A brief history of the alien invasion movie

Cyclops(1940), in which a mad professor shrinks a group of explorers using radiation.

The epic sweep of Wells novel made the cut, but his sly allegory didnt.

The fear of invasion and destruction, both physical and psychic, was apparently everywhere.

By the 60s, the era of the alien invasion movie appeared to be over.

Others, such asThe Day Mars Invaded Earthor 1969s daftMonitors, are mere curiosities.

In the decades that followed, filmmakers returned to the theme of alien invasion only sporadically.

Some, such as Philip Kaufmans satirical updating ofInvasion Of The Body Snatchers(1978), were brilliant.

Some have suggested its simply a result of the cyclical nature of the Hollywood movie making system.