Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Anna B — 24 Jun 2016

It's been quite a while since I saw this film and I'd forgotten how eerie and creepy is was. Arguably a superior remake of the original Don Siegel directed original, this one relocates the story of pod people replacing humans to 1970s San Francisco.

Donald Sutherland plays a health inspector who slowly becomes aware people are being replaced by exact clones who are really pod people from outer space. It's a goofy concept, but director Philip Kaufman gets the tone just right, delivering a film that's viscerally thrilling and scary, and at the same time is also an intelligent film that tackles themes around conformity.

The remake features a strong cast beside Sutherland, which includes Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy, along with some fun cameos by the star of the original film, Kevin McCarthy, who early in the film is running through the street shouting "They're coming! They're coming!" and also the original film's director, Don Siegel, appears as a taxi driver.

This film was written by W. D. Richter, who wrote a number of memorable films including "Big Trouble in Little China," "Nickelodeon," "Brubaker," and who also directed one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

" This film is a must see for fans of sci-fi and is one that's has enough of a crossover appeal for general audiences. And although I knew what was coming at the end of the film, it is still just chilling and gave me shivers.

And one more thing, oh man, that dog near the end of the movie!