Invasión extraterrestre

I remember watching this as a kid and thinking it was so scary. Now on rewatch I realize it is a campy sci-fi movie but with some good practical effects and John Carpenter vibes.

This was a decent sci-fi flick. Good performances by Julie Warner and Eric Thal, and of course there's no role that Donald Sutherland can't pull off. Alien effects were revoltingly good. OK, it's not completely true to Heinlein's magnificent novel. Hollywood has a formula, (the happy ending, the obligatory love interest of one or more of the stars, etc.) and any deviation from it is exceedingly rare. That's why foreign films are good, because they are not bound by the formula. I've noticed that great sci-fi movies are almost always originally written for the screen, rather than adapted from books. Books are always better than movies, but science fiction seems to be particularly so.

Not having read any of the highly acclaimed writer Robert A. Heinlein's work, including the original novel "Puppet Masters", I can't really comment on whether or not this piece does him or his work any justice, but from a point of view that hasn't in any way been influenced by his work or others' opinions(...maybe scratch that last one), I must admit that it's not half bad. The plot is pretty good, and it keeps developing at an adequate rate, while keeping a fair pace, but it seems to drop a tad once this entered its last half or so. The acting is decent enough, with Donald Sutherland being the one to stand out and deliver a marvelous performance. The characters are well-written, well-casted, credible and believable. This is strangely similar to TV features, in the way it's shot and edited. The special effects are great, but short of spectacular. The creature design was reasonably interesting, and well thought out, and the related effects are actually relatively nicely done. The science fiction aspects of this, with the aliens and their actions are well-done. I liked the way the film utilizes mood and atmosphere rather than excessive gore to scare and thrill the audience. The atmosphere and mood are decent enough, just not as well-done as they could have been. The movie also fails to inspire the same paranoia and fear that, for example, John Carpenter's The Thing does. Finally, the climax was a bit overly Hollywood-like, but hey, this does provide about 110 minutes worth of sufficiently entertaining science fiction-horror about the always dreaded extra-terrestrial invasion. I recommend it to fans of the genre and/or Donald Sutherland(it should also be noted that Keith David rocks, as he has something of a tendency to do). 6/10

It looks like a UFO has landed in a small Iowa farm town. A top-secret US government investigative team from the "Office of Scientific Central Intelligence" goes out to investigate. The three stars are: limping leader Donald Sutherland (as Andrew Nivens), his handsome son and partner Eric Thal (as Sam Nivens) and sexy alien biologist Julie Warner (as Mary Sefton). They are about to conclude the whole thing was a teenagers' hoax, but Ms. Warner realizes aliens have landed. The reason, according to Warner, is that no males on the scene have noticed her arousing figure or tried to look down her unbuttoned blouse. You can almost hear her say, "Don't look at that alien spaceship, dammit, look down my shirt!"...

Now, these aliens attach themselves to your back (your spinal column, specifically) and they multiply quickly. The way to see if someone has been "infected" is to order the person to, "Take off your shirt!" Since this trick works, we're left wondering why most people in the cast are allowed to keep their backs covered. Most viewers would not protest Warner and Mr. Thal acting without their shirts (Thal goes without pants, too). If you don't mind wondering about plot confusions and contrivances like that, you could do worse than Stuart Orme's vision of Robert A. Heinlein's science-fiction novel. Thal and Warner are an attractive couple and Mr. Sutherland is a classic performer who can improve movies by simply being there.

****** The Puppet Masters (10/21/94) Stuart Orme ~ Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Donald Sutherland, Keith David

One science-fiction film that turns out to be less disappointing than expected is this loose adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel.

Donald (give me another part in an alien pod movie) Sutherland interprets the role of Adam "The Old Man" Nivens, head of a secret government protection agency that has its hands full trying to stop an alien invasion by slug-like mental parasites which tap into people's brains, controlling them toward their own ends.

Eric Thal (of A STRANGER AMONG US) draws a blank where a strong character should be in the role of Sam, son of the Old Man, and fellow agent. Julie Warner (from DOC HOLLYWOOD) fares a little better as Mary, a NASA xenobiologist along for the roller coaster ride.

The opening scenes do justice to the setting and atmosphere of the book, and the skeleton of the original plot is unpredictable and thrilling, but eventually, the compromises in adaptation give rise to Hollywood-style sci-fi conventions such as alien hives.

Several realistic, key elements are thrown out, along with almost all of the sharp dialogue which made the book a hit.

However, the special effects are convincing, and the cinematography and editing are streamlined and tight. Far from being definitive, this version of the tale is nonetheless sufficiently satisfying and worth a look.