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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Mars


Mars is the fourth planet of the Solar System. It has a long history in literary science-fiction, ranging from the Martian invaders of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (1898) to the works of Ray Bradbury and the adventure stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Mars has produced alien visitors since the early days of silent cinema. 1950s SF cinema brought a plentiful supply of Martian invaders. The same period also began a number of works about the exploration of Mars. Subsequent to that, we have begun to see a number of films about the colonisation and a little later the depiction of Mars as a world inhabited by humanity.

From the late 1990s, we have seen a concerted move towards the depiction of a scientifically credible Mars and realistic attempts to land on or colonise it. That said, there are still a number of films that conduct throwbacks to a romantic vision of Mars as a world inhabited by little green men.


Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)

6 June 200011 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Two Idiots Go to Venus

Director: Charles Lamont
Actors: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mari Blanchard, Jack Kruschen, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ad Astra (2019)

14 December 20192 January 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Mission to the Outer Reaches of the Solar System

Director: James Gray
Actors: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Ruth Negga, …
Category: Science Fiction

Aelita (1924)

21 December 20116 June 2019

Rating: ★★½

Soviet Science-Fiction/Expedition to Mars

Director: Yakov Protazanov
Actors: Yuliya Solntseva, Nikolai Tsereteli, Vera Kuindzhi, Pavel Pol, …
Category: Science Fiction

Alien Contamination (1980)

28 August 20104 July 2019

Rating: ★

Deadly Alien Eggs

Director: Luigi Cozzi
Actors: Ian McCulloch, Louise Marleau, Marino Mase, Siegfried Rauch, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Angry Red Planet (1959)

9 June 200125 August 2019

Rating: ★★

Mission to Mars

Director: Ib Melchior
Actors: Nora Hayden, Gerald Mohr, Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen, …
Category: Science Fiction

Approaching the Unknown (2016)

26 September 201620 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Expedition to Mars

Director: Mark Elijah Rosenberg
Actors: Mark Strong, Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan
Category: Science Fiction

Battle Beyond the Sun (1963)

21 October 20074 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

Space Expedition/Russian SF Film

Director: Francis Ford Coppola, M. Karzhukov, Aleksandr Kozyr
Actors: Edd Perry, Ivan Pereverzev, Andy Stewart, Alexandr Shvorin, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Box (2009)

14 November 200926 February 2020

Rating: ★

Mysterious Stranger Offers Couple a Terrible Choice

Director: Richard Kelly
Actors: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Holmes Osborne, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1997)

28 June 20026 March 2020

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Talking Appliances

Director: Robert C. Ramirez
Actors: Deanna Oliver, Roger Kabler, Eric Lloyd, Tim Stack, …
Category: Fantasy

Capricorn One (1978)

4 May 200121 March 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Faked Mars Mission

Director: Peter Hyams
Actors: James Brolin, Elliott Gould, Hal Holbrook, Brenda Vaccaro, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Christmas Martian (1971)

2 February 200313 December 2019

Rating: 0­

Strange Alien Visitor/Children’s Film

Director: Bernard Gosselin
Actors: Marcel Sabourin, Francois Gosselin, Catherine Leduc, Roland Chenail, …
Category: Science Fiction

Christmas on Mars (2008)

31 December 200813 December 2019

Rating: ★

Colonists on Mars

Director: Wayne Coyne, Bradley Beesley, George Salisbury
Actors: Adam Goldberg, Fred Armisen, Josh Higgins, Steven Drozd, …
Category: Science Fiction

Conquest of Space (1955)

1 June 199910 May 2020

Rating: ★★

Mars Mission

Director: Byron Haskin
Actors: Walter Brooke, Eric Fleming, Mickey Shaughnessy, Benson Fong, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1962)

11 December 200030 August 2018

Rating: ★★★

Alien Infiltration

Director: Maury Dexter
Actors: Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, William Mims, Betty Beall, …
Category: Science Fiction

Devil Girl from Mars (1954)

24 December 201327 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Female Alien Invader

Director: David MacDonald
Actors: Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Joseph Tomelty, …
Category: Science Fiction

Doom (2005)

31 October 200525 August 2020

Rating: ★

Videogame Adaptation/Labyrinth of Monsters

Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Actors: Karl Urban, Dwayne Johnson, Rosamund Pike, Richard Brake, …
Category: Science Fiction

Doom: Annihilation (2019)

6 October 20196 October 2019

Rating: ★★

Videogame Adaptation/Labyrinth of Monsters

Director: Tony Giglio
Actors: Amy Manson, Dominic Mafham, Luke Allen-Gale, James Weber Brown, …
Category: Science Fiction

