Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (DVD)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers was one of the first truly successful B movie remakes. The original was done in 1956 under the same name, followed by this, and then retold in the1993 film Body Snatchers. Of the three films this is the only one you need to see. It is taken from the original Jack Finney novel and written for the screen by WD Richter.

The title basically gives away the ...
...opening shots of another planet there is little else to explain other than the methodology of this alien invasion. We see the amoeba like life forms travel across space and find there way to the Earth, where they set upon the plant life and parasitically live off them, produces beautiful flowers. Everyone knows the purpose flowers evolved; to attract things; and the foolish humans must have been really taken by these ones. The little pod flowers ... more

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers was one of the first truly successful B movie remakes. The original was done in 1956 under the same name, followed by this, and then retold in the1993 film Body Snatchers. Of the three films this is the only one you need to see. It is taken from the original Jack Finney novel and written for the screen by WD Richter.

The title basically gives away the whole plot in an instant. Coupled with the slightly tacky opening shots of another planet there is little else to explain other than the methodology of this alien invasion. We see the amoeba like life forms travel across space and find there way to the Earth, where they set upon the plant life and parasitically live off them, produces beautiful flowers. Everyone knows the purpose flowers evolved; to attract things; and the foolish humans must have been really taken by these ones. The little pod flowers wait until their victim is asleep and then connect to their body to copy the DNA pattern and create a duplicate containing it’s own mind. The old one is drained of its useful contents and disposed of. In a matter of days an epidemic is on the cities hands and little can be done about it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The focus of the story is on a group of friends.

Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is a Health Inspector for the San Francisco Health Department. Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) is a colleague and close friend. She is adamant that her partner, Jeffrey, is has changed overnight and is not acting at all like his normal self. He meets with strange people and they pass things between each other. Something is wrong. A thought echoed by Matthew’s regular Chinese dry cleaning man with his concerned pleas of “My wife sick. She wrong. That not my wife.”

The story meanders along over nearly the first hour with a series of unusual but seemingly unconnected events (as far as the characters are concerned). The character development here is wonderfully calculated. The slower story elements never dragged as I became more interested in the characters. Phillip Kaufman’s direction manages to create a sense of creepiness in nearly every shot. Perfectly building on the audience’s expectations. The neo-noir stylings of Michael Chaplin photography (Taxi Driver, The Lost Boys, Rising Sun) create a foreboding, claustrophobic feel during the night sequences (where most of the action takes place), whilst capturing a very realistic world during the day. This subtle distinction helps bridge the gap between the real and fantasy worlds.

Over this first hour Kaufman (The Right Stuff, Rising Sun) beautifully depicts the insulated life styles of the modern world. His choices of shots are focused around the diverse functions of people in society: cleaners, shop owners, civil servants, scientists. Everything is so compartmental that contact between people is cut down to bare necessity. So much can be going on around you but you don’t notice till it’s too late. A sociological trait even more prevalent in today’s society and reiterated very successfully in 2004’s Shaun of the Dead. Then As the plot thickens the scares increase and I won’t give anything away as to what happens.

Getting back to a previous comment, when I said the opening was tacky I only meant it about a few set details. On the whole the make up and special effects throughout the film are top notch. Thomas Burman and Eduardo Henriques created wonderful organic ‘pod’ effects, head casts (fake heads) and general body make up. All of which is complemented by some superb sound effects from Ben Burtt. Add to that Denny Zeitlin’s very emotive score, which harks back to a fifties B movie style, and everything moulds together so naturally it’s a real team accomplishment.

Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H, Klute, Don’t Look Now) and Brooke Adams (The Dead Zone) provide strong central performances. I would say they are both around the peaks off their careers and provide a solid focus for the audience to engage with, and believable as close friends who should be much more. Jeff Goldblum is at the dawn of his hugely successful Hollywood career: The Fly, The Tall Guy, Jurassic Park, Independence Day. He gives an amusing turn as the unsuccessful poet Jack Bellicec. His wife is played by the ever reliable Veronica Cartwright (Alien, The Witches of Eastwick). And lastly Leonard Nimoy (Mr Spock from Star Trek) shows he is more than capable of other acting roles as popular psychiatrist David Kibner, confused by the growing number of people suffering from delusions.

In addition to this great cast there are a few hard to spot cameos from Kevin McCarthy (the star of the original), director Don Siegal, Robert Duvall and Phillip Kaufman himself.

There is also a great rendition of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes perfectly placed near the end. Speaking of which I do believe that how satisfyingly a film ends is a measure of its quality. And here we have an awesome ending which has never left my mind. This is one of the most classic films of the horror genre and I urge everyone to give it a chance.

Rated: 15
Running Time: 101 minutes

NB
Makes a great double bill with The Thing (1982) – another superb B-movie remake.  

...less