Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Shawn E — 26 Dec 2007

Normally when I watch old horror movies, from the original Dawn of the Dead to The Last House on the Left, I end up with a sense that it could have been so much better than it actually was. Thereâ??s normally a disappointment because the movie normally does not live up to its potential. Not here (although 1978 wasn't THAT far back, itâ??s still before my time).

When alien spoors sprout into beautiful flowers across San Francisco people start picking them up and admiring their sent without realizing that within these lovely flowers are an alien race that duplicates peoples bodies and then kill off the originals. Slowly as people sleep, and without anyone noticing anything is wrong, pods start apearing all over the city, turning people into mindless pod people. The Body Snatchers have come.

There are many horror movies out there that can make you hide under a cover, or jump in surprise when something pope out, but this is one of those few horror films that does neither and yet sends chills up your spend and haunts you after seeing it. Most modern horror films just can't do that, and older horror films are just too cheesy to be scary. This movie not only has one extremely creepy plot, but gets an A+ for great acting and cinematography. Everything is so dark, so enclosed, and those shrieks the pod people make will chill your blood. Throw in one of the best endings Iâ??ve seen in a horror movie in a long time, and you've got yourself a great movie. I still have not seen the original 1956 version, but after seeing 20078's Invasion, and 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Iâ??m looking forward to it.