Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Drew S — 01 Sep 2011
Far and away the best of the four Body Snatchers films - and I say this without even having seen 2008's The Invasion, because seriously? All three incarnations have been strong in their own right and encompass a pretty broad variety of aesthetics and production codes.
Where the original was goofy, overtly serious B-movie science fiction, and Abel Ferrara's 90s treatment was a sort of fall from innocence tale laden with sinister plant tentacles, this is by far the most adult of the explorations.
Touching briefly but penetratingly on groupthink in academic thought, psychology, and human relationships, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is always smart but never wordy. Furthermore, the performances are excellent across the board and the movie itself looks fantastic.
It's a shame that Philip Kaufman's career has been somewhat spare (and inconsistent, judging by IMDB's assessment of his work), because based on this alone the man can put together a hell of a visually meaningful composition.
This is a truly threatening sci-fi horror film, and though its age is showing in certain regards, some of the images remain horrifying. A classic of the genre.
This review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) was written by Drew S on 01 Sep 2011.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers has generally received positive reviews.
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