anyone seen this flick from budget-director Don Dohler??? i finally got around to watching my VHS copy. here's my take on the fiasco:
The Galaxy Invader - 1985 (PG). (VHS). Another low-budget labor-of-love written and directed by Don Dohler. Starring many actors from his usual stable of talent (including George Stover). Tagline: "It Came From A Galaxy Far, Far Away, An Alien Explorer---It's Mission...To SURVIVE!" A moss-covered rubber-suited space alien crash-lands in redneck territory. The beer-guzzling locals get a hold of it's ostritch-egg-powered bottle-rocket-shooting raygun and plan to sell it to city folk for big bucks. Then they go after the alien itself; lots of running around in the woods ensues...and I mean LOTS. On the side of the alien are college educated David (Greg Dohler) and his UFO-chasing professor William Tracy (Richard Dyszel). ONLY RECOMMENDED for fans of Ed Wood-type entertainment. For a more enjoyable Don Dohler basement-budget flick, check out "The Alien Factor" (1977).
I bought THE ALIEN FACTOR on DVD a few months ago, just based on the credit "DIRECTED BY DON DOHLER" on the back of the case. That was enough justification for me, because I already owned (THE) GALAXY INVADER, and it's one hoot of a movie.
Absolute best moment: When Redneck Momma slams a shovel into the back of Redneck Pappy's head, and the filmmakers toss the FAKEST-LOOKING DUMMY I'VE EVER SEEN off the top of a cliff. I mean, this thing flops around as though it were held together by rubber bands, and I've seen scarecrows that looked more human.
Overall, GALAXY INVADER is, in my opinion, much better than THE ALIEN FACTOR, which was very slow and a bit of a chore to sit through.
todd r. wrote:
"Absolute best moment: When Redneck Momma slams a shovel into the back of Redneck Pappy's head, and the filmmakers toss the FAKEST-LOOKING DUMMY I'VE EVER SEEN off the top of a cliff. I mean, this thing flops around as though it were held together by rubber bands, and I've seen scarecrows that looked more human."
i must have rewound this part four or five times. almost as good are the alien's flopping rubber feet.
"Overall, GALAXY INVADER is, in my opinion, much better than THE ALIEN FACTOR, which was very slow and a bit of a chore to sit through."
i gotta take the flipside with you on this one. i enjoyed the variety of aliens in "...Factor." i also think it has a bit more story development. "Invader" has a bit too much running around in the woods for my taste.
they're both good for a laugh though and i proudly consider myself a don dohler fan.
...happy viewing...
Did you happen to notice that the alien (excuse me, the GALAXY INVADER) is incapable of moving at any speed faster than a rapid shuffle? The shot in which he makes his big "break for freedom" by shuffling out of the garage is absolutely hysterical.
"""""Did you happen to notice that the alien (excuse me, the GALAXY INVADER) is incapable of moving at any speed faster than a rapid shuffle? The shot in which he makes his big "break for freedom" by shuffling out of the garage is absolutely hysterical."""""""
yeah. that scene is where the rubber feet jjiggle the most. the old "rapid shuffle" escape...
and speaking of the GALAXY INVADER's functionality, what about whenever he has to pick up the mysterious glowing orb. he can barely get a handle on it with those three fingers!!!
and what about the capture scene where the rednecks just kinda throw the rope over the INVADER? and what was with the drunken dad's undershirt? it had that huge hole in the middle...and...and...and you gotta love these don dohler flicks.
During the closing credits when the credit "Hat by Don Leifert" scrolls by. That hat the guy was wearing actually got a credit. And what a fine hat it was! I remember when NOWFF ran GALAXY INVADER the year before last I started a chant of "HAT! HAT! HAT!" when that credit came on-screen.
I also love the Nintendo lightgun that is powered by a glowing wiffle ball.
And remember, GALAXY INVADER is pretty much a PG rated remake of Dohler's previous R rated flick NIGHT BEING. They're more or less the same movie.
I myself always claimed to be a fan Don Dohler. A proud fan too.
A fan of his books, magazines & films. But I have to admit to not knowing about that credit "Hat by Don Leifert". Man that's damn funny.
