Mars Attacks! Film Synopsis

When skeletal aliens from the red planet invade Earth with superior technology and devastating weapons, humanity faces extinction until an unlikely hero discovers the extraterrestrial attackers possess a fatal vulnerability to a specific vintage country music recording.

The Arrival

A massive Martian spaceship emerges from the red planet’s surface, serving as a rallying point for hundreds of smaller vessels that gather in formation. This enormous fleet departs Mars and sets a direct course for Earth, marking the beginning of an unprecedented encounter between two worlds. The approaching armada is detected by Earth’s monitoring systems, prompting immediate attention from global authorities.

President James Dale addresses the American people regarding this momentous occasion. Flanked by his advisors and cabinet members, the President attempts to project calm and optimism about humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. The announcement is broadcast worldwide, and the President’s words are carefully chosen to inspire hope rather than fear. Dale’s wife Marsha and teenage daughter Taffy watch the proceedings alongside him, representing the concerned families of citizens everywhere who wonder what this alien arrival might mean for their future.

First Contact in the Nevada Desert

Several days pass as preparations are made for an official welcoming ceremony. The President’s scientific advisors, led by the optimistic Professor Donald Kessler, coordinate the logistics for humanity’s first face-to-face meeting with the Martian visitors. The location selected for this historic encounter is Pahrump, Nevada, a desert town chosen for its open spaces and distance from major population centers. A stage is erected, military personnel are positioned throughout the area, and media outlets from around the world gather to document the event.

President Dale observes the ceremony from the White House, watching on television screens as the Martian spacecraft descends. The vessel lands, and a contingent of Martians emerges. These beings possess large exposed brains, skeletal features, and bulbous eyes. They wear metallic suits and carry advanced weaponry. The Martian ambassador approaches a translation device that has been set up for communication purposes.

Through the mechanical translator, the ambassador’s words are converted into English. The message delivered is reassuring: the Martian race has come in peace. The assembled crowd responds with cautious optimism. Among the attendees are General Casey, news reporter Jason Stone, and a young private named Billy-Glenn Norris. Jason’s girlfriend and fellow journalist, Nathalie Lake, stands nearby with her small chihuahua named Poppy.

A hippie in the crowd, moved by the ambassador’s peaceful declaration, releases a white dove into the desert sky as a symbolic gesture of harmony between species. The bird flutters upward, and in that instant, everything changes. The Martian ambassador draws his weapon and shoots the dove from the air. Before anyone can react, the ambassador signals to the other Martians, who immediately open fire on the crowd with ray guns that reduce humans to glowing skeletons.

Chaos erupts across the desert gathering. Military personnel attempt to return fire, but the Martian weapons prove devastatingly effective. General Casey is killed in the initial assault. Jason Stone is vaporized while attempting to report on the massacre. Young Private Billy-Glenn Norris falls among the many casualties. Nathalie Lake tries to flee with Poppy in her arms, but both are captured by Martian soldiers and taken aboard the spacecraft. The peaceful first contact has transformed into a slaughter.

Attempts at Diplomacy

In the aftermath of the Nevada massacre, President Dale and his advisors struggle to understand what went wrong. The prevailing theory, proposed by the ever-optimistic Professor Kessler, suggests that the Martians may have misinterpreted the dove as a symbol of aggression rather than peace. Perhaps, Kessler argues, this was merely a tragic cultural misunderstanding. The President, desperate to avoid war, authorizes Kessler to attempt renewed negotiations with the alien visitors.

The Martians respond to these diplomatic overtures with a surprising request: their ambassador wishes to address the United States Congress directly. This proposal is debated extensively, but ultimately the decision is made to allow the Martian representative this unprecedented honor. Security measures are implemented, and Congress convenes for what many hope will be a turning point toward peaceful coexistence.

