Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

 Attempt at more visual fear with this remake
This is a nice attempt at remaking the original cult classic. It's got a terrific cast and a larger budget, and thankfully doesn't go too far over the top.
There is more blood and better effects in this '78 remake. This version is also in color, which most people probably prefer. The suspense develops at a moderate pace, and there are some genuine scares. These clones look pretty grotesque as they are developing.
This story also seems to be a jab at modern society. It hints at humanity's lack of emotion. How we are all mass-produced carboncopy brainwashed automatons with not an ounce of individuality. Maybe we are sleepwalking through the steps of our pitiful existence. Creepy.

However, there are a few things that detract from this one as well. Early on a newspaper article reports a mass number of these mysterious webs forming around town. Hmmmm, does anybody think to investigate this?
Also, in this movie the cloned humans have an overwhelming scream. Now this might seem to add to the fear factor, but it also enables the unaffected humans to recognize the imposters. There is no such way to differentiate from the aliens in the original.
And my biggest complaint with this remake is there is one particular moment that almost ruined this entire thing for me. It shows a dog with a human head?! WHAAAAAAAT???!?!?! A man got cloned with his best friend, such a horrible genetic and directorial mistake. (Like a friend of mine would say, that's MONDAY THRU FRIDAY WEAK!)

Anyway, this is still a pretty good remake, worth checking out. Most likely better than the new release. March 9, 2008

 Chilling
Some people see remakes as inferior films just as a rule and since the turn of the century when it seems every major horror film has been a remake many people forget that a remake can be just as good if not better than the original and that brings us to the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In many ways the 1978 version just might be the best version of this franchise.

The screenplay by W.D. Richter is top notch; this easily has to rate as one of the very best Sci-Fi-Horror scripts you will ever come across. This screenplay is very heavily based on the characters and how the react to the events surrounding them and all the characters are very well written for. They have depth and are very likeable. This genre may not always be known for great writing, but W.D. Richter shows how great a screenplay can be in the horror genre. Invasion of the Body Snatchers has some of my very favorite characters in a movie.

Unless you have the right director a movie like this can be a disaster. It's not loaded with action scenes. The movie is driven by the characters and the story, which can make for a boring time if you don't have the right director and thankfully Philip Kaufman was the right director. His scenes are well paced and very well shot. Visually Invasion of the Body Snatchers looks amazing. A lot of the camera shots are simple techniques such as the camera kinda moving wildly to show the confusion and paranoia of what's happening and simple close ups that sort of cut everything out except the characters. These are things many horror movies use and it's always effective.

Philip Kaufman manages to get the most out of every scene; he never lets the pace drag. He always is able to have something happening to keep the viewer interested. The tone of this movie is quite bleak and even in the slower moments that tone is never lost nor is the sense of pending danger. Every scene in some way moves the story forward. Either the plot is advanced or the characters are developed.

Like I said a movie like this you need a good director, but just as important is putting together a great cast. The best thing about this genre is you don't always need good acting. You can get away with weak actors, but in a movie like this where it's so character driven weak actors will mean weak movie no matter how good of a writer and director you have. Invasion of the Body Snatchers has one of the very best casts you'll ever find for a movie like this.

Donald Sutherland as Matthew Bennell and Brooke Adams as Elizabeth Driscoll are the leads and both are brilliant in their roles. The horror genre isn't always known for great acting, but you'll be hard pressed to find another horror movie with better acting than this. Sutherland gives maybe the best performance of his career. Jeff Goldblum is excellent as Jack Bellicec. In typical Goldblum fashion the character is a bit weird, but very likeable. Even the characters that have the least amount of screen time such as Nancy Bellicec played by Veronica Cartwright is a great character and one you will root for.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn't the type of movie that will have the audience jumping in their seats. The movie is quite chilling and that is there from the start. In many ways I think that's better. It leaves more of a lasting effect. Anybody can do the simple killer jump out of the corner scare. Making a movie creepy like this takes a lot more talent. It's not easy to creep people out through the whole movie, but Invasion of the Body Snatchers is able to do that all through the movie. February 19, 2008

 Outstanding movie
This is the first movie about the pods and how they change you, the pods are found in a ponds. Donald Sutherland is great. January 2, 2008

 The Thinking Person's Thriller
I have an overactive imagination. Back in the day (when I first saw the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers at the theater the first week of its release), I was so absorbed in the depiction of very likeable, sympathetic characters being turned into soulless drones that I was "creeped out," "bummed out," "on a downer," (whatever 70's lingo you'd like to insert) for a week. It didn't help that the buddy who'd taken me to see it parked the car in front of my parents' house, pointed at me with mouth open, and did a dead-on imitation of Matthew Bennel's alien scream. I nearly ... well, you know. That last shot of Donald Sutherland's character ratting out Nancy Bellicec with a horrifying freak-show of a scream is one of the ultimate unhappy cinematic endings of all times.

I hate unhappy endings. So why do I love this movie so? After almost 30 years I think I've isolated a couple reasons. First on my list is the high-caliber acting by the ensemble cast. From the enigmatic intelligent gentleness Don Sutherland brings to Matthew Bennel; to Brooke Adams'funloving yet thoughtful portrayal of Elizabeth Driscoll; to Veronica Cartwright's excellent turn as a supportive wife, San Francisco-believer-in-weird-philosophies, yet for all that, normal woman scared silly by an unbelievable horror unfolding in front of her eyes; to Jeff Goldblum's usual wonderfully quirky performance as a frustrated writer who's socially challenged (a part he infused with great reality -- so much so that my eyes became moist when I first saw the scene in the mud baths where a tear is streaming down his cheek), these actors together have a wonderful chemistry that makes anyone with any human emotions left in them truly mourn the fact that three-fourths of them are eventually snatched and drained of humanity. What happens to Nancy Bellicec we never really know. The camera takes us into Sutherland's mouth and then the credits roll. So the top-notch acting is what keeps me watching a film with the kind of ending I don't like over and over again! Note especially the real chemistry between Sutherland and Brooke Adams. You really do wish their romance would bloom instead of being "snatched" from them after the scene where the two of them dine in Matthew's rooftop garden. They're the perfect couple! She deserves better than her piggish, self-centered boyfriend Geoffrey!

Secondly, this movie, as well as the original, has an important lesson to teach us. Don't lose your humanity by being enslaved by groupthink. Don't lose what's precious about being human. Don't become cold and calloused because of all the hurt you experience on a daily basis from your fellow homo sapiens! Celebrate the life God gave you. Spend time with your wife. Hug your kids. Guard against being "snatched" to the point that you're no longer the you the good Lord intended you to be.

Production values on this Collector's Edition release are excellent. Good transfer, good picture, and much-improved sound over the former DVD release. The special features documentaries are a great addition. I only wish there were more. I'm a self-professed "snatcher junkie"! November 25, 2007

 Invasion
Invasion not as good as I remembered it - I like the original 50's version better November 21, 2007

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