Mention the late Donald Sutherland, and chances are the first thing that comes to mind is the horrific final plan of Invasion of the body snatchers (1978). His frozen face and alien howl put the finishing touches on a truly frightening film. Sutherland made recurring but infrequent appearances in the horror genre, never lightly and always with something interesting to lend to the production. None of them landed with as much power as Body snatchers, which continues to resonate to this day. The film is doubly impressive considering it’s a remake.
The original Invasion of the body snatchers from 1956 is widely considered not only one of the greatest films of the decade, but also one of the greatest science fiction horror films ever made. Yet the 1978 version, directed by Phillip Kaufman, surpasses it in almost every way, which is a remarkable achievement considering the masterpiece that preceded it. Other remakes have improved on the original, such as John Carpenter’s. The thingbut to do it against a work as strong as the 1956 version is something else. Multiple adaptations of the story have been made since, including a decent 1993 version and a well-intentioned 2007 misfire starring Nichole Kidman. However, Kaufman’s version is almost effortlessly superior, and Sutherland’s performance in the lead plays a huge role in its success.
Updated on October 14, 2024 by Robert Vaux: Both the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Kaufman’s remake are must-sees for Halloween and the spooky season. The 1978 film is also one of the first examples of how to properly reboot a story: preserving the essence of the original while presenting it in creative and different ways. Amid the constant exploitation of intellectual properties in today’s media environment, there are important lessons to be learned for doing new things with well-known ideas. The article has been updated with new information about the film’s production and formatting has been adjusted to meet current CBR guidelines.
The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers is limited by censorship
Jack Finney wrote the original novel Body snatcherswhich appeared in serialized form in Necklaces magazine in 1954. Two years later, Don Siegel directed the first film based on it, Invasion of the body snatcherswhich served as a brilliant metaphor for Cold War paranoia. The inhabitants of a small town are slowly replaced by duplicates grown in pods from outer space, which look exactly like the originals. They increase their numbers by lighting up their friends and loved ones to make them feel comfortable, then take over when the originals fall asleep. Siegel uses brilliant visual tricks to convey the extent of the invasion, such as a town square filled with people suddenly acting and moving as one when the aliens are gone. It perfectly captures the mood of the period, echoing the Red Scare’s fears of a communist takeover and leaning fully into the paranoia of the equation.
The original Body snatchers has lost little of its power, and few horror films of the era retain the ability to frighten as they do. As strong as it was, the film had to comply with the censorship standards of the time. The Hays Code prevented Siegel from making the aliens too uncomfortable, and the studio had problems with the downbeat ending, in which Kevin McCarthy’s protagonist runs screaming into traffic as trucks full of pods pass by in front of him. A framing device was added, providing a more optimistic ending in which the FBI is called in before the trucks go too far. This goes against the tone of the film as a whole and detracts from the results, if only slightly.
1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers Offers More Tools to Play
Kaufman was not operating under such constraints. The Hays Code had been abandoned in 1978, allowing him to openly embrace the more troubling aspects of the storyline.. The special effects are more complete and convincing, thanks in part to the massive success of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope a year earlier. More importantly, the idea of a more downbeat ending was far more palatable in the post-Vietnam malaise of the 1970s, allowing Kaufman to step into the groove where Siegel was forced to tiptoe. He takes full advantage of the opportunity and cleanly eliminates the few problems that haunted his predecessor.
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It also allowed him to completely reshape the narrative and find new ways to express the frightening paranoia of the first film. In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kaufman has spoken of his love for the original – comparing it to “big radio” and Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 broadcast. War of the Worlds – but also seeing all kinds of different directions the story could take. He summarized the key concepts of what he wanted to do:
The allegorical metaphor was to move it first to color, and second with a contemporary cast, and third, to try to give the characters a depth of characterization that the original didn’t do. The last thing to do was to move it to a big city. By the time we were making the film, paranoia had certainly spread to the big cities where it’s probably hiding more than ever.
All this is seen during production. The obvious shift from black and white to color gives Kaufman and cinematographer Michael Chapman the opportunity to develop darkness and frightening shadows in a visually saturated environment. The emphasis on strong characters attracted A-list talent like Sutherland, as well as key figures like Leonard Nimoy.. The San Francisco setting brings the paranoia home, with indifferent strangers hiding among once-comforting landmarks. The finale carries a sad certainty that fits the post-Watergate 1970s in a way that the prosperous 1950s wouldn’t.
