Invasion of the Body Snatchers: An Analysis of All Four Versions

The story begins with Miles Bennell, thought to be insane,being held in a local hospital and telling another doctor an incredible story. In the perfectly normal town of Santa Mira, California, residents seem to be suffering from mass hysteria: certain people feel that their relatives are not actually their relatives, even though by all objective counts they are. Things become more suspicious when Miles' friend, Jack Belicec, finds an unformed, unmoving body in his house that later disappears. Jack and his wife decide to stay at Miles' house, with Miles' former girlfriend Becky who is showing a renewed interest in him. At night in Miles' greenhouse, the four find giant pod seeds that begin to sprout duplicates of all of them. Jack and his wife leave to find help, but they return transformed into emotionless replicas of their former selves. Most of the town has already been converted, and Miles and Becky are chased by a mob ofpod people.
In 1956, the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, along with several science fiction films of that era, intentionally chose to mirror society in a way that was quite direct. McCarthyism had turned people against one another, and soon Americans began to think they were being invaded by Communists. They began to look at their neighbors with increasing fear andsuspicion, which created an air of paranoia that felt like smog permeating humanity. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, starring the great Kevin McCarthy was a blueprint for many films tocome. My first exposure to it was actually during my childhood, but not in its entirety. It was featured briefly in Joe Dante's Gremlins, in which the ending played as Billy and Gizmo fell asleep.

"You're next! You're next" was my earliest memory, along with slowly becoming enamored with the work of Dante and Spielberg. After going through a phase of watching The Cat From Outer Space over and over again, I eventually became a huge fan of films like Forbidden Planet and The Day The Earth Stood Still, but the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers topped the list. When I met Kevin McCarthy at the Flashback Weekend, I told him that the film was one of the first that made me question authority and complacency. As the years went on, any institution that transformed humans into cult-like followers certainly echoed the kind of response portrayed in all of theBody Snatcher films. Whether it was the military or religion, I became averse to any organization that "told me how to think and feel." It felt like brainwashing, but obviously as I have gotten older, my heart is more open as my suspicions about our government continue to loom and grow larger.
The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers is still the best version by just a hair. It could be the performance of McCarthy that steps it up, but there's a certain purity and freshness to this story that could only be captured way back then. I realize it was based on a novel, and many variations of an alien invasion have appeared through the years including the reasonably entertainingInvaders From Mars (both versions) and the incredibly underwhelming The Puppet Masters, which is certainly the worst retelling of alien mind control to date. The influence of the original certainly can't be denied, although you can certainly find more scarier and unique films of that time like The Blob. But there's something about each Body Snatcher story that feels relevant to US history in a way. Not every child, including myself, had the patience to thumb through a history book for class, but in a way, I learned about America through film history instead. For the rest of this article, having rewatched all of the Body Snatcher films, I am going to quickly expand upon their strengths and weaknesses. I will say that they are all worth seeing despite diminishing in quality. I love this kind of science fiction film, where humanity is swallowed up and our vulnerability is susceptible to invasive tactics, mostly while we are asleep. The first still stands out as a classic and a film that truly made me a fan of this genre for life.