Earthrise (2014)

4 March 201630 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Hallucinations Aboard a Space Expedition

Director: Glenn Payne
Actors: Meaghin Burke, Greg Earnest, Casey Dillard, Jon W. Sparks, …
Category: Science Fiction

Escape from Mars (1999)

31 December 200813 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Expedition to Mars

Director: Neill Fearnley
Actors: Christine Elise, Peter Outerbridge, Kavan Smith, Allison Hossack, …
Category: Science Fiction

Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938)

1 February 200115 December 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Serial/Space Opera

Director: Ford Beebe, Robert Hill
Actors: Larry Buster Crabbe, Frank Shannon, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton
Category: Science Fiction

Flight to Mars (1951)

9 March 200115 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Mission to Mars

Director: Lesley Selander
Actors: Arthur Franz, Cameron Mitchell, Margeurite Chapman, Virginia Huston, …
Category: Science Fiction

Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950)

13 January 202113 January 2021

Rating: ★★

Serial/Alien Invader

Director: Fred C. Brannon
Actors: Walter Reed, James Craven, Gregory Gay, Lois Collier
Category: Science Fiction

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

23 February 200820 August 2019

Rating: ★★★

Japanese Monster Bash

Director: Ishiro Honda
Actors: Akiko Wakabayashi, Yuriko Hoshi, Yosuke Natsuki, Emi, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

26 August 200114 February 2019

Rating: ★★

Resurrected Spirits on Mars

Director: John Carpenter
Actors: Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Joanna Cassidy, …
Category: Science Fiction

Heaven Ship (1918)

30 April 201430 August 2018

Rating: ★★½

Expedition to Mars

Director: Holger-Madsen
Actors: Gunnar Tolnaes, Lilly Jacobson, Nicolai Neiiendam, Zanny Petersen, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001)

19 December 201220 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

Anthology of H.G. Wells Stories/TV Mini-Series

Director: Robert Young
Actors: Tom Ward, Nicholas Rowe, Katy Carmichael, Eve Best, …
Category: Science Fiction

Invaders from Mars (1953)

28 May 200129 February 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Alien Body Snatchers

Director: William Cameron Menzies
Actors: Jimmy Hunt, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson
Category: Science Fiction

Invaders from Mars (1986)

9 June 20038 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Alien Body Snatchers

Director: Tobe Hooper
Actors: Karen Black, Timothy Bottoms, James Karen, Louise Fletcher
Category: Science Fiction

Iron Sky: The Coming Race (2019)

18 May 201915 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Nazi Moonbase/Alien Lizard People from the Centre of the Earth

Director: Timo Vuorensola
Actors: Lara Rossi, Udo Kier, Julia Dietze, Tom Green, …
Category: Science Fiction

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

17 February 200113 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Alien Nasty

Director: Edward L. Cahn
Actors: Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, Ray Corrigan, Dabbs Greer, …
Category: Science Fiction

John Carter (2012)

9 March 20121 April 2020

Rating: ★★★

Planetary Adventure/Edgar Rice Burroughs Adaptation

Director: Andrew Stanton
Actors: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Dominic West, Samantha Morton, …
Category: Science Fiction

Just Imagine (1930)

1 March 200414 December 2019

Rating: ★★

Future New York Musical-Comedy

Director: David Butler
Actors: El Brendel, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Garrick, Frank Albertson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

3 February 201330 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery
Actors: William Baldwin, Mark Harmon, Chris Noth, Gina Torres, …
Category: Science Fiction

Justice League: Doom (2012)

7 May 201230 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: Lauren Montgomery
Category: Science Fiction

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

5 July 200915 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: David Bullock
Actors: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, Kyle MacLachlan, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Last Days on Mars (2013)

13 April 20141 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Expedition to Mars/Alien Zombie Infection

Director: Ruairi Robinson
Actors: Liev Schreiber, Romola Garai, Elias Koteas, Olivia Williams, …
Category: Science Fiction

Lobster Man from Mars (1989)

7 September 200029 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Bad SF Movie Parody

Director: Stanley Sheff
Actors: Anthony Hickox, Tony Curtis, Patrick MacNee, Deborah Foreman, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mars (1996)

23 February 20049 January 2020

Rating: ★★

Action on Mars

Director: Jon Hess
Actors: Olivier Gruner, Shari Belafonte, Alex Hyde-White
Category: Science Fiction

Mars Attacks! (1996)

17 March 200121 September 2019

Rating: ★★★

Gonzo Alien Invasion

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Bening, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mars et Avril (2012)

