Strange Invaders (1983, Michael Laughlin)

Self-consciously quirky SF invasion tale co-written by future Oscar winner Bill Condon. The dialogue-free prologue, set in the 50s, is well-done; but then it jumps to present day and gets haphazard in all the departments -- direction, acting, FX, etc. Only interesting thing for me was watching Paul LeMat, the cool rebel from American Graffiti, ten years on from his handsome days but not quite into that elder statesman/Jon Voight kind of stage, and looking uncomfortable for it. Here he plays a milquetoast college professor (specializing in bugs; he has a big speech in the beginning about how insects are so different and alien from humans, but nothing comes of it) and there's a tension between the nerdy character and LeMat's masculine aloofness. Shockingly, despite his heroics in rescuing his daughter from the invaders, the nerd wins, as if LeMat knew his best days as a leading man were behind him and, with a sigh, capitulated.