I was born in 1978 and therefore had no awareness of the political climate of the time. It wasn't until a couple of decades later that I realized how scathing this version was in regards to how America was dealing with corruption, war, and untrustworthy politicians. Vietnam, Watergate, and other events at the time made everyone question the direction our country was headed and a lot of the films of the 70s became darker as a result. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was remade for good reason. Instead of McCarthyism, there was our own country to fear instead of the Soviet Union. Throughout this version, there are jabs at hippie culture and New Age idealism. Certain institutions were attempting to capitalize on American's increasing apprehensions about who to trust. If those in power continue to become untrustworthy, then we might all just subtly become unsympathetic capitalists.
If no one cares for us, then we are forced to look out for ourselves alone and let the masses deal with their own plights. The more interesting aspect of the 1978 interpretation is something that crept its way into me. For example, Donald Sutherland plays a food inspector that finds rat droppings in a restaurant's soup in the very beginning. Odd choice. But then the way this movie starts out is from the perspective of outer space invading plants and our soil with a bacteria-like substance. At one point during the film, a character screams out "We eat their junk and don't even realize it." It's a throwaway line to be sure, in the midst of other issues she brings up about how we are pretty much oblivious to what those in power are doing to us. However, with the recent Monsanto madness and the awareness of GMO's invading our digestive systems, I began to think that maybe food companies are the aliens turning us into unhealthy pod people. This was not at all the intention of director Philip Kaufman, I'm sure, since his themes are more political in tone. But the fact that Sutherland plays a food inspector and a character screams out a line about food, I couldn't help but notice a parallel.
Anytime I drive by another fast food restaurant opening up, it does feel like an unwelcome invasion but this is coming from the perspective of someone who is a challenging relationship with eating healthy. With that in mind, the 1978 version has some genuinely interesting elements including the casting of Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy. Contained within is a Body Snatchers for the post-flower power age of feminism and pop psychology, and could be a read as a meditation on the loss of identity in the modern age. It’s the city relocation, and the aggressive, furtive otherness of the invaders, as opposed to the drone-like listlessness of the 50s pod people, that makes the 1978 Body Snatchers more than just another remake. Unfortunately, there is a feeling of repetition once it becomes more of a chase picture and the length is an issue. Yet the ending solidifies what many films of the 70s were trying to convey that we are our own enemies, constantly at war. No longer were we afraid of foreign invasion, but we became afraid of each other thanks to cataclysmic events involving corruption and death on a massive scale. Kaufman definitely made one of the best remakes of a science fiction film (outside of The Thing) but I wish it were just a bit tighter like its predecessor. It's still well worth a viewing especially since it fits right nicely into the 70s milieu that was full of dystopia, malaise, and aggression.
The next one came out in 1993 in the midst of the Gulf War if I recall. What director Abel Ferrera improves on this time around, is a running time more akin to the 1956 version. There is less time spent on the chase element, and more on the environment that Ferrera chose for the setting. A military base seems appropriate for a body snatcher story, since there has always been a form of brainwashing (in my opinion) taking place. We certainly became untrustworthy once again regarding the intentions of George Bush, Sr. Even a film like Jarhead would attest that very little war was going on, and we were more likely there to snatch some oil and take control. Despite this version being a bit lackluster when it comes to performances, the choice to make the lead protagonist a teenage girl that is a bit angsty feels right.
Any teenager would probably not adapt well to moving around from military base to military base due to their father's profession, so it seems accurate to have her question the behavior of her parents even before the actual invasion sets in. The cast is solid with the inclusion of R. Lee Ermey and Forest Whittaker, but they are rarely on screen. The focus is on subpar performances from both parents (including Meg Tilly), the lead gal, the army hunk, and the crazy girl that stalked Brandon on Beverly Hills 90210. They're not fully realized this time around, whereas the other two films had stronger characterization, whichlead to more emotional involvement. Obviously, you can't be too picky when it comes to a story like this, but Ferrera seems to be under the microscope of the studios to really go balls-out. Sure there are some great gore moments but the spaghetti-like tentacles of the pod people look pretty bad, and a moment I would've dream of giving away reeks of green screen. This particular instance should have given me goosebumps (since it clearly worked on Roger Ebert), but watching it now, it made me laugh. It's not the film's fault when effects are dated and I'm sure watching it back in the mid-90s, I had a stronger reaction to this version.
Again, it has many strengths especially its choice of setting and a rather bleak conclusion. But when moments that are intended to be full of tension play more like parody, that's not a good sign. Your reaction on the whole experience might be based on how you respond to Meg Tilly's speech about "Where are you gonna go?" If you find it heavy-handed and silly, then this version is mostly a failure than a success. If you find it creepy, then it's not so bad.
I'm so disappointed that the most recent take is the weakest because of all the potential it carries. I probably give it even more of a pass than most, simply based on its half-realized ideas that I wish were stronger. From what I've read, there was so much tinkering going on with the 2009 version, that almost everyone involved has complained. The director of the rather brilliant Downfall came on board, and this should have been a home run. But the studios wanted more action and less substance, which lead to many conflicts with the creative team. Then the Wachowski's were asked to come in for a rewrite along with the director of V for Vendetta. So this turned out to be a huge mess, and you can tell right from the outset. The editing is so bizarre throughout the film, and certain scenes either feel too long or (mostly) too short. Abrupt cuts occur that give the viewer a sense of frustration. The reason why this film makes me so upset is because I'm a huge fan of what it was trying to do. I've always been critical of the pharmaceutical industry and the fact that Nicole Kidman is playing a psychiatrist is a brilliant move. Obviously, she specializes in trying to make people more like "themselves" by prescribing chemical adjustments which can be perceived as an invasion of the brain. This parallel should have been incredibly effective, but because the story devolves into chases and action set pieces, the good stuff gets buried. Once again, the ending is interesting but comes far too suddenly after an intense confrontation. I like the idea of Jeffrey Wright saying "Well we're human again, for better or worse," as if to say that we're still fucked up and going to continue to fuck up. Almost as if to say, maybe the aliens would've brought more utopia rather than conflict. It's an interesting concept that again, is incredibly ineffective due to how muddled most of the movie is. Kidman gives it her all, as usual, and there are certainly instances of being creeped out. This time aliens vomit on their victims, and that's gross obviously. And the sequence of Kidman trying to find medications to keep her awake I found fascinating, but surprisingly inaccurate (Clonazapam will put you to sleep since it's a benzodiazapene). Also, the metacontextual element is there if you really want to dig deep, but again, it's a missed opportunity. I was hoping for some commentary on Scientology to creep in, since Kidman herself dabbled in it with ex-husband Tom Cruise. There are so many things going on in our country that this story could comment on in a really interesting way, but because the studio fucked with the script in a way that is obvious while watching it, I am sad to report that this version is by far the weakest of them all.

In conclusion, I think each Body Snatcher film is a vital entry in the genre, interesting as time pieces and social commentary rather than just being creepy shockfests with slimy aliens.Granted, the first two are by far the best. Optimistically, I am still hoping for a fifth version to blow them all away since there are so many contemporary issues to comment on, in an entertaining fashion. Surely a screenwriter like Charlie Kaufman has better things to do than remake a classic, but I can't help but hope that a new, original take on this idea could be on the horizon once again.