crew, have placed 110% of their blood, sweat, &
tears to make this movie pop and sizzle. It is still one of my favorite
B features!"
Norman R. Gagnon
(Physical Special Effects)
Facade FX
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See also: Lifeform, Revenge Of The Teenage Vixens..., The Silencers
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