The Martian ambassador arrives at the Capitol building and is escorted into the congressional chamber. Senators and representatives fill the seats, while Professor Kessler stands nearby, ready to facilitate communication. The ambassador begins speaking through the translation device, but the speech quickly reveals itself as a prelude to violence rather than diplomacy. The Martians produce their weapons and systematically annihilate most of the assembled members of Congress. Kessler desperately pleads with the ambassador to cease the attack, but his appeals are ignored. The professor is struck unconscious and dragged aboard the Martian vessel.

Grotesque Experiments

Aboard the Martian mothership, horrific experiments are being conducted on human captives. Professor Kessler awakens to discover that his head has been surgically removed from his body. Through advanced Martian biotechnology, his disembodied head has been kept alive and conscious, attached to a mechanical apparatus that sustains his vital functions. He can see and speak, but exists as merely a head on a platform.

Nathalie Lake has suffered an even more bizarre fate. The Martians have performed a perverse surgical procedure, transplanting her head onto the body of her chihuahua Poppy, while simultaneously attaching Poppy’s head to Nathalie’s human body. These cruel experiments appear to serve no scientific purpose beyond the Martians’ apparent amusement at creating grotesque hybrid beings from their captives.

Escalation to War

Back on Earth, military leaders pressure President Dale to respond with overwhelming force. General Decker advocates strongly for immediate nuclear retaliation against the Martian fleet. The General argues that the aliens have demonstrated nothing but hostility and cannot be reasoned with. However, President Dale resists these calls for war, clinging to hope that peaceful resolution remains possible.

The Martians make the next move. An alien operative, disguised to appear human, infiltrates the White House with the mission of assassinating the President. The attempt fails when the disguise is discovered, but this covert operation eliminates any remaining doubt about Martian intentions. The aliens formally declare war on Earth and launch a full-scale planetary invasion.

Martian spacecraft descend upon Washington, D.C., in massive numbers. Similar attacks begin simultaneously in cities across the globe. The invasion is coordinated and overwhelming. The aliens deploy their disintegration weapons against military and civilian targets without discrimination. Monuments are destroyed, infrastructure is obliterated, and human casualties mount exponentially.

The Fall of the White House

As Martian forces assault the White House itself, the Secret Service springs into action to protect the President. Agents rush to evacuate President Dale from the executive mansion as ray gun fire erupts throughout the building. In the pandemonium, First Lady Marsha attempts to flee but is struck and killed when an enormous chandelier falls from the ceiling, crushing her beneath its weight. Their daughter Taffy becomes separated from her father during the evacuation, lost somewhere in the chaos engulfing the capital.

That same night, the Martian invasion claims another head of state when the President of France is assassinated by alien operatives. The global situation deteriorates rapidly as governments worldwide find themselves unable to mount effective resistance against the technologically superior invaders.

In a desperate gambit, the United States military launches nuclear missiles at the Martian mothership orbiting Earth. The weapons detonate against the alien vessel’s hull, but the explosions have no apparent effect. The mothership’s defensive capabilities render nuclear weapons useless, eliminating humanity’s most powerful deterrent. The Martians continue their campaign of destruction unabated.

Across the planet, the aliens engage in what can only be described as vandalism on a global scale. They deface world-renowned landmarks, destroying cultural treasures accumulated over millennia of human civilization. The Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, ancient monuments—all fall victim to Martian weaponry. The invasion appears designed not merely to conquer Earth but to humiliate and degrade humanity.

The President’s Last Stand

President Dale has been relocated to a secure underground bunker designed to protect government leadership during catastrophic scenarios. General Decker and other key officials shelter there as well, coordinating what remains of Earth’s defensive efforts. However, the bunker’s security proves insufficient against Martian technology.

The Martian ambassador, accompanied by two other alien soldiers, breaches the facility’s defenses and enters the command center. General Decker confronts the intruders, but the Martians employ a shrinking ray that reduces the General to insect size before crushing him underfoot. Other personnel in the bunker are systematically killed by the alien weapons.

