Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Plot Outline: A town doctor begins to suspect something is wrong with the people living in his town when they start to behave differently. He finds out that the people are being replaced by alien duplicates. But no one will believe him and, with the alien duplicates are closing in on him to shut him up and cover up their invasion, time is quickly running out.

The Review: One of the true immortal classics of the science fiction genre (alongside such 50s classic as The Thing From Another World and Forbidden Planet), Invasion of the Body Snatchers is extremely unsettling considering the time in which it was made. There are quite a few possible hidden meanings to this film, be it criticism of the McCarthy communist hunts of the 50s and an attack on the oppressive government. But since I'm not an American, I didn't really care for all of these hidden meanings so watched it with an open mind. I don't watch films for social commentaries or lectures on how something is bad or morally unjust. And besides, director Don Siegel said that he never made it as a commentary - just an invasion flick. The thing with this film and its remake is that it isn't that far fetched. I mean there aren't any big spaceships blowing everything up and it doesn't use masses of special effects - just a solid plot which is quite realistic and which does all of the scaring by itself without need for special effects. I mean if something like this was happening, what could you do about it? The characters are all quite realistic and well-developed. Kevin McCarthy puts in an outstanding performance and watching his evolution from being a calm mannered doctor to the eventual nutcase he turns out to be is one of the films highlights. There's also plenty of classic moments including the discovery of Dana Wynter's pod replica in the cellar which is chilling. There's the moment towards the end when the two leads share a kiss and the camera lingers on Wynter's blank, expressionless face, shocking the viewer because we now know she's been taken over too. And there's the scene with Kevin McCarthy running down the busy road, telling everyone "they're here" before hopping aboard a truck without realising it's full of the pods. Unfortunately the film is completely ruined by studio intervention with a new beginning and ending being tacked on - McCarthy's character now explains what happened to a psychiatrist who eventually believes him (would you believe him though?) and calls the FBI in. It seems as though the studio couldn't handle the nightmare scenario that the original ending of McCarthy running down the street begging for help would have finished with.

Final Verdict: Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a landmark science fiction tale which explored the paranoia that lurks inside everyone and conjured up some nightmare situations for us to squirm in. It does an extremely effective job of creating a sense of unease and tension which few films have ever done so since. It's also been remade twice, with the first remake proving to be superior.

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