Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Sam M — 15 Dec 2015

Almost no remakes achieve the original's greatness--for the most part, they are Hollywood's lazy attempt to cash in on worthwhile ideas again and again and to betray a new generation into enjoying a film supposedly for the first time because of their ignorance of the older work.

Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (a classic of 1950s sci-fi) is one of the true exceptions to this rule. For starters, Kaufman's version is both a remake and a sequel--it features the same basic plot of the first film but also depicts the main character from the first film running into the city at the beginning to warn them of the alien invasion.

Furthermore, Kaufman's film injects late 70s body horror into a 50s sci-fi plot--indeed, this version of Invasion could be considered, along with Cronenberg's early films and Ridley Scott's Alien to be one of the fathers of body horror cinema.

In addition, Kaufman adds one small but crucial element to his version of the Body Snatchers--the ear-splitting and truly haunting scream that they emit to designate someone as a person who has not yet been assimilated into their collective.

Finally, Kaufman combines two other crucial elements to create a perfect (and perfectly original) remake: exquisite direction and superb actors. Kaufman's direction is brilliant, and he manages to truly imbibe even the most mundane scenes with a sense of dread, surrealism, and horror.

As to the actors, the film brings together Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland, and Jeff Goldblum into multiple scenes together--what great collection of geeky, weirdo actors could ever be imagined. This remake of Invasion was a film that creeped me out as a young child, and it is a film that has lost none of its power now when I rewatch it as an adult.