Invasion of the Body Snatchers
| release date | February 5 1956 |
| director | Don Siegel |
| writer | Daniel Mainwaring |
| starring | Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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This film is a great horror movie, even though it might seem a little old. This movie is the eccense of paranoia. It proves itself to be a classic horror flic.
“They’re coming, they’re coming!”
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS
What a surprisingly good update this is. The direction is tremendous, mixing elongated images, mirror shots, aerial takes, skewed angles and point of view but never so that it’s audacious.
Some of the plot elements are arguably contrived – a complete stranger telling Donald Sutherland “That not my wife” in the middle of a launderette, for one – though the unclaimed attraction between the two leads keeps the momentum going until the events of the film are allowed to take over.
The use of music, combined with unusual technique – the camera focussing for too long on seemingly irrelevant bystanders, for example – creates a palpable sense of unease. Though often the characters in the film are more scared than we are, which isn’t always logical. “Just don’t fall asleep” Goldblum is told by his wife. How does she know that that falling asleep would cause the husk to take over his life? No one tells her this, unless she’s just watched the original on cable. Maybe she’s just a big girl’s blouse and is too stared to be awake on her own. This “characters jumping at their own shadow” technique is very effective, but when you think about it often makes little sense to the people in the film itself.
Perhaps not having an issue helps. The (still very fine) 50s original was the epitome of red menace propaganda. Here Invasion acts only as a late 70s take on social alienation. If there’s a worry that the antiquated title was too old for the era then it’s quickly forgotten with convincing performances and a sensitive treatment. “Don’t be trapped by old concepts,” says David (Leonard Nimoy) at one point, and to its credit the film never is.
The picture is almost universally dark, lightbulbs illuminating only themselves and none of their surrounding environment. It’s a crucial element, and one that adds magnificently to the work. European direction combined with a literate script makes this a superb achievement. When a couple are in a bedroom, the camera stays respectfully, and statically, just outside the door. And look out for the stationary shot of the massage parlour, going on for longer than should be necessary, with only a hissing sound to be heard, yet unseen. This is a horror film that knows that less is more.
The only thing that holds it back from becoming a first-class SF thriller is that really stupid and unnecessary scene with the man’s head on the dog’s body – I mean, why?? (Maybe it wouldn’t have seemed so silly at the time, released pre-Mars Attacks!) And did we really need that topless shot of Brooke Adams at the end? For an intelligent, adult suspenser that tastefully avoids schlock and gore it seems out of place. And maybe I would have found the whole thing more enjoyable if I hadn’t accidentally seen the twist ending before the rest of the film. That said, this is still an excellent work, with Ben Burtt’s special sound effects well worth a mention, as is allowing the end credits to play out without sound. 7/10.
Extremely brilliant sci-fi/horror classic and probably one of the best movies from the 50s (adapted from Jack Finney’s novel ‘The Body Snatchers’). Director Siegel created a brilliant masterpiece, highly tense and suspenseful, haunting and creepy. The script is ingenious, great paced and with a fantastic build-up. The cast is ace (Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter…), the soundtrack is terrific, the effects are top and the paranoiac atmosphere (with all hints to the McCarthyism of that time) is simply outstanding.
A classic by all means.
Classic.
A true classic of the horror genre, but I find the remake in the 70′s to be it’s better.