Review of The Invasion (2007) by Peter K — 15 May 2011

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers theme is something that I feel is important and SHOULD be revisited every ten years or so. There is a lot that can be done with the concept and each decade there are new comments to be made on society at the time in relation to the idea of people being brainwashed/possessed by an alien malevolence.

I'd be very interested in reading the original shooting script for this film as I feel that linking it to modern society's dependence on medication and chemical psychiatry is an interesting one, however the studio/producers lack of faith in Oliver Hirschbiegel led them to bring in the Wachowski's to pep it up with more action, loud annoying and obnoxious editing choices and irritating monologues.

A few interesting scene's and ideas aside, this was a real wasted opportunity that at times felt heavy handed and obvious. The actors looked unsettled, not the characters, looked unsettled and distracted, the action felt forced and the ending... well... it was terrible. In a world where we can have a haunting and horrific ending like the one in The Mist, why do we have to have a "happy" ending for a Body Snatchers remake? What's worse is that they couldn't even commit to that, they dub over some earlier dialogue and use a lingering shot of Nicole Kidman's blank expressionless face (which was blank and expressionless throughout the film and she stayed human!).

What a waste, i'm going to be in my mid 30's by the time we're due for another one...