Invasion of the Body Snatchers Reviews (original) (raw)
Summary A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
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Summary A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
An extremely tight, beautifully made film.
A 50s horror classic that remains a gem of allegorical paranoia.
That is along with the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, original War of the Worlds, Metropolis, Blade Runner and the granddaddy 2001:A Space Odyssey. Of the three versions I have seen of this great story, this film for me is by far the most well-done and the most faithful to the source material. It is too short perhaps though, and the ending seemed rather rushed. However the cinematography and editing still hold up very well, and the costumes, sets and effects are timeless. The script and story, with so many interesting ideas, are compelling and these ideas developed very well considering the length and the relatively fast pace(which I personally don't see as a problem). Alongside Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is Don Siegel's best directed film, the music is atmospheric,there is genuine tension and suspense in the atmosphere which alone sets it apart from the other film versions, and the acting is fine for what it was, with Kevin McCarthy giving one of his more memorable performances. All in all, a sci-fi classic. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Had on watchlist for a long time, finally watched it, it was a great time killer.
It’s the very open-endedness of the film’s subtext that gives it power. When a sleepy California town is overrun, first by the outbreak of a strange delusion that people have been replaced by doppelgangers, but then gradually by the doppelgangers themselves, the film is brilliantly placed, however unwittingly, to illustrate America’s political paranoia from both ends.
Almost 40 years later, Don Siegel's film about the pod people hasn't lost its chill. [02 Dec 1994, p.D18]
Incredibly chilling, this Don Siegel movie still delivers a powerful punch. [04 Sept 1987, p.54C]
This tense, offbeat piece of science-fiction is occasionally difficult to follow due to the strangeness of its scientific premise. Action nevertheless is increasingly exciting.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an excellent movie about paranoia, conformity, and the need to "stay awake," or else become jaded, emotionally dead.
A well directed, if frequently mocked, narrow little metaphor for the perils of group-think and McCarthyism. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is certainly a product of both its genre and its era, from the wide-eyed straight man constantly running to escape a hidden threat to the blunt, hammer-to-the-temple methods of the plot structure. I most enjoyed the opening act, when the jury was still out on whether these monstrous mimics were real or imagined. Though we can gather our answers from the title alone, it's fun to explore things from the other perspective and the film seems to enjoy dallying in that uncertainty, too. Once the giant, clumsy, man-sized sea pods start showing up, it's time for a hard turn into the cheesy stuff and a subsequent tumble into the usual pit of 1950's sci-fi tropes. The ending is a horrible mismatch, too, quite obviously crammed in at the last moment and completely at-odds with the message and pace of the preceding seventy minutes. Probably didn't help that I couldn't stop thinking about one particular episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.
Gran clásico de ciencia ficción, de hecho es uno de los mejores que hay, buena historia y buenas actuaciones.
Production Company Allied Artists Pictures, Walter Wanger Productions
Release Date Feb 5, 1956
Duration 1 h 20 m
Rating Approved
Tagline The original Black & White classic
National Film Preservation Board, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Online Film & Television Association
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination