Spaced Invaders

A small Martian crew picks up an Earth radio broadcast of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and mistakes it for a real call to invade. They set course for our planet, but their ship breaks down and strands them in a quiet Midwestern town. Because they arrive on Halloween night, the locals take the tiny aliens for children in costume and pay them no attention, leaving the visitors struggling to be taken seriously while they try to get themselves home.

Spaced Invaders was released in 1990 and runs 100 minutes. It was directed by Patrick Read Johnson, who also wrote the screenplay with Scott Lawrence Alexander, and it was his first feature as director; Luigi Cingolani produced it for Touchstone Pictures and Silver Screen Partners IV. The cast includes Douglas Barr as Sam, Royal Dano as Wrenchmuller, Ariana Richards as Kathy, J.J. Anderson as Brian, Gregg Berger as Klembecker and Wayne Alexander as Vern, among 21 credited performers.

Made for about 3 million dollars, the film took roughly 15 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On TMDB it holds a rating of 4.8 out of 10 from 88 votes, indicating a modest audience response. Johnson went on to direct Baby's Day Out in 1994 and Angus in 1995.