L'Invasion des profanateurs

I hadn't seen this film in about 20 years, and now after watching it current day, it's just as good if not better now. No CGI, and I like that... The cast, and acting is really good, Donald Sutherland delivers an amazing performance. The cinematography is awesome! I highly recommend this as a must watch for any Sci-fi and/or Horror fan.

The 1956 film is an enduring classic; Abel Ferrara's 1993 picture is extra jarring as it emphasizes the horror element. Even as the concept has been explored time and again to various ends throughout different media (the two episodes of sci-fi comedy show 'Eureka' preceding the series finale is a favorite example of mine), somehow I've missed out all these years on this 1978 rendition. Now that I've finally caught up I can't believe it's taken so long: this is utterly phenomenal.

From one variation to the next each adaptation of 'The body snatchers' takes a slightly different approach. The 1978 movie is noticeably longer in its runtime, and more drawn out in its pacing - with the payoff of being distinctly haunting, and arguably more deeply frightening, as the course of events develops. This remains true even as the narrative is slightly more scattered, bouncing around a bit for a time between different scenes and characters, and that's at least in part thanks to the sensibilities of cinematic storytelling that changed in the intervening 22 years: this 'Invasion of the body snatchers' progressively shows us much more as the narrative advances, and whether it's just more creepy and unnatural behavior, or the specific effects and fabrications realizing genre elements, the cumulative effect is intensely unnerving.

That is to say that 'Invasion' successfully builds incredible, pervasive atmosphere that never once yields; I'm rather reminded of the films of John Carpenter, a master of horror whose bread and butter throughout his career has been that same dread air. In some such features it might be one aspect or another, or some combination, that helps to achieve that aura; here, it rather seems that every single facet is discretely bent toward it. Relatively few are those pictures in which sound effects so emphatically contribute to the viewing experience, yet in this instance they are crucial and arresting. From subtle makeup to more advanced prosthetics and special effects, the visuals are all but excruciating (again recalling Carpenter, I say as a major fangirl), bolstered by very careful cinematography, lighting and shadow, and precise orchestration of every shot and scene. At all times Denny Zeitlin's score strikes exactly the right chords - discordant or sweeping, light and sparing or heavy and foreboding - to give further shape to the proceedings. The acting from this terrific cast is perfect and focused across the board; among others, Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Veronica Cartwright impress with what I'm inclined to think are surely among the best performances they've ever given.

Outstanding production design and art direction adjoin superb filming locations to foster a horrific sense of how solidly rooted and wide-ranging the conspiracy is. Where some scenes pointedly echo the 1956 classic, the rendition here is unquestionably more visceral, more explosive, more fiercely engaging and invigorating. Conversely, Ferrara's treatment is more closely centered on a particular setting, and makes the most of 90s notions of horror within that space - but for as vivid as it may be, to my astonishment the 1978 film still comes out on top in terms of the feelings it imparts, the reactions it elicits. Characters feel more complete and sympathetic, dialogue is more vitally charged and relatable, and at every turn the scene writing and narrative resonate more powerfully. As much as I love Don Siegel's picture, and Ferrara's, from top to bottom this is a more absorbing, spellbinding, menacing, disquieting, fulfilling viewing experience - and outright superior.

Every now and again one watches a movie that so wholly entrances us that it's difficult to find the words to elucidate the joy of watching. We talk in circles, we trip over ourselves, in our exuberance we lose track of some of what we might want to see. 1978's 'Invasion of the body snatchers' is one of those movies. I had high expectations when I sat to watch, for all the reasons, and still they were handily exceeded. What more is there to say? This is a must-see, and that's all there is to it.

