Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

atlasmb "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is both horror and sci-fi, but it is a psychological thriller foremost. Though some say it is a product of its time, based upon the specific fears of its time, the film is really rooted in the basic fears of every person. If you want to know what those basic fears are, look to the nightmares that are common to all people.The story involves a small town doctor (Kevin McCarthy) who begins to notice a pattern in the unusual behaviors of his patients. Given no prior experience with such behavior, he has to look for explanations outside his usual (medical and personal) experience. This leads him to a preposterous truth. As the viewer watches Dr. Miles Bennell and his beautiful girlfriend (Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll) unravel the mystery, there is suspense, and fear rooted in the unknown.The doctor becomes frustrated because no one will believe him. This is a common dream theme; it produces anxiety in the viewer as the paranoia ratchets up, especially because the stakes are so high. Being chased is another common nightmare theme and it is well exploited.Director Don Siegel said he only wanted to create a scary film. Music, effects and excellent directing produce that result. Notice the way the director plays with the size of the spaces as the story progresses. The acting is solid, especially by the leads. And I enjoy watching King Donovan.This is a classic film. Its central theme has been copied or modified many time since.

guylyons This was the first ever scary film that i ever saw. I have enjoyed three differing versions of this story. A low budget effort it is, but superbly directed, a fantastic script and it is so good that the case for special effects almost can be thrown out the window. I have always loved science fiction horror films, and this one is right up there with the best of them. A slow start, and a believable tale is shown to the audience, as the doctor struggles to deal with the comings and goings on in the town. Simply a must see for students of science fiction horror.

dougdoepke Being a teenager in the Fifties, we went to see movies with the most outlandish titles. Expecting the usual rubber monsters and hackneyed plots, you can imagine our near- speechless response at movie's end. (We were relieved by the upbeat ending.) Despite the film's breath-taking accomplishments, it soon faded into obscurity, undone no doubt by the catch-penny title and B-movie budget. Revived periodically on TV, it quickly attracted a cult following, finally emerging from the late night underground to become the widely recognized classic that it is. There are few movies that connect at a deeply subconscious level with the audience. This is one of them, and can now be seen as a parable, not only of the 50's Red menace (Scriptwriter Dan Mainwaring was briefly blacklisted), but of the many depersonalized encounters that fill the ordinary day. The movie's one flaw - the "pop-out" replicas that make a distinctly rubbery sound as they pop from the pods in the greenhouse scene, a technical defect that may have inspired the f-x'ed remake. Frankly, I'm concerned that contemporary teens may not find this a scary or affecting movie. Styles do change as does technology, but the underlying theme that Bodysnatchers renders so effectively is timeless. Perhaps the mind- snatching forces of commercialism are winning after all. Nevertheless, for this now 60- something, my teenage quarter was never better spent than on this film, nor will yours if you haven't seen it.

Maddyclassicfilms Invasion of the Body Snatchers is directed by Don Siegel, has a screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring, is based on the novel by Jack Finney and stars Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter.This is one of the best science fiction films ever made. Instead of aliens landing in spaceships and trying to make contact with us or destroy us from outer space, the aliens in this film invade us and kill us, replacing us with identical duplicates which lack emotion. This film perfectly captures the feelings of hysteria and paranoia such an event would cause. The film can also be seen as an allegory for the so called threat of the day which was communism. In this film people look at everyone with suspicion and paranoia is rampant.The film opens with a deeply distressed Miles Bennell(Kevin McCarthy)arrested by Police and begging for people to listen to what he has to say. He claims that there has been an alien invasion. We then see in flashback what he has experienced.Doctor Miles Bennell returns home to his small town and stumbles upon a nightmare. He has many patients contacting him claiming that family members are not who they say they are. Miles suspects some sort of mass hysteria but as time goes on he notices that people are acting strangely.A strange seed pod is found at his friends house and Miles discovers a growing duplicate of his girlfriend Becky(Dana Wynter).Soon almost everyone in town is replaced by an alien duplicate, these duplicates look human but they have no emotions. The pod people are sending their seed pods out of town to other towns and cities to take over more people. Miles and Becky try and escape the town to warn other people what is happening but are pursued by the pod people.This film is truly chilling and is still very effective today. I like this version very much but my favourite is the 1978 remake starring Donald Sutherland, that is truly chilling and the pod people's scream is one the scariest things I've ever heard.