Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Director: Philip Kaufman

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, Art Hindle, Lelia Goldoni, Kevin McCarthy

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You'll never close your eyes again.

Plot: 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?

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

#62 on Drive-In Delirium Vol. 1 (Part of the Trailer Trash Project)

When it came time to find something to watch on Halloween night last week I searched hard to find something worthwhile. Over the course of last month I watched a TON of horror movies (70 in all) and there was a great deal of crap and mediocre films, nearly all of which I hadn't seen before. I wanted to watch something really good that I hadn't gotten to yet. This one fit the bill and oh boy was it ever the right choice. This remake of the 50s classic is outstanding in the way that John Carpenter would do for THE THING a few years later. It's been over twenty years since I saw the original so my memory may be hazy but until I revisit that one, I think this remake surpasses it.



This picture is a home run no matter how you slice it. The performances are outstanding. I can't see anyone but Sutherland pulling this off as well as he did. Adams, Goldblum, Cartwright and Nimoy (it's so nice seeing him in something other than TREK for a change - you almost forget he did other things) are fantastic. I LOVED Kevin McCarthy's (star of the original film) cameo. Classic! What I liked most was director Kaufman's expert hand in creating uncertainty and paranoia. It blew me away how well that aspect was handled. It felt real, organic. There's not a misstep to be found. And the ending? HOLY SHIT! Don't let anyone spoil it for you. It's a kick in the guts. What a wonderful surprise to end a month of horror. Wow...just...wow!