Human indifference seals our fate in Body Snatchers remake
Kaufman begins by moving the action from a small town to a bustling metropolis – San Francisco, which becomes as cold and isolating as the far side of the moon. The alien pods first arrive as curious flowers, which clone their first victims without anyone noticing. As the “invasion” spreads, the protagonists are unaware of it, going about their business while nagging questions come to mind. Potential victims flee through the streets in the background, while other people watch them curiously or ignore them completely. As the threat arises, pod people are everywhere and the heroes suddenly find themselves on the run from an entire city full of monsters.
Unlike the Siegel version, no cavalry comes to save the day.. The remaining humans can only hide and hope as the invaders systematically eliminate all opposition. This greatly increases the paranoia, and even seemingly ordinary conversations take on a terrifying undercurrent as the alien clones spread.. Kaufmann Body snatchers enhances the story’s iconic pods in several ways, including depicting the clones’ grotesque early metamorphosis and ultimately revealing a dog with a human face produced by a botched pod.
The moment is almost as shocking as the finale itself. The cast also has several ringers, including notable early roles from Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright, as well as a villainous cameo from McCarthy. Leonard Nimoy (deep in his “I’m not Spock” phase) achieves a triumph by turning his benevolent face Star Trek Vulcan in ear, duplicitous clone of a New Age psychologist who spends his time putting potential victims at ease. Unlike the Siegel version, Kaufman’s vision has the freedom to take the storyline to its terrifying conclusion.
The invaders win, replacing all of San Francisco with duplicates and presumably wiping out the rest of the world in short order. The fact that this is taking place in a world-class city, right in front of everyone, is both entirely plausible and deeply disturbing. In the final scene, Sutherland’s protagonist appears to have survived the invasion and lives in a world devoid of emotion or human connection. When one of her friends (played by Cartwright) reveals that she too is human, he responds with this alien scream, extinguishing all hope just as the credits roll and leaving a devastated audience behind.
Sutherland’s protagonist punctuates the film’s message
Donald Sutherland is at the center of it all, a normal man caught in the nightmare and doing his best in the midst of an ever-expanding nightmare. The actor always conveyed a warm and sympathetic presence on screen, even when playing a monster.. His health inspector is smart, honest, and cares deeply about his friends – all of which he effortlessly embodies. The horror of Body snatchers comes with the annihilation of the soul.
His health inspector, Matthew Bennell, is full of humanity: ordinary and hardworking, but decent, caring and even quite courageous when the situation demands it. This makes the twist particularly painful, as he apparently remains the only real human being in the town. Body snatchers cuts off his transformation (which usually happens when the target falls asleep) and uses the build-up to suggest that he is still human and is simply masking himself to stay safe. Cartwright’s Nancy does the same trick, but Kaufman doesn’t focus on her.
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When Nancy smiles at Matthew, it’s a sign of hope, and the audience knows that Matthew – the real Matthew – would respond. Instead, he screams, and the nihilism of the moment seals humanity’s doom. It wouldn’t be so terrifying without Sutherland’s performance over the previous two hours to punctuate it. Each version of Invasion of the body snatchers plays on the fear of the crowd and the loss of identity that comes with it. The 1978 version stands out from the rest not only because it fully embraces darkness, but also because it deeply understands its cost.
There’s no hipster cynicism here, no celebration of the disappearance of humanity’s less admirable qualities. The victory of the aliens is presented as an inescapable fact: whoever the people were, they are gone forever, replaced by drone-like automatons. Sutherland’s presence on screen ensures that the message hits with a thunderclap and any casual dismissal rings hollow.. Even more than McCarthy’s tormented hero in the first film, Sutherland embodies what such a scenario means and helps make his Body snatchers a truly unforgettable horror film.
The 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is currently streaming for free with ads on Amazon Prime.
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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that his community’s population is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
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1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers was directed by Philip Kaufman and is an adaptation of the popular 1955 science fiction novel The Body Snatchers. The Horror and Sci-Fi version features a race of mysterious alien creatures who travel to Earth and begin taking over the bodies of unsuspecting humans.