5 February 201314 December 2019

Rating: ★

Expedition to Mars/Future Music Making and the Meaning of It All

Director: Martin Villeneuve
Actors: Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani, Robert LePage, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mars Needs Moms (2011)

13 March 20116 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Boy’s Adventures on Mars

Director: Simon Wells
Actors: Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Seth Robert Duskey, Elisabeth Harnois, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mars Needs Women (1966)

8 August 19997 March 2019

Rating: ★

Alien Invasion

Director: Larry Buchanan
Actors: Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, Cal Duggan, Warren Hammack, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Martian (2015)

24 October 201514 December 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Astronaut Stranded on Mars

Director: Ridley Scott
Actors: Matt Damon, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Martian Chronicles (1980)

12 August 201224 February 2021

Rating: ★★

Human Colonisation of Mars/Ray Bradbury Adaptation

Director: Michael Anderson
Actors: Rock Hudson, Darren McGavin, Fritz Weaver, Bernie Casey, …
Category: Science Fiction

Martian Land (2015)

8 January 201612 June 2020

Rating: ★★

The Asylum Mockbuster/Disaster on Mars

Director: Scott D. Wheeler
Actors: Lane Townsend, Jennifer Dorogi, Alan Pietruszewski, Arianna Afsar, …
Category: Science Fiction

Martians Go Home (1990)

18 March 200320 October 2020

Rating: ½

Annoying Alien Invaders

Director: David Odell
Actors: Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, Anita Morris, John Philbin, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mercano the Martian (2002)

31 December 200214 December 2019

Rating: ★★½

Animation/Alien Visitor/Satire

Director: Juan Antin
Actors: Juan Antin, Ayar Blesco
Category: Science Fiction

Mission to Mars (2000)

10 March 200020 August 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Mars Landing/Alien Artefact

Director: Brian De Palma
Actors: Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mr. Nobody (2009)

3 July 20105 August 2020

Rating: ★★

Alternate Life Pathways

Director: Jaco Van Dormael
Actors: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Rhys Ifans, …
Category: Science Fiction

My Favorite Martian (1999)

5 September 20043 March 2019

Rating: ★

Alien Visitor Comedy/TV Series Remake

Director: Donald Petrie
Actors: Jeff Daniels, Christopher Lloyd, Elizabeth Hurley, Daryl Hannah, …
Category: Science Fiction

Princess of Mars (2009)

17 January 201014 August 2019

Rating: ★★

Planetary Adventure

Director: Mark Atkins
Actors: Antonio Sabato Jr., Traci Lords, Matt Lasky, Chacko Vadaketh, …
Category: Science Fiction

Quantum Apocalypse (2010)

17 January 201321 November 2019

Rating: ★

End of the World Film

Director: Justin L. Jones
Actors: Rhett Giles, Stephanie Jacobsen, Peter Jurasik
Category: Science Fiction

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

26 February 200324 November 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Alien Artefact

Director: Roy Ward Baker
Actors: Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley, Julian Glover
Category: Science Fiction

Queen of Blood (1966)

18 March 200313 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Alien Vampire Woman

Director: Curtis Harrington
Actors: John Saxon, Florence Marly, Judi Meredith, Dennis Hopper, …
Category: Science Fiction

Red Planet (2000)

31 December 20009 January 2020

Rating: ★★★

Mission to Mars

Director: Antony Hoffman
Actors: Val Kilmer, Carrie-Ann Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, …
Category: Science Fiction

Red Planet Mars (1952)

11 January 200230 September 2020

Rating: 0­

Radio Messages from God on Mars

Director: Harry Horner
Actors: Peter Graves, Marvin Miller, Morris Ankrum
Category: Science Fiction

RocketMan (1997)

28 December 200431 May 2019

Rating: ★

Idiot Joins a NASA Mars Mission

Director: Stuart Gillard
Actors: Harland Williams, William Sadler, Jessica Lundy, Beau Bridges, …
Category: Science Fiction

Rocketship X-M (1950)

9 March 20104 April 2020

Rating: ★★★

Space Expedition

Director: Kurt Neumann
Actors: Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr, …
Category: Science Fiction

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

20 November 201030 August 2018

Rating: ★★

Santa on Mars/Classic Bad Movie

Director: Nicholas Webster
Actors: Leonard Hicks, John Call, Pia Zadora, Victor Stiles, …
Category: Science Fiction

Santo vs the Martians (1967)

2 February 201411 January 2020

Rating: ★

Mexican Wrestler Superhero vs Alien Invaders

Director: Alfredo B. Crevenna
Actors: Santo, Rodolfo Guzman Huerta, Wolf Ruvinskis
Category: Science Fiction

The Space Between Us (2017)

