Invasion of the Space Lobsters
2005 · 6m · Canada
Directed by Janet Perlman
Genres: comedy, satire, sci-fi
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic, whimsical
Giant lobsters from outer space land on Earth but communication fails on both sides, sparking panic until a small neighbourhood learns the value of speaking clearly in this 1950s B-movie homage.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A 1950s B-movie pastiche about giant space lobsters that could've been toothless nostalgia, but Perlman subverts the whole premise by making communication failure—not the aliens—the actual threat; it's a satire that swings at both sci-fi tropes and human panic without breaking a sweat.
Perlman's homage sits comfortably within the lineage of animated genre parody, though the execution feels more indebted to mid-century commercial animation than it does to any singular auteurist vision—competent pastiche, but the formal choices defer to the mode rather than interrogate it.
The decision to keep the lobsters genuinely sympathetic and comprehensible while the humans spiral into hysteria is the hinge that makes this work; it's a small tonal pivot that reframes the entire satire and suggests Perlman understood exactly where the real comedy lives.