poe-48833 Ed Wood had the right idea... INVISIBLE INVADERS was one of the movies that I saw as a kid on late night television and for years confused it with the later NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Now I see why, although the invisible, foot-dragging aliens and their dead hosts don't BEGIN to compare to what Romero and Russo and company wrought. That's not a criticism, per se, just an observation. INVISIBLE INVADERS makes effective use of stock footage of various catastrophes throughout, which helps keep things moving when they ain't... The Invisibles inadvertently become THE ARCHITECTS OF FEAR (see the original black and white version of THE OUTER LIMITS or the later, big budget WATCHMEN), causing the nations of the Earth to unite against them, but it's John Agar and friends who end up going toe-to-toe with them pesky Invaders. (It's interesting that one of the scientists points out that the aliens "are using our own weapons against us.") (The planners of the takeover of Earth forgot to bring any weapons of their own other than that body-snatching technique...) When they're finally made visible, the aliens appear appropriately GHOSTLY (inhabiting, as they do, dead bodies...).

Scott LeBrun Hostile extraterrestrials reveal themselves to mankind when one takes over the dead body of the deceased Karol Noymann (John Carradine). They've been living in secret on the moon, having exploited the fact that normally they're invisible to the human eye. Now they've decided to conquer the Earth, and only a select few will be able to save the day: intrepid hero Major Bruce Jay (John Agar), Noymanns' associate Dr. Adam Penner (Philip Tonge), Penners' daughter Phyllis (Jean Byron), and young scientist John Lamont (Robert Hutton).This is must viewing if you're a fan of Carradine, Agar, or both. Carradine isn't seen on camera very much, but his booming voice is used to great effect, to function as a voice for the alien intelligence. Agar is as likable as he's ever been. Hutton is fine as the man who begins to crack under pressure. The best performance would have to be from Tonge, however; he's so remarkably sincere that he helps to completely sell the material.Ably directed by prolific B movie specialist Edward L. Cahn ("It! The Terror From Beyond Space"), "Invisible Invaders" does give away the fact that it's low budget from the start, with most of the action confined to one main set - an underground bunker - and a dialogue heavy script. Making a difference are some of the details, such as the way that the creatures manipulate dead human bodies, and the subsequent hordes of the walking dead that prefigure George A. Romeros' landmark horror film "Night of the Living Dead". Our heroes come up with a novel way of confining one of the enemy, and in the end also devise an amusing solution. Despite a lot of talk, the pacing *is* adequate enough, and this clocks in at a very reasonable 68 minutes long.Written by Samuel Newman, who was also responsible for the bad movie classic "The Giant Claw" - which also featured a character named Karol Noymann.Six out of 10.

JohnHowardReid What a bright idea! How to save thousands of dollars on your "B" movie adventure: Make your invaders invisible! As implied, this is an extremely low-budget, sci-fi horror melodrama from the Robert E. Kent—Edward L. Cahn pill-box. The screenplay by Sam Newman (obviously penned in his lunch hour at CBS TV), begins with some ineptly padded introductory scenes before switching to an enormous amount of stock footage which turns out to be considerably more interesting than the movie itself. Indeed, when the movie itself resumes and director Cahn takes the reins, entertainment flies out the window. Mr. Cahn's painfully inept direction gleans only a minimum of atmosphere and tension from some quite promising Newman material. Admittedly, Cahn is not helped by his fourth-rate cast. The stars, John Agar, Jean Byron and Robert Hutton are particularly weak. Available on an excellent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer DVD.

Woodyanders Evil invisible aliens resurrect the dead in order to take over the Earth. It's up to an intrepid handful of folks to figure out a way to stop them before it's too late. Competently directed by Edward L. Cahn, with a steady pace, a roaring melodramatic score by Paul Dunlap, a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere, a pleasingly tight 67 minute running time, nifty and acceptable low-fi special effects, crisp black and white cinematography by Maury Gertsman, a nice sense of mounting dread, and cool moments of mass destruction, this modest, yet effective affair makes for an entertaining quickie romp. The sound acting from an able cast helps a lot, with especially praiseworthy work by John Agar as the rugged, no-nonsense Major Bruce Jay, Philip Tonge as the weary, disillusioned Dr. Adam Penner, Jim Hutton as the stalwart Dr. John Lamont, and Jean Byron as Penner's fetching daughter Phyllis. The ubiquitous John Carradine only appears briefly as the ill-fated Dr. Karol Noymann, but both his gaunt, cadaverous face and deep, gloomy voice are put to satisfyingly creepy use. Moreover, the central plot serves as a neat precursor to "Night of the Living Dead;" the shots of pasty-faced zombies trudging across the landscape are pretty eerie and impressive. A fun fright flick.