1 April 20172 January 2021

Rating: ★★

First Kid Born on Mars Comes to Earth

Director: Peter Chelsom
Actors: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, …
Category: Science Fiction

Space Cruiser Yamato (1977)

11 September 20011 January 2019

Rating: ★★½

Anime Space Opera

Director: Yoshinobu Nishizaki, Gino Tanasescu
Category: Science Fiction

Spaced Invaders (1990)

4 December 200025 January 2020

Rating: ★

Bumbling Alien Invaders

Director: Patrick Read Johnson
Actors: Royal Dano, Ariana Richards, Douglas Barr, Wayne Alexander, …
Category: Science Fiction

Spacemaster X-7 (1958)

17 August 201027 October 2018

Rating: ★

Alien Virus

Director: Edward L. Bernds
Actors: Lyn Thomas, Moe Howard, Bill Williams, Robert Ellis, …
Category: Science Fiction

Species II (1998)

2 June 20016 September 2019

Rating: ★

Alien Sex Fiend

Director: Peter Medak
Actors: Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Natasha Henstridge, Justin Lazard, …
Category: Science Fiction

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017)

24 November 201715 January 2020

Rating: ★★

War with Aliens/Anime

Director: Shinji Aramaki, Masaru Matsumoto
Actors: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Emily Neves
Category: Science Fiction

Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)

4 September 20205 December 2020

Rating: ★★★

Comic-Book Superhero/Animation

Director: Chris Palmer
Actors: Darren Criss, Alexandra Daddario, Zachary Quinto, Ike Amadi, …
Category: Science Fiction

Terra Formars (2016)

18 November 201918 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

Mutated Insects on Mars

Director: Takashi Miike
Category: Science Fiction

The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962)

23 September 20079 April 2019

Rating: ★★

Idiots vs Alien Invaders

Director: Edward L. Bernds
Actors: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe de Rita, Emil Sitka, …
Category: Science Fiction

Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)

18 March 200312 December 2020

Rating: ★★★

Hi-Tech Rescue Organisation/Puppet Film

Director: David Lane
Actors: Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Alexander Davion, Peter Dyneley, …
Category: Science Fiction

Total Recall (1990)

18 June 200521 August 2019

Rating: ★★

Virtual Memories/Reality Bender/Action

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox, …
Category: Science Fiction

Trump vs The Illuminati (2020)

23 October 202023 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Gonzo Satire/Trump’s Clone Fight The Devil in Space

Director: B.C. Fourteen
Actors: Timothy Banfield, Marco Guzman, Sophia Woods Stevens, Wes Bruff, …
Category: Science Fiction

Vampirella (1996)

27 February 200323 February 2020

Rating: ★

Comic Book Adaptation/Alien Vampire Heroine

Director: Jim Wynorski
Actors: Talisa Soto, Roger Daltrey, Richard Joseph Paul, Lee de Broux, …
Category: Science Fiction

The War of the Worlds (1953)

8 June 201223 September 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Byron Haskin
Actors: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne
Category: Science Fiction

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (2008)

17 January 201811 December 2019

Rating: ★★

Alien Invasion

Director: C. Thomas Howell
Actors: C. Thomas Howell
Category: Science Fiction

The War of the Worlds (2005)

3 July 201011 December 2019

Rating: ★★½

Period Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Timothy Hines
Category: Science Fiction

The War of the Worlds (2019)

13 December 201918 January 2021

Rating: ★★

Period Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Craig Viveiros
Actors: Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall, Rupert Graves, Robert Carlyle
Category: Science Fiction

War of the Worlds: Goliath (2012)

23 August 201511 December 2019

Rating: ★★★

H.G. Wells Sequel/Steampunk Alternate History

Director: Joe Pearson
Actors: Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, Adrian Paul, Adam Baldwin, …
Category: Science Fiction

The War of the Worlds – Next Century (1981)

29 June 20145 March 2020

Rating: ★★★

Polish Satire/Alien Invasion/Authoritarian Regime and Media Control

Director: Piotr Szulkin
Category: Science Fiction

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

31 August 200515 March 2019

Rating: ★★★½

Lost World Adventure

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, Lea Brodie, …
Category: Science Fiction

Watchmen (2009)

8 March 200923 November 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: Zack Snyder
Actors: Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earl Haley, Malin Akerman, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Wizard of Mars (1965)

5 May 200915 June 2020

Rating: ★★

The Wizard of Oz on Mars

Director: David L. Hewitt
Actors: Roger Gentry, John Carradine, Vic McGee
Category: Science Fiction

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Theme Essays

  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Nazis
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Sexual Fetishism in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being Based on True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns

© Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2021

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