InvasionoftheBodySnatchers

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

This movie starts out with Dr. Miles J. Bennell ranting and raving to a psychiatrist about how he's not mad and they must listen too him before it's too late. He then goes into telling about how he escaped from a nearby town where seeds that had drifted through space landed in a farmers field, took root and produced pods capable of reproducing themselves in the exact likeness of any form of life. The people of the town were quietly being replaced by the pod people, their minds being absorbed into new bodies as they sleep. The new versions of the townspeople had all of the memories and facilities of their former versions, but were completely devoid of emotion. By the time he figured out what it is happening it's almost too late. He and Becky Driscoll are the only humans left in the town and the others all want to force them to be changed but they resisted and made a daring escape, fleeing from their captors and trying to get somewhere to warn unchanged humans of the threat among them before it's too late.

This one of the best old Sci-fi horror films ever made. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter give great performances as do the other actors and actresses in this film. It's sort of like Breakfast at Tiffany's with alien monsters trying to take over the world. The writing is good old-fashioned Sci-fi and you can see the effects of this film on many that came after it up to this day. It has a few holes in the plot, but those are easily overlooked. The special effects aren't anything special by today’s standards, but aren't bad either. The movie certainly didn't rely on them too much.

I think that any Sci-fi or horror fan should have to watch this movie at least once. It is a classic and definitely worth seeing. It may not have the flashy special effects or non-stop action of some of the more recent movies, but it has other qualities that more than make up for it, qualities you don't often see anymore.

4 out of 4

Reviewed by Scott Schwarzwalder