General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Spaced Invaders

Spaced Invaders is a 1990 American science-fiction comedy film in which a crew of dimwitted Martians intercepts a 50th-anniversary radio rebroadcast of Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds" and, mistaking it for their fleet's invasion signal, lands in the small town of Big Bean, Illinois on Halloween night.¹ Directed by Patrick Read Johnson and released by Touchstone Pictures on April 27, 1990, the film runs 102 minutes and is rated PG.¹

Key fact	Detail
Release	April 27, 1990, Touchstone Pictures; 102 minutes; PG¹
Director / writers	Patrick Read Johnson, co-writer Scott Lawrence Alexander²
Principal cast	Douglas Barr (Sam), Royal Dano (Wrenchmuller), Ariana Richards (Kathy), J.J. Anderson (Brian)¹
Original title	Martians!!!, changed by Walt Disney Pictures after it acquired the film at the end of 1989²
Production	Shot over five weeks in Los Angeles beginning 7 November 1988; over 200 visual effects shots; five animatronic alien heads²
Box office	$4.7 million opening weekend; $14.3 million total gross (Rotten Tomatoes lists $15.4 million)²^•³
Critical reception	Metascore 38 from 14 reviews; 8% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer⁴^•³

Spoilers

Plot

The story opens with Mars's Imperial Majesty taking command of Battle Group Seven for the "master invasion" of the Arcturus System, placing "Enforcer Drones" aboard every ship to enforce compliance.⁵ On Earth, the citizens of Big Bean, Illinois prepare for Halloween 1988 while celebrating a new Interstate off-ramp expected to bring commercial traffic to town.⁵

One Martian ship of Battle Group Seven, having lost contact with the fleet, picks up a radio transmission from deep space: a 50th-anniversary rebroadcast of Orson Welles's dramatization of "War of the Worlds." The crew misinterprets the broadcast as their cue to attack Earth and lands in Big Bean.¹ Because it is Halloween, the Martians are mistaken for trick-or-treaters, and their threats are dismissed as adolescent behavior.⁶

Ten-year-old Kathy Hoxly, unfazed by the pint-sized invaders, works with her friend Brian, her father, and the farmer Old Man Wrenchmuller, in whose barn the spaceship crash-lands.¹^•⁶ Wrenchmuller consults an old comic book about a Martian attack, and after the townsfolk gather a frenzied posse, Sheriff Sam Hoxley eventually assures everyone that Wrenchmuller is telling the truth about an alien invasion.⁵ The Martians at one point command the Earthlings to surrender or be destroyed from inside a doughnut-shaped device called the "Doughnut of Destruction."⁵ Kathy rescues the Martians from the posse, saves the Earth from their blitz, and helps blast the visitors back to their planet.¹

Production

The film was shot over five weeks in Los Angeles beginning 7 November 1988 and wrapped just before Christmas, according to studio notes in the AMPAS library files.² Budget reporting differed: several sources including the 5 October 1988 Variety put Martians!!! at between $4.5 and $5 million, but the 12 June 1990 Hollywood Reporter stated the film cost only $2 million.²

The Martian costumes. The five aliens had electronically controlled heads made of foam, latex, and fiberglass, with moving lips.¹^•² The actors could not see out of the elaborate heads, so they stayed in constant contact with the director by wireless headphones.¹ Because the five Martians looked alike, each was given a distinctive voice: Captain Bipto spoke with an East Indian accent, Dr. Zipto with a German accent, and Lieutenant Giggywig and Braznee imitated Cary Grant and Jack Nicholson respectively.² The production included over 200 visual effects shots.²

Acquisition by Disney. Steven Spielberg, an early fan of the film, recommended it to Walt Disney Pictures, which acquired it at the end of 1989 and changed the title from Martians!!! to Spaced Invaders.² Anna Karin was the original producer but was not listed in the final credits; Luigi Cingolani is the credited producer.²^•³

Reception

The film opened in Los Angeles and New York on 27 April 1990 and earned $4.7 million in its first weekend, going on to gross $14.3 million.² Rotten Tomatoes lists the US gross as $15.4 million.³

Reviews were generally unfavorable.² The film holds a Metascore of 38, based on 14 critic reviews, and an 8% Tomatometer score.⁴^•³ Roger Ebert, reviewing for the Chicago Sun-Times, called it "almost appallingly unwatchable" while conceding that children might enjoy it.⁷ Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that it "should have been funnier than it is," rambling with too many poorly defined characters, and noted that because most of it takes place at night it is not easy to tell what is going on.⁴ The Washington Post called it a slight sci-fi parody that is "basically a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch stretched out to feature-film length," singling out the head Martian's Jack Nicholson imitation.⁶ More favorable notices praised the animatronic aliens: Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly found them "amusingly obnoxious," and the Seattle Times called the special effects quite impressive for a low-budget production.⁴

Home media and availability

The film was released on video in 1990.¹ Mill Creek Entertainment issued a video release on September 15, 2015.⁸ As of recent listings it streams on Amazon Prime Video and can be rented or bought digitally on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home.⁹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s › Released 1990 to 1995

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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