This evening’s two fillms were made on budgets bigger than those of the average B-movie, but were nevertheless conceived in the spirit of the genre.

Explorers stands out amid a flurry of films inspired by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At first sight, it could pass as a typical Amblin production of the 1980s, with friendly aliens and geeky, tech-crazy kids as heroes. But this is a film by Joe Dante, best known for dropping a wrench in tothe Hollywood system with Gremlins, and an ardent fan of old science fiction B-movies. The end result is surprising: partly because of the chaotic post-production that made for slightly gauche editing, but mainly because the director was keen to counterpoint the enchanted tone of the film’s first act with an audacious, game-changing reversal in the finale.

Body Snatchers is the third adaptation of Jack Finney's novel, and a worthy successor to the earlier masterpieces by Don Siegel and Philip Kaufman. After the anti-communism of the 1950s and the paranoia of the 1970s, the 1990s version points its finger at the dehumanisation of a society ruled by the military-industrial complex. This sincere and visually stunning remake by Abel Ferrara is the director’s first venture into the major studio system.