31 Days of Halloween: Day Eighteen

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 – Rated PG in the US for body invading aliens and spooky shit)

Summary (from IMDB):

The first remake of the paranoid infiltration classic moves the setting for the invasion from a small town to the city of San Fransisco and starts as Matthew Bennell notices that several of his friends are complaining that their close relatives are in some way different. When questioned later they themselves seem changed as they deny everything or make lame excuses. As the invaders increase in number they become more open and Bennell, who has by now witnessed an attempted “replacement” realises that he and his friends must escape or suffer the same fate. But who can he trust to help him and who has already been snatched?

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 4 pods

Yes, this is a remake.  But it’s the first version I saw and I was happy to revisit it last night.  Director Philip Kaufman does a wonderful job building the low to high level paranoia and suspense through-out this nail-bitting film.  What I liked most about this most recent viewing is the almost total lack of gore and violence, yet the fear factor is on par with some of the more fightiening films on my 31 films of Halloween list.  I’ve since seen the 1956 original based on Jack Finney’s classic novel, and I was of two minds whether to review the original or this remake.  But this 1978 version is better–much better–for all around acting, story-telling and the creep factor which is critical for this most spooky of seasons.

Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is a field investigator for the Department of Public Health, and when Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) tells him that her boyfriend is not the same person he was, Matthew suggests that Elizabeth visit Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) for emotional counseling.  More people seem to be having the same issue, and when Matthew’s friends (Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) and Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum)) find a clone of Jack in their medical business, the four investigate only to find emotionless clones of others replaced by plants who attack at night.

All in all, a great scary movie for the family (as long as the kids are 13 and older).  Brilliant casting and the cameos by Don Siegel and Kevin McCarthy (from the original) is a nice touch.

Tomorrow: Let’s have a little fun. And when someone asks if you’re a god, you say YES.

Peace