Invader [DVD] [1992] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

"...the script is clever and the effects are very impressive for what they must have cost."

--Leonard Maltin, Movie & Video Guide

"INVADER...has some knock-out model effects and stop motion animation. The saucer, elevator and jet fighter sequences are some of the best you'll ever see in a low budget film. There is also plenty of humor...the funniest bit of dialogue comes at the end, when the giant robot ASMODS delivers a patriotic monologue that must be heard to be believed! Special effects veteran Cook turns in a good directorial effort here (his first). This is a good way to spend 95 minutes of your life."

--CriticOnOnline

"one of the most overlooked b-movie greats of the past 15 years - 1991's INVADER. The brainchild of micro-filmmaker Philip J. Cook, INVADER is a genuinely good movie in addition to being a fun b-movie."

--Foywonder.LiveJournal

"No matter how you cut it, INVADER is an amazing movie, given the infusion of imagination and creativity in what is really a low budget production. Filmmaker Philip J. Cook has scored again and provided another entertaining and exciting indie flick for genre fans. Cook has successfully updated the special effects and technical work for the film's re-release on DVD by Lions Gate. As a result, an already enjoyable movie is presently even more fun to watch."

--Craig Hamann, Cultcuts Magazine

"While horror's decline is depressing, it has been somewhat offset by the newfound popularity of another fantastic genre standard, science-fiction. This year's best DTV example, Philip J. Cook's INVADER (Vidmark), is not only a highly entertaining effort, but one that may mark the advent of a major new genre talent. The film is basically a loving tribute to sci-fi of the '50s, updated with '90s concepts, then filtered through gentle parody and given just a dash of DR. STRANGELOVE. The basic tale revolves around a reporter for a national tabloid who follows up an article on killer mutant goats by jetting off to research a UFO sighting in Virginia. There he finds a military base commander who has cannibalized a downed UFO, trying to create new super weapons. Instead, he has unleashed an alien computer virus that has reprogrammed everything of an electronic nature on the base, including the minds of the soldiers. The film skirts around too many styles, without ever settling on one, and a few of the numerous effects sequences are more impressive for ambition than effectiveness. But Cook has made INVADER consistently fun; and its effects, in spite of their quantity, are used to enhance the story without ever becoming the tail that wags the dog. INVADER shows that low-budget doesn't always have to mean low-concept and low-talent."

--John Thonen, "Videophile, 1993 in Review," Imagi-movies.

"Invader is a triumph in low budget filmmaking - make that ultra low budget filmmaking...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."

--Unknown Movies Website

"Despite the UFO angle, this film is a much action thriller as sci-fi with most of the villains being brainwashed humans brandishing guns. As such, it has cross-over appeal beyond sci-fi fans. The action is plentiful, the pace is brisk, the special effects are good, and the performances are energetic with particularly good wise-guy interplay between Bachman and Smith."

--Video Business Magazine, April 9, 1993.

"INVADER is a fast-paced sci-fi cheapie with admirable ambitions. Nevertheless, the picture is impressive for its high spirits and imagination ....The Virginia-based filmmakers, who also did 1991's STAR QUEST specialize in grandiose, effects-laden features on budgets that wouldn't cover three minutes in JURASSIC PARK. Certainly the stop-motion jet sequences are as good as similar stuff seen in Hollywood blockbusters like FIREFOX ...."

--TV Guide

"...Philip J. Cook, has produced one of the best low-budget "B"movies in a long, long time. The movie starring competent unknowns (Hans Bachmann, A. Thomas Smith, and Rick Foucheaux) consistently rises above and beyond the limitations of low-budget movie-making by letting creativity, imagination, and competence rule...and the script is intelligent and involving. The effects are stunning for such a limited budget production. The plot steamrolls along at a brisk pace pausing just long enough to further the plot or to add a dash of humor."

--Midnight Marquee, Issue 44, Summer 1992

"[INVADER] It's an imaginative story with a strong streak of humor, often tongue in cheek."

--VideoHound's Sci-Fi Experience, 1997

"Director-scripter-cameraman Philip Cook is in sure control as he tells his tale of mysterious goings-on at an Air Force base. Despite a lowish budget, he pulls of some effective edge-of-the-seat sequences. Lighting and photography are consistently thoughtful and excellent, making the film look stylish and a lot more expensive than it is."

--The Stop-Motion Filmography By Neil Pettigrew

I've hesitated for a while to write a review for this because I was involved in the filming and production of the movie, so I may be a bit prejudiced.

The story is actually fabulous, although some of what makes the story so great is the backstory, which was only hinted at in the film, and I hoped that it might have been made a little bit more clear.

The backstory is that the US military has found a crashed alien space ship. They couldn't find any aliens, and were a bit puzzled by this.

What they failed to realize is that the aliens were right there. They just happened to be aliens that were made up of electrical energy rather than having bodies like humans. The humans that studied them mistook them for computer programs, and downloaded them into a human-built aircraft without realizing that they were actual entities who had traveled through space, radiation and other being-warping things for hundreds, maybe thousands of years and were now totally insane!

You can begin to imagine the ensuing chaos.

This movie was made a while ago and played in theaters worldwide, and then later was released as a videocassette. The DVD that came out more recently has had some computer graphic effects added to the version. I've heard various opinions from others about how well they match the original footage, and I'd rather not get into a debate about it.

I was married just after this was first published and most of the credits are in my married name in anticipation of the event. You can find my credits at [...]and if you wish to discuss anything about the movie, you can contact me by leaving a comment on my blog at [...].

Addition: I just noticed they edited this review. You can find me on IMdB under Johann DesRoches or type Hey Airforce into a search engine to find an article about me with a comment with my blog URL at the bottom of the article.

Invader is about a military base, top secret aircraft, brainwashed soldiers and a crazy UFO that can become the head of a giant leathal robot. What more do you want? This film nicely combines props, models, stop-motion and computer generated effects into one very nice looking film. The story was good and the acting above-average. I was entertained from beginning to end. Wonderful film that I really enjoyed and can't wait to see again. Check it out!