Invasion of the Body Snatchers

A remake of the namesake horror film from the 1950s. It doesn't quite match the original classic, but it is also a really good, dark, depressing affair. The dark conclusion, free from the classic happy ending, is also a pleasure. Beware, the body snatchers are still among us, waiting for their opportunity! (04/07/2002)

Dark, depressing, intimate. It’s not a very entertaining film that flows quickly, but that wasn’t the intention of the author. In terms of paranoia and atmosphere, on the other hand, it hits all the notes. Every part serves the whole, from the cinematography to the music to the low-key performances. A great play with light and shadows. A truly chilling film that I appreciated only after a second viewing. (23/06/2008)

If it wasn't for the absolutely empty final half hour, this would have been an absolute hit. The chilling atmosphere of the alien invasion, which takes place not in a spectacular style with flying saucers but in a relatively closed form of gradual parasitism, is filmed with such suggestiveness that the absence of "scares" and similar achievements is fully forgivable in director Phillip Kaufmann's film. The work of the team of special effects artists with somewhat overgrown pods is done to perfection, as is the musical accompaniment, strumming not only the musical instruments but also the viewer's tense nerves, which can expect no relief whatsoever. Nobody will be able to get the last shot out of their head. (04/07/2006)

Impressive, but definitely not a full performance. Working with noise and a camera does in fact create a very solid atmosphere of paranoia and uncertainty, but the film rarely made me feel tension or fear. It can be watched with great absorption, it amuses through the decent overacting (I don't mean that in a bad way) of everyone involved, and the solid Kaufman directing, which holds together and has a vision. But in terms of horror, there is really too little affiliation with the main characters and the resulting emotions. (11/11/2007)

Probably the best sci-fi horror of the 70s after Alien. The thick atmosphere can be sliced, we don't recognize the space invaders at all, which perfectly multiplies the tension and the more unsettled the main characters feel, the more the sensation of insecurity and isolation grows in us. The hatching of the "duplicates" is truly terrifying and unadulterated horror. The actors are well cast and give very decent performances within the genre. The final part is certainly interesting as well, we expect a major twist, but in the end the director surprises us perfectly and I felt almost scalded by the closing credits. Today, of course, the film is no longer so frightening, but it can still get on the viewer's nerves quite unpleasantly. (12/03/2012)

Kaufman here is very much reminiscent of 70s exploitation directors in the way he revels in unique visual ideas, but apparently no one ever taught him how to put them all together. Invasion shifts between several formal languages, but almost none of them have a narrative purpose. Half the shots are uncomfortably long because for no reason they forget to cut away in time. The lead actors then build separate humorous interludes in scenes that are actually supposed to be serious and dramatic instead. So if you can tap into that exploitation wave, you’ll enjoy a terribly entertaining idiocy, where one bit of silliness replaces another and you feel good. All other approaches lead to disappointment, unhappiness, and a slow death. (19/10/2020)