Strange Invaders (1983)

Strange Invaders is a spoof science-fiction film made in 1983, as a tribute to the 1950s films, but most notably The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film was intended to be the second installment of the aborted Strange Trilogy with Strange Behavior, another 1950s spoof by Michael Laughlin, but the idea was abandoned after Strange Invaders failed to attract a wider audience.

In 1958, the town of Centerville, Illinois was invaded by a race of aliens, who had the power to fire lasers from their eyes and hands, and could "crystallize" humans into glowing blue orbs. They took on the form of the humans who were either captured or, presumably, killed. As well as crystallization, the Aliens can also use their glare to unlock doors and drag elevators up and down shafts. They can also shoot bright-blue laser beams from their fingers, powerful enough to destroy automobiles. Twenty five years later, university lecturer Charles Bigelow (Paul Le Mat) learns that his ex-wife, Margaret Newman (Diana Scarwid), has disappeared while attending her mother's funeral in Centerville, and travels there to find her. The disguised aliens are all dressed in 1950s clothing, and try to capture Bigelow as he escapes, but only capture his dog, Louie. Seeing a photo of an alien in a tabloid magazine, Bigelow soon finds Margaret, who is now revealed to be one of the aliens. She warns Bigelow to escape with Elizabeth (Lulu Sylbert), their human/alien hybrid daughter, to protect her from the aliens, who want to take her to their homeworld.