Has anyone watched Dohler's recent films Harvestors & Stakes. I've only seen the trailer for Stakes, which looks just as shoddy as he's earlier films (of which I'm not saying is a bad thing, just depends on your sensibilities).
http://www.timewarpfilms.com/default.htm
Yeah and Dohler's R rated flick was called NIGHT BEAST :-)
foywonder wrote:
""""" also love the Nintendo lightgun that is powered by a glowing wiffle ball"""""
is it really a nintendo light gun??? i'm gonna have to get the tape out again now. and to check out the hat credit. also, is it just me or was the gun shooting bottle rockets???
haven't seen any of dohler's newer stuff. but i'd like to see all of his flicks.
This thread prompted me to take a shot at "The Alien Factor". It's...um...interesting.
Guess I'll try "...Invader" next week :)
Don Dohler..."the Don"...is STILL making movies?
And he's written books?
Tell me more, Mitch!
Don Dohler is one of the greatest Dons ever...along with Don West, of course...
"GEM MINT TEN!"
Freep, glad to see you have crossed over to the other side and joined those of us that "enjoy" dohler's fine cinematic work.
i've only seen FACTOR and INVADER, but i just ordered FIEND for 9$. i can't wait...maybe...
oh yeah, i've got a brief review of FACTOR over on my little website you might want to check out:
http://home.att.net/~save-latin/alienfactor.htm
L8R...
Freep, glad to see you have crossed over to the other side and joined those of us that "enjoy" dohler's fine cinematic work.
I didn't say that...I merely said I was watching it :)
Fearless Freep wrote:
>
> Freep, glad to see you have crossed over to the other side
> and joined those of us that "enjoy" dohler's fine cinematic
> work.
>
> I didn't say that...I merely said I was watching it :)
that's how you get sucked in...in the beginning. mwahhahaha!!! (evil laughter).
seriously though, notice that i placed "enjoy" in quotes. :)
Yep in the 1970's The Don (in his spare time) published Cinemagic, a magazine devoted to sci-fi & fantasy amateur film making. It was always a hoot reading stories on "improving the sound on Super 8 cameras" (or whatever), with photos of his 10 year old kid holding a mic in his basement and looking ever so serious.
Then around 1976, whilst working as a manager for a large fast food chain he was laid off & decided to make his first feature film.
And every few issues The Don would write progress reports on his new film The Alien Factor.
And I quote " we really saw The Alien Factor come alive before us as a full fledged, real - for - sure motion picture. A total of nine grueling weeks at the Cinemonta flatbed editing machine had paid off. And a very handsome reward, indeed, to see the fruits of endless hours (18 a day average, 7 days a week) of taking bits and peices of film & sound and trying to assemble it into a consise, coherent story."
Hang on, was he actually talking about The Alien Factor there (coherent story???) Anyway around the late 70's he sold Cinemagic to Starlog & continued to pulish a few other magazines, namely Amazing Cinema. Yeah & not forgetting he wrote a few books on Stop motion Animation
I rented STAKES last week, but I only know Dohler's work from reputation before seeing this one. Kind of fun, very cheesy and played very straight (which makes it funny), and full of goofs. Silly plot that leaves out details that might have been interesting, acting more wooden than an old growth forest, and a male vampire in a skin tight t-shirt who shouldn't have been - ***WARNING***GRATUITIOUS MAN BOOBS AND LOVE HANDLES ***WARNING***
The audio commentary track is Dohler and the director, but Dohler does most of the talking. He's very proud of the low-grade (and very fake looking) digital effects they used, even for stakes piercing bodies, a severed head, and most blood splatters. He explains how they did it each time one occurs, even though he says it's the same process each time. Pointing out that footage shot at a local orchard (doubling as a park) had to work around the regular customers. Dohler makes sure to point out that all of the actors involved in the nudity/sex scene knew what they were in for before the film started, and that no one was exploited or pressured into doing something they didn't want to.
There's a blooper reel in the extras, mostly flubbed lines, but I love the moment when Leanne Chamish, playing the vampire queen, realizes she still had her watch on (which her wasn't supposed to have) while filming several scenes (the watch footage stayed in the finished picture).
There's a trailer for HARVESTERS on the DVD that looks like it gives away plot twists (basically who gets killed) and includes lots of the effects shots. It looks to be of the same caliber as STAKES, so I want to see it.
Are the Don's newest films (STAKES and HARVESTERS) easy to find in stores, or should I not bother looking for them "in the real world" and simply order them online?
I found STAKES at my local Hollywood Video, but haven't seen HARVESTERS there even though they carry lots of new release no-budget/independent horror and genre flicks.