Countdown to Halloween: “Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978)

In the 1978 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” Matthew Bennell assumes that when a friend complains of her husband’s strange mood, it’s a marital issue. However, he begins to worry as more people report similar observations.

His concern is confirmed when writer Jeff Bellicec and his wife discover a mutated corpse. Besieged by an invisible enemy, Bennell must work quickly before the city is consumed.

When I noticed that the 1978 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was on the Dietrich Theater’s Spooky Fest line up, I had to revisit this one! This film adaptation of the 1956 original delivers a suspenseful and paranoid atmosphere that is one of the major highlights of this film.

This classic remake is known for its palpable atmosphere of escalating paranoia and dread, which is achieved through suspenseful direction, subtle sound design and a direct focus on psychological horror over jump scares. I also enjoyed how this focuses majorly on psychological horror, tapping into the fear of losing one’s identity and humanity - which we feel throughout most of the film.

Throughout the film, we see how the film masterfully creates an escalating sense of dread by showing the pod invasion already underway in the background, making the main character’s struggle feel insignificant and hopeless.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers" also provides us with numerous memorable moments throughout the film. And, fair warning - there are spoilers! There’s a scene where we see the duplicates of several people (including the lead characters) being created, which are visceral and unforgettable sequences. We see the duplicates writhe and groan as they

emerge, which honestly makes those moments more terrifying. 

This film also uses mundane details to help build the tense atmosphere. Throughout the film, we see the sight of sanitation workers and garbage trucks operating through the night, which is actually a chilling visual if you think about it. As you see them, you get to slowly realize that they are hauling away the dust of the original human bodies. This subtle touch suggests that the invasion is an organized, large scale operation happening in plain sight - something I didn’t notice until the recent rewatch.

This 1978 film also has what could be one of the most iconic and terrifying endings in cinematic history. In the conclusion, we see one of the last remaining humans spot her friend whom she thinks is blending in with the pod people. As she gets closer to him, the friend points at her and lets out a ghastly, high-pitched, inhuman shriek, which reveals he’s also been duplicated. This twist ending is almost just as well known as the twist from “Psycho.”

Her horrified reaction to seeing her friend duplicated is incredibly effective and believable as the director Philip Kaufman withheld this detail from the actress to capture her genuine horror - and that really worked and made the scene better!

While the 1956 original is a classic, many critics and fans argue that the 1978 version is superior, providing a more complex plot, compelling characters and a darker vision. In addition to its acclaim, this film has become a touchstone of the sci-fi/horror genre. Its legacy is cemented by its enduring ability to create a sense of mounting dread and its powerful social commentary. 

MPA: Rated PG   (runtime 115 min)

You can currently stream “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” on HBO Max or rent it through various PVOD services.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc_0dlmSq7I

• (at around 5 mins) Robert Duvall, who had previously worked with Philip Kaufman on The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), happened to be in San Francisco at the time of filming, and shot his only scene for free. He plays a crazy priest playing on a swing. It's supposed to foreshadow the pod person anomie and alienation we feel later in the movie.

• (at around 1h 24 mins) During the taxi ride, Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams's nervousness is genuine. Don Siegel had lost much of his vision and was driving through the dark streets of San Francisco without his glasses.

• Among the sounds Ben Burtt used for the pod growing scene, the heartbeat came from an ultrasound recorded on his pregnant wife. The pod screams were recorded pig squeals. Additionally, the natural diegetic sounds (crickets, birds chirping) fade as the film progresses, until only mechanical sounds (sirens, the garbage trucks) are heard.

• The night after the movie's release, someone put pods, like those in the movie, all over the streets of Los Angeles. Some people got so freaked out, that they thought they were real, and called the police.

• (at around 1h 24 mins) Don Siegel, who directed Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), plays the Taxi Driver.

• "Pod people" became a catch phrase because of this movie and its predecessor. But that phrase is not ever actually used by any of the characters in any of the Invasion movies.

• (at around 2 mins) At the beginning of the film, as the alien spores rain down on Earth, you see them presumably landing on the Transamerica Pyramid in Downtown San Francisco, the headquarters of what was then the parent company of United Artists, which produced this movie.

• Silence is heard as the end credits roll as there was no end title music composed or recorded for the film.

• Considered by some critics to be one of the best remakes in film history.

• Throughout the movie the Director uses subtle and not-so-subtle uses of looking through, or someone looking at the characters, through frosted glass. Some examples: as in the windows of the health department offices doorways, the cracked broken windshield while Matthew Bennell is driving, looking through sheets of clear plastic, like the Asian lady did in the dry cleaning shop, or distorted mirrors at Dr. Kibner's gathering at the bookstore, the silhouetted shadow projected against the curtain that Jack or Mr. Gianni are walking behind in the mud bath spa. This is all a filming technique to emphasize symbolism and metaphors of the juxtaposition by giving the audience a skewed view of a changing world in progress to suggest that things and people kind of look the same in this portrayal of various altered imagery but they are not the same.

• First of two science fiction/body horror remakes starring Jeff Goldblum. He later appeared in The Fly.