Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

I love this movie so much

The Age of Commercialism

Please don't spend money on this.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This 1978 remake was as good as the original but not as tight and compact. Otherwise, it is just as scary and even more moving at times (when Brooke Adams' human form collapses into dust, for example) and just as well acted (if not better) than the original. Yes, the urban setting is quite distinct from the small-town setting of the original but it works in a different way, and given the anonymity and coldness of large cities, it is a perfectly logical setting for a dystopian film. The hostile ranks of sinister, dark, faceless, soulless figures in humanoid form and the disembodied camera-lit faces of fearful people in hiding from an increasingly unfolding terror stand out. A city, universally acclaimed for its beauty (none of which shines through the dystopia) becomes, increasingly, a prison camp or colony in a bleak and turbulent void under permanent grey skies. The performances are top notch, but I would draw attention away from the better-known stars to give special mention to Canadian actor Art Hindle, whose performance is brilliant. Only very briefly seen as the sweet but flawed human Geoffrey, Elizabeth Driscoll's love interest, his post-transformation Geoffrey is chilling. Scheming, sidling, subarctically cold, he makes one realize precisely how and why Elizabeth is so distraught at his inexplicable change. Whether going off to a sinister "meeting" in the dark of night or in closeup, avoiding Elizabeth even as he keeps trying to get her to sleep and transform, his eyes are like almost orbless sockets (wonder how he managed to do that) as devoid of humanity as any alien or predator or Klingon or werewolf but scarier because of what we know has happened and what we fear will happen as the film continues to unfold nightmarishly. Speaking for myself, I missed the human Geoffrey-- a character barely introduced -- more than I later regretted the loss of characters with far more screen time. Such was Hindle's quiet brilliance here.Yes, the ending is a shock but it shouldn't be. When you see the film again and review everything that happens once the daylight returns in the last scene it really is not a surprise. It could not unfold as it does without the shocker being unavoidably true. It's just that there is a natural audience optimism based on the way most sci-fi (even horror sci-fi) films end which creates a cognitive dissonance or tension between what the viewer is expecting (especially given the ending of the 1956 film version) and what the viewer gets in this case.

A remake of the 1958 classic gets a 70s update.The premise is the same but the reasons behind it are different. It seems like each incarnation of this film reflects the unrest of each society it was made in.This film depicts the 70s swing towards pop-psychology and psychiatry that was popular at the time. The psychiatrist characters played by Leonard Nimoy and Jeff Goldbloom brilliantly convey this angle.But the film also shows American society and its people in disarray. Post-Watergate and post- Vietnam politics and the related disillusionment fuel the characters and general feel of this film. No one knows who to trust, what the truth is or who/what to believe in anymore.Paranoia is also a key component in this movie. This makes the film a very intense watch and quite exhausting at times. Whilst I love this film its a movie I have to be in the mood to watch. It seems like tiny nuances and interactions that characters would normally take for granted are given thought time, credence and then magnified. An example is when Brooke Adams character is bumped into. There is then a sequence in which Adams and this character are walking away from each other down a corridor but take turns to look at each other over their shoulders.There is also a sequence where Adams is walking around San Francisco and passes a bust city bus. Every single passenger is looking right at her. Is the camera capturing reality or the internal and paranoid thoughts of Ms Adams?The paranoia and suspicion escalates until we get to one of the most famous unsettling endings in movie history.Brilliantly acted, written and directed. This really is a prime slice of time capsule filmmaking then is strangely as relevant today as it was in the 70s. This is also one of the best San Francisco movies ever made. The city looks amazing and provides a gorgeous backdrop to the film's events. Added kudos for the mud baths locale.Look out for the cameo by Robert Duvall as a priest on a swing and the man-dog that suddenly appears who is a weird fusion of a banjo playing character and his dog earlier in the film.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): Dir: Philip Kaufman / Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright: Ominous and chilling remake that is every bit as great as the original, only it heightens the paranoia aspect. Set in glorious San Francisco, Donald Sutherland plays Health Department representative Matthew Bennell who is confronted with cases of people not being who they are emotionally. Brooke Adams plays Elizabeth Driscoll whose husband is different. These people fall asleep and replaced by pod lookalikes thanks to a flower that Driscoll discovers. Leonard Nimoy plays Dr. Kibner, a friend of Bennell's who attempts to explain this bizarre event in society. Unfortunately Nimoy is too obvious in his motives. The relationship between Bennett and Driscoll is subtle with a hint of romantic interest that is not tresspassed due to her marriage. Another interesting marriage relationship is between Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright who work in a massage parlor mud bath where a pod body is discovered. Director Philip Kaufman creates paranoia while toying with gadgets and showcasing Adams and her weird eye twirl talent. It can also symbolize the Biblical Rapture when one factors the shocking ending. Great update with a strong theme regarding paranoia and the importance of personality and the outside forces that invade one's senses. Score: 9 ½ / 10

This is not a good movie. It is just awful. I can think of remakes better then the originals. But this not one of them. I keep hearing that it is better the the original 1956 version but I honestly don't know why? The original 1956 version is one of the best science fiction movies ever made. And this one is just awful. The story line is awful. The ending is awful. Good actors wasted there talent being in this awful movie. The original is so scary. And this one is just stupid. I can't believe people like this movie. It as great special effects will say that for it. I like a movie with a lot special effects if it is well written. And this is not. They took a great story and ruined it.