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Horroctober 2012

The function of life is survival.
-Dr. David Kibner

Out of all the remakes or reinterpretations of the original 1956 film or the 1955 novel this is the best one for my money. Although, I will readily admit that there's numerous "unofficial" remakes that don't go by any variation of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers name and I can't profess to having seen all of them. One of the advantages this one has over the others is having been made in the 70s.

1970s cinema had a style of realism that was almost universally adopted by most directors. Great effort went into having realistic characters both in looks and demeanor. The same went for sets.…

When I saw the original, I remember commenting that the ending was supposed to be iconic and memorable and one of the best in cinematic history, but being underwhelmed by it, only to find out afterwards that it was this film that's supposed to have that iconic ending. Oops!

My word. It's chilling. Really quite creepy and I can see why it is praised so highly.

The whole film was better than Siegel's classic in almost every department. The standard of the acting, the special effects (which were quite frankly utterly bloomin' fantastic) and even the delivery of the twists and turns of the story. I think it's one of those rare occasions that the original is the lesser of…

Don Siegel’s original adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is considered one of the defining moments of science-fiction cinema, and for good reason. Released in 1956, just two years after Jack Finney first released the novel from which it is based; simply titled The Body Snatchers. I, myself, have not read the novel, but the film, which I saw only last year is a colossal of cinematic history and something that astonished me for all its individual brilliance and movie making power. Like many great films of its time, Invasion of the Body Snatchers influenced a whole new world of cinema, and soon followed a remake in 1978, this time from Philip Kaufman; the man who would later adapt…

"I keep seeing these people, all recognizing each other. Something is passing between them all, some secret. It's a conspiracy, I know it."

While not the original version, Philip Kaufman's (The Right Stuff, Quills) vision of the 1956 sci-fi frightener remains the definitive version from the countless remakes of Jack Finney's novel over the past six decades.

Rather than focus on the science-fiction element of the source material, Kaufman treats this version as a paranoia-style thriller with rich elements of post-cold war fears, psychological threats and body-horror to disorientate the viewer. It's masterfully paced and the tension slowly builds to butt-clenching levels. Under Kaufman's eye, he uses everyday locations seem sinister with voyeuristic camera angles and an unnerving score -…