President Dale stands alone before the Martian ambassador. In a final desperate act, the President delivers an impassioned speech about the potential for peace between their species. He appeals to common ground, shared values, and the possibility of mutual understanding. Dale speaks from the heart about humanity’s capacity for change and growth, pleading for the aliens to cease their destruction.

The Martian ambassador appears to listen thoughtfully. Through the translator, the ambassador seems to indicate agreement to a truce. Dale’s face shows relief and cautious hope. But this apparent acceptance is merely another cruel deception. The ambassador extends what appears to be an offered hand for a handshake, but the appendage is revealed to be a concealed weapon. The device activates, and President Dale is assassinated, collapsing to the floor of the bunker.

Survival in Las Vegas

As Martian forces lay waste to Las Vegas, a small group of survivors bands together amid the destruction. Byron Williams, a former world-champion boxer who now works at a casino, takes charge of the situation. He is joined by Barbara Land, the famous singer Tom Jones, and Cindy, a waitress who works alongside Byron at the casino.

The group makes their way through the devastated city toward a small twin-engine airplane that represents their only hope of escape. They navigate streets filled with wreckage, burning buildings, and the aftermath of Martian attacks. Upon reaching the aircraft, however, they discover a large contingent of Martian soldiers already positioned there, including the ambassador himself. The aliens are apparently preparing to commandeer the plane for their own purposes.

Byron recognizes that confrontation is inevitable. Drawing upon his boxing background, he challenges the Martians to physical combat, creating a diversion that might allow his companions to escape. The former champion manages to kill the Martian ambassador with his fists, a significant symbolic victory. However, Byron is quickly overwhelmed by the numerical superiority of the other alien soldiers who swarm him.

While Byron holds the Martians’ attention, Tom Jones, Barbara, and Cindy manage to reach the airplane and take off. They escape into the sky, leaving Las Vegas and the Martian forces behind, though the fate of Byron remains uncertain.

Discovery of the Weakness

In a small town, a young man named Richie—brother of the late Private Billy-Glenn Norris—is attempting to reach his grandmother Florence’s home. As he travels, he makes an extraordinary discovery entirely by accident. While music plays from a radio or record player, Richie observes that the Martians react violently to a particular song: “Indian Love Call” performed by Slim Whitman.

The music causes visible distress to any Martian within hearing range. Their heads begin to swell and eventually explode when exposed to the specific frequencies and tones of this vintage recording. Richie immediately recognizes the significance of this discovery and retrieves his grandmother from her residence.

Together, Richie and Florence drive through their town with the song playing loudly from their vehicle. Martians they encounter are killed instantly by the music. The pair makes their way to a local radio station and broadcast Whitman’s song over the airwaves, killing all Martians within the transmission range.

Global Victory

News of the Martian vulnerability spreads rapidly through military channels. Armed forces around the world begin broadcasting “Indian Love Call” from speakers, radio stations, and any available sound system. The song is transmitted globally, and wherever it plays, Martian invaders perish. The alien mothership, with the Martian leader aboard, is destroyed by the sonic assault.

Aboard one of the crashing vessels, Professor Kessler and Nathalie Lake—still existing as disembodied heads—accept their fate as their spacecraft plunges into the ocean. Their bizarre captivity ends as the ship sinks beneath the waves.

Aftermath and Reunion

In the mountains near Lake Tahoe, Barbara Land, Cindy, and Tom Jones emerge from a cave where they had taken shelter along with various wild animals. Looking out across the lake, they observe dozens of crashed Martian spacecraft littering the landscape. The invasion has ended in complete Martian defeat.

In Washington, D.C., Taffy Dale—now serving in an official capacity despite her young age—awards the Medal of Honor to Richie and his grandmother Florence for their crucial role in discovering the Martian weakness and saving humanity.

Byron Williams, having survived his confrontation with the Martians in Las Vegas, travels to the capital. There he reunites with his former wife Louise and their two sons, Cedric and Neville. The family embraces as cleanup and reconstruction efforts begin throughout the devastated city. Though Earth has suffered tremendous losses, humanity has survived its first interplanetary war.