Kaufman here turns in his most Movie Brattish film, but soft-pedals on both his special effects and knowing in-jokiness in a way that puts De Palma to shame.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Synopsis: In this remake of the 1956 cult classic, terror slowly and silently strikes San Francisco as the city is mysteriously covered by alien spores that produce strangely beautiful flowers. Unbeknownst to the people, the flowers are the bearers of alien pods that make a spiderlike webbing that... In this remake of the 1956 cult classic, terror slowly and silently strikes San Francisco as the city is mysteriously covered by alien spores that produce strangely beautiful flowers. Unbeknownst to the people, the flowers are the bearers of alien pods that make a spiderlike webbing that captures their victims as they sleep and replicates their human form. Although they still look human, the victims are transformed into emotionless creatures by a strange race of aliens out to consume and control humanity--and only four people are left to stop them. Donald Sutherland stars as Matthew Bennel, a Department of Health inspector whose close friend and coworker Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) is overwhelmed by fear and paranoia when she begins to suspect her boyfriend, Geoffrey (Art Hindle), of no longer being human. Together, with their friends Jack (Jeff Goldblum) and Nancy (Veronica Cartwright), they are out to stop the bizarre alien invasion before they fall victim to the alien pods. Leonard Nimoy costars as Dr. David Kibner, a guru psychiatrist who might not be whom he seems. This haunting parable of human paranoia is a creepy glimpse of a city overrun with robotlike yuppies threatening to wipe out all of humankind. Sutherland gives a knockout performance as the leader of the last four humans left in San Francisco in this terrific blend of B-movie science fiction and modern terror. [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy
Reviews
[Kaufman] weaves an increasingly sinister cityscape through prowling camerawork and a highly effective stereo score.
For once, a great remake, smartly executed. Great performances and a killing ending that will stay with you forever can't hurt, either.
If not quite as great as its predecessor, still a pretty damn fine genre picture.
It's not only the best of the four films based on Jack Finney's story, but also one of the best films of the 1970s.
A superior sci-fi thriller that makes even raindrops, plants and electrical cords take on sinister life.
The film collapses midway -- because of unsure and sloppy direction, splintered story continuity, and the overacting of Adams, Cartwright, and others.
Ideas that Siegel knocked off in a few shots are expanded to fill entire sequences -- but they're good ideas, and can stand a little stretching.
A cerebral and suspenseful film of foreboding atmosphere. On a short list of truly outstanding remakes.
There's a little something extra in virtually every frame of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman's dazzling remake of one of the cleverest of horror classics/
Invasions of the Body Snatchers speaks to our national paranoia amd intrigues us with its craftiness.
News
posted by Tim Ryan August 22, 2007
Time will tell if The Invasion is remembered as a movie that captured something about the way we live in the 2000s, but one...
posted by Scott Weinberg June 11, 2007
There's been a lot of talk about the Nicole Kidman / Daniel Craig sci-fi flick "The Invasion," most of it ......
posted by Scott Weinberg April 05, 2007
Seems like we've been hearing about upcoming sci-fi flick "The Invasion" for a pretty long time now. You...
posted by Scott Weinberg August 02, 2005
Nicole Kidman will earn about $16 million to star in WB's new science fiction thriller "Invasion," says...


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