Review of Body Snatchers (1993) by Timothy S — 24 Jul 2014

Jack Finney's novel "The Body Snatchers" was published in 1955, and since then there have been a lot of filmed adaptations of the tale with varying degrees of success. The latest, simply titled "Body Snatchers", had the potential for greatness but falls short mostly because it fails to spruce up the story or offer anything new.

With Stuart Gordon as a co-screenwriter and Abel Ferrara directing, this should have been a much more twisted take on the familiar tale. There are great moments here that showcase the filmmaker's taste for the bizarre, like those nasty tendrils of alien origin that creep into the victim's orifices and the looks at inside the bodies as the transformations take place. That's creepy, unsettling and something we've never seen before. I would have liked a lot more of that.

The casting hurts the film, however, with Terry Kinney an especially bland leading man. Gabrielle Anwar is pretty enough, but there's a reason her career never really took off. In fact, surprisingly enough, the best performance here belongs to Meg Tilly, who gives the film the best moment in the scene where she confronts her fleeing husband. Her "where you gonna go" speech is terrific.

Setting the film on a military base is a novel idea, but it hurts the film as well because military personnel are already so regimental that it's hard to discern when they become aliens. There's a lot wrong with "Body Snatchers", but there's enough good here that I can recommend it. It's just very familiar.