InvasionoftheBodySnatchers1978

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Aliens arrive in San Francisco and begin replacing the inhabitants in this remake of the classic 50s sci-fi film. The movie opens on an alien landscape. In the background we see a dying sun as the strange cell like creatures launch themselves into space searching for a new home. We follow their journey to Earth and watch as they attach themselves to the plants and begin to grow into small pods. Those pods eventually begin making their way into people’s homes and while they sleep replace them with duplicates. This is where we are introduced to the cast of the film. Elizabeth Driscoll wakes up one morning to a boyfriend that looks the same, but is acting very mysteriously. She shares this information with her co-worker and friend Matthew Bennell. Initially he is very skeptical but after actually seeing one of the pods trying to replace one of his friends he becomes a believer. The rest of the movie is Elizabeth and Matthew trying to escape the city so that they can warn the world of the threat.

This version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a very creepy movie. This movie is all about the loss of individuality while becoming a small part of the whole of a new society. Instead of the large and scary monsters the aliens are very soothing and calm. Leonard Nimoy is especially great in his role as psychiatrist/pod person Dr. David Kibner. There is one scene in particular where he is administering a sedative to the Matthew Bennell character (played wonderfully by Donald Sutherland) where Bennell is yelling at him “you’re killing me” over and over again. The way that Nimoy plays that scene is far creepier and disturbing than any rubber suited alien could be. Another scene that is incredibly effective is towards the end of the movie where the Bennell character is walking past a long line of school buses as children are being lead into a building. You hear a child’s voice saying “why do I have to take a nap now”. Again another very simple and low-key scene that really is just horrifying if you think about what it happening. I’ve already mentioned a couple members of the cast in Nimoy and Sutherland but I wanted to mention a few others. Brooke Adams is wonderful as the lead female character in the movie. Early on in the movie she is the only one who knows that something isn’t right. Her performance sets the tone for the rest of the movie and is critical to the film’s success. Genre vets Jeff Goldblum (The Fly) and Veronica Cartright (Alien) are also very good in supporting roles. Truthfully this is one of the finest casts that I’ve ever seen in any sci-fi or horror film. Without their performances this movie simply wouldn’t work at all.

The special effects in Invasion of the Body Snatchers are pretty good. This was a fairly low budget movie so they had to be creative in how they managed the effects. The filmmakers were able to pull of many of the effects by shooting the action in reverse and then simply running the film backwards. This is particularly effective in the early scenes with the pods and their tendrils. Some of the effects with the nearly finished pods are sort of rough, especially the scene in the garden towards the end of the movie. Though in the same scene we do get the one really good gore effect with a garden tool to the head! All in all the effects are perfectly fine for this movie.

For this review I watched the new Blu-Ray set that just came out this month. There are several short documentaries on the disc that I wanted to talk about. First up is a rather short one called Practical Magic: The Special Effect Pod. It is only 4 minutes long and talks about how the effects were pulled off on what according to them was a small budget. Being as big of a fan as I am of the special effects I was a bit disappointed how short this one was. The Man Behind the Screams: The Sound Effects Pod is a bit longer (12 minutes long) and is an interesting look at how the sound effects where created and what a sound designer does on a movie. Then there is The Invasion will be Televised: The Cinematography Pod. This is again a bit short for my tastes and is only 5 minutes long. Still there are a few interesting stories about how the movie was shot and the look that they were going for. Though it left me wanting more, much like the special effects feature. Finally there is the typical making of feature called Re-Visitors from Outer Space. This is your basic fluff piece that briefly (the thing is only 16 minutes long) goes into making the remake and what they had hoped to change from the original. It is a bit dry at times, but if you like the movie you will want to check it out. Toss in a commentary track with the director and that is about it for special features. Though it is sort of annoying that the commentary track is only on the DVD that comes with this Blu-Ray, so no commentary while watching the movie in high def. Over all I’d have to say the special features are okay, but nothing special (pun not intended).

If you are looking for a gory horror movie then Invasion of the Body Snatcher isn’t for you. If there was ever a movie that was all about getting into your head and scaring you with it’s ideas this is it. This movie is a very sophisticated psychological thriller that will seriously creep you out. This is a great movie that I highly recommend. But be warned. If you already own a copy don’t double dip with this one. In spite of what the package says the extras don’t warrant the purchase of another copy.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer