The Earth is attacked by mysterious invaders from outer space, who plan on destroying humankind. The invaders are invisible in our atmosphere, but are able to inhabit and reanimate the bodies of the dead. The armies of rotting corpses march on the cities, and it seems as though there is no defense. Major Bruce Jay (John Agar) is put in charge of a small, secret research center with a group of scientists, who must find a way of combating the invaders. Personality conflicts develop as Jay's hard-nosed, by-the-book approach to his job -- which requires him to kill anyone who might jeopardize the mission -- put him in opposition to the scientists (played by Jean Byron, Philip Tonge, and Robert Hutton). They develop an ultra-sonic gun that has the combined effect of rendering the aliens visible and killing them, but first they must test it, by capturing an alien, an action that forces them to run the risk of being discovered.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

OK, George Romero. Now we know where you got the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead (1968). Take a look at the pasty-face, black-eyed zombies in this flick and tell us if we're wrong. Invisible aliens from the moon invade Earth and take over the bodies of recently deceased humans in Invisible Invaders (1959). Only John Agar and his high-frequency sound wave machine can save the day!

Invisible Invaders also bears more than a passing resemblance to Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), the delightfully tacky production that is often voted "worst film ever made." As with most low-budget pictures of its day, cost-cutting measures determined much of the final look of Invisible Invaders. For example, the severe lack of funds obviously influenced the producer's decision to make the aliens invisible, thus avoiding the need for costly special effects, extras, and more sets. And the blending of the science fiction film with the horror genre made good business sense, given that other exploitation films had already done the same (The Blob and I Married a Monster from Outer Space, both 1958). Invisible Invaders gave audiences a double whammy of both, thanks to the expertise of director Edward L. Cahn, who had filmed It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) the previous year.

Gary Tooze

June 30th, 2016