Invaders from Mars

I was only a year old when this movie came out, but I saw it on TV when I was around 8 years old, and it made a deep impression on me. In fact, when they brought out that long needle, my sister and I hid behind the couch and screamed for our mother to come turn off the TV! As a result, I did not know how the movie ended until I saw it again as a teenager. The special effects may seem cheesy to the jaded audiences of today, but they were effective enough to give me nightmares for years. (In one dream I am being carried by my own mother, who is walking stiffly, with a fixed smile.) I believe what makes it work is that the entire film is seen from the point of view of the boy. The director capitalizes on the insecurity of young children, and the way they relate to the world around them. All the best horror and science fiction movies succeed not because of CGI, costumes, rubber prostheses and fake blood, but because they focus on basic human fears and insecurities.