I watched this movie on the Sci Fi Channel sometime between 1992 and 1996. It may have been produced in the late 80s. I vaguely remember watching it as a kid but it took place in the desert. It was most likely low budget and may POSSIBLY be based on a novel.
I think that people in a town started to get sick or started disappearing. I remember a teenage kid getting cut on either a vehicle or construction vehicle and his blood was either blue or green. I also remember towards the end of the movie over a hill in a desert I think, there was some sort of bubble pod or containment that was either lit or blue that was holding people from the town. I think that the main protagonist jumped into it? I don’t remember the plot, only smalls bits and pieces. It reminded me of the body snatchers and how people were acting different/getting sick.
I know you say desert but I am think of Tommyknockers by Steven King. I guess it’s way off.
https://youtu.be/zqFh0QWE-Y0
Maybe The CURSE, although I never watched it. Just throwing it out there.
https://youtu.be/Hk8ZvBQV8kQ
“It Came from Outer Space II” (1996 TV movie)?
I have never seen this all the way through, so I’m guessing, but it has a ‘body snatchers’ plot, it’s desert set, was shown on syfy at the right time. Below is the trailer from YouTube.
https://youtu.be/vtLOVtFiMlo
“Invaders From Mars”(1986)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091276/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_43
Ok, I definitely think it’s. “It Came From Outer Space 2″(1996).
I actually have a VHS copy of this one but never watched the entire movie. I watched it last night after I found the tape and I saw the scene where the kid cuts his arm on an old screw sticking out of a truck door and he bleeds blue blood. There are some old construction machines in the scene which I think was the scene you remembered. All this happens at 59:20 of the VHS tape. I also noticed Ray Bradbury is mentioned in the beginning credits, which may be why you thought it was based on a novel. The scene at the end is the hero descending into the alien ship which is hidden under a big mound of dirt.
Oh, and by the way, this movie is NOT a sequel even though there is a 2 in the title. It’s actually a remake, and it was shown on the Sci Fi channel.