I first saw this film in a movie theater at midnight, as part of an October horror-movie festival. I almost didn't go; I had always had this movie figured as another stupid Hollywood remake of a great film from the past, and thought they were probably only showing it instead of the original because of that weird, vague prejudice against black and white movies that still for some reason permeates this country, even though the novelty of color wore off about forty years ago. But I figured what the hell, it wouldn't hurt to check it out, and when will I get a chance to see any of these movies in a theater again? So I went, and was almost immediately sucked in by the mind-bending direction and the terrific acting. But not only that; it was after midnight, remember, and I was getting sleepy, and I found myself in that kind of hypnotized, pseudo-dreaming state you can get into when you're watching a movie really late at night. I was really into the movie, mind you, but it was like a dream, I wasn't wholly conscious. And just as I was at my most out-of-it, as I was almost technically asleep, the movie hit me with that last shot, you know the one I mean, and jolted me wide awake like a bucket of ice water. It was just like waking up from a nightmare. I thought I was gonna start crying. I haven't been that freaked out by a movie since I was a little kid. As the end credits rolled and the house lights came up, I heard some other people in the theater talking about what a stupid movie it was, man, was that a waste of money, I'm glad it was only three-fifty, and it was a really surreal moment; I've just had one of the most horrifying moments of my waking life, and they're talking about how silly it was (although, truthfully, they may have been a little shaken up themselves and just covering for it, I dunno). A week or so later I was talking about it with my dad, who had seen it when it came out, and I mentioned the ending, and he did a dead-on mimic of the last shot, and I said "God! Don't do that!" I was STILL shaken up by this movie.

There aren't a lot of movies that even try to be frightening--most horror movies (and novels and so on) actually have other concerns: being funny, or shocking, or gory, or surprising, or bizarre, or whatever--and even fewer actually pull it off, actually scare you. Man, does this one pull it off.

This is a solid horror/sci-fi story with good production values. Those values include outstanding direction by Philip Kaufman, camera-work by Michael Chapman and acting. The cast of main characters was comprised of Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright. Of the group, Sutherland had the most lines and was the most impressive. All of it added up to a pretty classy film, a lot more than you'd except reading the movie title.

There was some profanity and nudity so maybe it wasn't totally classy, but the profanity was light and the nudity was a few shots of Adams' breasts.

The movie clicked because it built up the suspense beautifully, and proved you don't need a lot of violence and gore to scare the viewer. Too bad modern filmmakers of horror films can't seem to understand that. In fact the scariest thing of the movie - and it WAS scary - might have been the eerie noises emanating from the "re-born" humans.

The photography is good and I loved the facial closeups and interesting camera angles. The film is a visual treat. The original film in 1956 is a good one but it's generally conceded this re-make is superior. The star of that first film, by the way - Kevin McCarthy, makes a cameo appearance in here. That was a nice touch.

Invasion of the Body Snatcher (1978)

The original 1950s version of this movie is such a favorite of mine, I hesitated to watch this one. But fear not. This is great, too. It's got the same theme, but very richly and creatively rendered, some superb photography, great night stuff, and most importantly, great acting by the key 3 or 4 people.

Director Philip Kaufman works sporadically as director and writer (he hit it big with "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and he clearly has a unique and somewhat fearless vision that remains rooted in Hollywood sensibilities. That is, this is no independent film, yet it's creative.

And it's scary. Between the development of fear over the actual biological invasion, and the old fashioned chase and hide sequences, this is a tense movie. But yet it's convincing, given the realistic, nuanced acting by the main couple, Donald Sutherland (as a Health Department official) and Brooke Adams (as a lab analyst in the same department). Of course, what happens isn't believable at all, somehow, but it's so close to feasible, and in fact so close to what we live with already (some people without feelings, out for themselves, part of a conspiracy, etc.), it isn't hard to pull it off.

Cinematographer Michael Chapman is about as good as it gets in the Hollywood vein, polished and with amazing, varied lighting (he also did "Raging Bull," "The Fugitive," and "Taxi Driver," for starters). So this movie works on every level. The one thing it isn't, of course, is original, but as a remake, we have to take it for how it handles it, 1970s style. Impressive.