Galaxy Invader

Galaxy Invader is a 1985 American science fiction film released directly to video. It was directed and co-written by Don Dohler, a filmmaker from Baltimore. The story follows an alien whose spacecraft crashes on Earth, after which a group of hillbillies chases him. All the actors in the film were non-professionals, mostly Dohler’s own friends and family.

The plot begins when a glowing object that looks like a meteor falls toward Earth. A student named David Harmon barely avoids it as it lands in a nearby forest. He contacts his former high school teacher, Dr. William Tracy, about a possible UFO. Later, a young couple hears a noise in their basement and goes to investigate. As they descend the stairs, a green humanoid alien frightens them and knocks them out—or possibly kills them. Joe Montague, angry with his daughter Carol, chases her through the woods with a gun. After encountering the alien and finding the power source for its weapon (a space ball), Frank Custer convinces Joe to hunt the creature for a reward. Joe captures the alien and ties it up in his garage. Dr. Tracy and David break in and set the alien free. As they flee into the woods, Frank shoots Dr. Tracy. The alien returns and shoots Frank, then Joe shoots the alien and takes back the space gun. Frank’s wife comes looking for him at Joe’s house. Joe, who has a history of domestic violence, tries to rape her. She runs away, and Joe kills her with the space gun. Joe’s family, along with Carol’s boyfriend Michael Smith, plot to free the alien and send it home. They steal the weapons from Joe while he sleeps, but he wakes up and chases them with a shotgun, cornering them at a cliff. When all seems lost, the alien appears and attacks Joe. Joe kills the alien with the space gun, but this gives Michael enough time to overpower Joe. A fight follows, and Joe’s wife, Ethel, knocks him off the cliff with his own rifle.

The cast includes Don Dohler’s regular collaborators, such as Donald Leifert and George Stover, who appeared in Dohler’s earlier films *The Alien Factor*, *Fiend*, and *Nightbeast*. Richard Ruxton, another lead actor, later appeared in Dohler’s next film, *Blood Massacre*. Dohler’s son, Greg Dohler, plays David Harmon. The movie was filmed entirely in and around Baltimore, Maryland.