Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

***Invasion of the Body Snatchers*** is a 1978 American science-fiction horror film directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy. Released on December 22, 1978, it is a remake of the 1956 film of the same name, which is based on the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. It initially received varied reviews from critics, though its critical reception has significantly improved in subsequent years, and also being hailed as one of the greatest remakes ever, as well as one of the best science-fiction horror films of all time.

## Plot

A San Francisco health inspector and his colleague who over the course of a few days discover that humans are being replaced by alien duplicates; each is a perfect copy of the person replaced, but devoid of human emotion.

## Why It Rocks

1. It is very faithful to the 1955 novel and the original 1955 film of the same name, as it retains the charm from the 1956 version. In addition, it is one of a few remakes from horror movies that actually worked.
2. Donald Sutherland gave an amazing performance as Matthew Bennell, while Jeff Goldblum gave good performances as Jack Bellicec.
3. Amazing special effects.
4. Once again, like the original film, Matthew Bennell is still an amazing and interesting protagonist.
5. Very eerie tone, much like the original 1956 film, and it fits the remake very well.
6. There are very shocking, and scary moments.
7. Philip Kaufman gives an amazing direction.
8. Great cinematography.
9. The final cinematic scene where Bennell breaks into the docks' warehouse and burns down the building, destroying hundreds of pods is amazing.
10. Amazing and disturbing soundtrack that was composed by Denny Zeitlin, which it is the only film that he composed.
11. That ending scene where Matthew, points at her and emits an earsplitting shriek and is replaced by a pod is scary.

## Bad Qualities

1. Some of the special effects didn't age well.
2. **Plot hole:** When pods attack Matthew and the others at Matthew's house, four bodies form in the yard, yet Nancy isn't asleep. She's shown wide awake, and she's the one who wakes the others when she goes outside and sees the bodies growing.

## Reception

On release, it initially received varied reviews from critics, however, there were some positive reviews, The New Yorker's Pauline Kael was a particular fan of the film, writing that it "may be the best film of its kind ever made".[Variety wrote that it "validates the entire concept of remakes. This new version of Don Siegel's 1956 cult classic not only matches the original in horrific tone and effect, but exceeds it in both conception and execution." Gene Siskel gave the film three stars out of four and said it was "one of the more entertaining films in what has turned out to be a dismal Christmas movie season". The film's critical reception was later significantly improved in subsequent years, and on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an approval rating of 92% based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's consensus reads, "Employing gritty camerawork and evocative sound effects, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a powerful remake that expands upon themes and ideas only lightly explored in the original." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75/100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

## Trivia

* Director Philip Kaufman had been a fan of the 1956 film, which he likened to "great radio".

## External Links

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