Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Richard L — 19 Mar 2015

The rare remake that is at least as good as the original. What I especially like about this version of a story that needs to be retold every decade is how it captures the late 1970s and the rise of celebrity psychologists and self help experts. Leonard Nimoy as Dr. David Kibner seems emotive as a pod person, but it is all words with no emotion, just a bunch of useless nonsense about psychology. I love how it is suggested that pop psychology is just conformity, forcing people to medicate, sleep, and wake up a pod person.

The other thing I love about this version is the use of sound. Conversations often take place behind barriers, suggesting the growing distance between people. The everyday mundane world of San Francisco is always around with police sirens and garbage trucks compacting garbage (and remains.) Then, of course, there is the horrible sound the pod people make when they spot a human in their midst. The movie is so grounded by sound that the more fantastic elements are all the more horrifying.

It goes without saying that the movie is scary and tense. Even in the beginning, when no one knows what is going on, and everything looks the same as it did the day before, there is something slightly off. People running in the background, people staring, people looking at each other without a word. It is all very creepy and keeps building as the invasion continues, leading to even more horrifying moments late in the movie.

Like the original movie from 1956 and "Body Snatchers" in 1993, the 1978 version successfully captured the troubling issues of its time. With three successful movie versions based on Jack Finney's original science fiction novel, it seems like every decade should have its own version. Isn't it about time for another one? I haven't seen the 4th movie version, "The Invasion" from 2007, but I didn't hear very good things about it.