Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by: Philip Kaufman

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy

From: United Artists

Or: When you appear on camera for only 10 seconds and earn yourself a new Eddie Bauer jacket.

Last night I attended my first baseball game in almost two years-the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-2. Thursday night this movie was seen via a DVR recording I made a few days previous. I had known of its two most famous moments for years so it only made sense to finally give a shot to a highly rated piece of 70's horror. Long ago I saw someone bemoaning how the final shot of the movie was merchandised to death and was unhappy because it was the final shot. Sure, but that horse had left the barn for years before that comment was made... knowing of those moments did not ruin my enjoyment of this and it should not for you either.

I've never seen the original film from '56 where alien spores land on Earth & create emotionless pod people; thus, I won't be comparing the two. In San Francisco, a health inspector and his female colleague Elizabeth soon discover this insidious plot; Elizabeth is the first, due to her husband completely changing his behavior; it's early on in the movie where the ball gets rolling. Despite her qualifications, she is treated as “a hysterical woman” at first... I can only imagine how you'll feel as that if you identify as a female. They have pals in married couple Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum (even back then he played a total Jeff Goldblum role) who get involved in this conspiracy.

The movie is frightening from beginning to end; this is due in part to a solid story but there's also a quality cast, cinematography that not only is influenced by by film noir but is also off-kilter on purpose to express an unsettling feeling, and great score/sound design which are assets in creating a chilling plot that is one of the many paranoid conspiracy thrillers we got in the 70's. It was also tremendous casting in getting Leonard Nimoy in a movie revolving around emotionless alien beings... in addition, there are some disturbing practical effects and that is one of several reasons why this would be a perfect double-bill with another remake of a famous 50's sci-fi/horror flick... Carpenter's The Thing. The 70's San Francisco setting was also pretty rad. Overall, this was a very good time.

The beginning has a 10 second cameo from a famous actor at the time, who is still well-known now. I won't reveal who it is for those that wish to be surprised; this actor happened to be in the area at the time and had worked with director Philip Kaufman before. For payment, he apparently received... a new Eddie Bauer jacket! Long ago I had one of those and that is a nice gift to receive.