The original 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers is as pure a manifestation of 1950s Cold War dread as we currently have (short of anything that has yet to be declassified), surpassing compatriots such as The Thing From Another World and The Day The Earth Stood Still in its ability to convey the nervous tension that holds together an environment in which anyone and everyone might be an enemy combatant. But the true horror of Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers (on which this and all other adaptations have been based) lays not in any particular political subtext, but in its tacit revealing of the fragile treaties that people make with each other to keep their lives in order, and just how easily those can be broken. Perhaps because it was released in one of the most apolitical national moods in recent memory (the Carter administration), the 1978 remake understands this in a much more tangible sense than its predecessor, and is a much more haunting film as a result.
Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) and Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) work for the San Francisco Department of Health, going about their lives with the dutiful rigor expected of public servants. When Elizabeth ’s husband appears to lose all of his personal characteristics, it doesn’t seem to bother any one but her, with more than one person in her life trying to convince her that it’s all in her head (including noted self-help author Dr. David Kibner, played by Leonard Nimoy). But as more and more people start to have similar complaints about their friends and loved ones, Bennell starts to believe her. Working with Jack and Nancy Belicec (Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright), he and Elizabeth uncover an extraterrestrial conspiracy to systematically replace the human population with pod-grown duplicates that are unable to experience any sort of emotion whatsoever. Though certain aspects of the invasion are easy to detect (the truckloads of pods being shipped around the city are a dead give away), the duplicates themselves are not markedly different from their counterparts, and the conspiracy at the movement’s heart is all but invisible to any one looking for it.
Though it is Elizabeth who first detects the alien presence, the film is largely focused through the perspective of Bennell, and rarely gives us any information that he does not already know as he tries to determine who is and is not a duplicate. The first film operated in much the same way, but the action here has been shifted from a small town to a major city, where the duplicates would be far more difficult to detect, and would be able to reach a greater number of people much more quickly. Even on subsequent viewings, it is very difficult to tell exactly how far the pod people have spread at any given point in the film, and just how long it’s been since they were replaced by duplicates.
But the lynchpin of 1978’s Body Snatchers unique effect is the way that director Philip Kaufman uses his camera, which takes full advantage of techniques developed after the original’s release. While modern viewers of the 1956 version may find its impact stunted by its recognizable visual tropes of its era (dramatic dutch angles, some kind of obvious effects), Kaufman’s eye is constantly moving, shifting, hyper aware of the minute details around it. As the full picture of the conspiracy comes into view, and the odds of stopping it grow more and more remote, the aesthetic moves in almost perfect concert with the tightening screws, and brings to life a world turning inwards on its people in a way that even Hitchcock barely achieved. The science fiction aspects of the story are fantastic (and very well-done; this film finally answers the age old question of what happens to the original when the duplicate is created), but the fraying nerves and warped perspective of Bennell is never less than completely convincing.
Even though the original film’s place in history is assured (and with good reason; it’s still very engaging), the remake succeeds in better realizing its themes of alienation and paranoia, and more effectively evoking the terror inherent to them. Moreover, it’s smart enough to know that you don’t need a massive enemy force to come into your life and take it away from you. Your friends and neighbors will do just fine.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Blu-ray contains the short featurettes Re-Visitors from Outer Space or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Pod, Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod, The Man Behind The Scream: The Sound Effects Pod, and The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod. The original theatrical trailer is included.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is on sale September 14, 2010 and is rated PG. Sci-Fi, Thriller. Directed by Philip Kaufman. Written by W.D. Richter. Starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright.
