Invasion

Not to be confused with the sci-fi TV series (shown a while back on Channel Four, and out now on DVD), or Armand Mastroianni's 1997 TV film (based on a Robin Cook story) starring Luke Perry and Kim Cattrall, or the latest version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (also on DVD now), this low-budget movie from David Michael Latt is actually a cheap version of H.G. Wells' classic War Of The Worlds re-titled for a UK region 2 DVD release.

Just like Spielberg's blockbuster, it's a contemporary adaptation, transplanted to USA, but because modern visual effects are outrageously expensive (assuming that filmmakers aim for quality, anyway), low-budget SF cinema in a serious mode such as this is forced to rely heavily upon the actors for its principal dramatic moments. B-movie veterans like C. Thomas Howell and Jake Busey deliver their best, and yet, it's still not enough to save this production from abject mediocrity. The ending is wholly predictable, and it's a film only suitable for SF completists.

Final score: 4/10