Movie Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) directed by Philip Kaufman

This remake of the 1955 science fiction classic moves the action to (then) present-day San Francisco. Donald Sutherland is Matthew Bennell, an inspector for the health department who goes around checking on restaurants. He's pretty good at his job and has a thing for one of his co-workers, Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams). She's more interested in her boorish live-in boyfriend though she changes her mind when he starts acting weirdly. He's not himself anymore--no interest in basketball or doing any fun stuff. She follows her boyfriend, seeing him meet with random people who pass packages around. Bennell wants Elizabeth to talk to his friend, the celebrity psychologist David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy), who has been having lots of clients complaining about their spouses or significant others behaving strangely. Friends Jack (Jeff Goldblum) and Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) own a mud bath spa an have a weird encounter with a strange body. David tries to reassure them that they are overreacting and sound crazy and should just get a good night's sleep. The two couples have seen too much evidence to let things go. Soon enough they discover that the strange flowers that have recently showed up are growing into pods that are growing into copies of people. They try to warn others, but how many have already been taken over?

The movie switches out 1950s Cold-War paranoia for 1970s conspiracy-theory paranoia. Are government officials really trustworthy? Bennell works for the local government and trusts that the cops or the mayor's office will help out. He's reluctant to accept how bad the situation is. That part of the story works well as the slow reveal of the extent of the problem builds up some suspense and more tension.

The movie has a very strong 1970s vibe. The fashions are immediately recognizable as from a different time and are occasionally distracting. The musical score has a lot of synthesizer music and dissonance that was popular back then. Some of the handheld camera work fits naturally with the scenes and contributes to the visceral, in-the-moment feel. The movie has even less optimism than the first one.

Mildly recommended--this isn't as good as the original but has some good performances and captures the 1970s conspiracy paranoia fairly well.

Movie Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1955)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1955) directed by Don Siegel

Doctor Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is called home from a conference to the small California town of Santa Mira. His nurse is overwhelmed with patients needing help. The most intriguing cases are the people who claim their relatives are not really their relatives--they've been replaced by emotionless copies. Bennell sees one or two and refers them to his psychiatrist friend. He's a bit uneasy about the situation since the problem is wide-spread in Santa Mira. His unease turns to paranoia when an author friend discovers a body in his closet that appears generic but is slowly looking more and more like the author. Later, Bennell discovers giant seed pods in his greenhouse. The pods spawn bodies of the doctor and his girlfriend (Dana Wynter). To avoid being turned into soulless and emotionless copies of themselves, the two go on the run from the townfolk.

The movie is a science fiction classic. Pod People has become an idiom for emotionless or soulless individuals. The penultimate scene of Bennell running through a highway trying to warn all the drivers that they are about to be assimilated ("You're next! You're next!'), even shouted into the camera, is famous as well. The movie was based on a novel and had three remakes (1978, 1993, and 2007). The story plays as a great parable against conformity and indifference. It's also a harrowing adventure for the main character.

Weirdly enough, the film has been interpreted as condemning the dehumanizing effects of McCarthyism and the dehumanizing effects of communism. The film makers did not intend a political interpretation. Perhaps it is best to look at it with some perspective and acknowledge that it condemns dehumanization in contemporary society regardless of political persuasion. The "better life" offered by the pod people is one without love or joy or pain or sorrow. Such a life may be less chaotic but it is also less rewarding and less adventurous. The pod people offer an unreal world that everyone should reject.

Highly recommended.