Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) (Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy) 1/2
Paranoia is among the most effective devices in a standard horror movie, because everyone has experienced it at one time or another. While movies like the Birds or Friday the 13th are scary in their own ways, few people have ever actually been attacked by a flock of birds or stalked by a guy in a hockey mask. That's why 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers is so riveting. It doesn't rely on excessive gore (although there is one scene midway through the movie that is quite disgusting), but it taps into our natural fear of being excluded or ostracized for not conforming.
The film is a remake of the 1956 classic of the same name, however I unfortunately haven't seen the original yet. I would surmise it contains equally chilling and suspenseful scenes of alienation and may be better than this version, though it's hard to imagine. Director Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff, Quills) shows a lot of depth and ingenuity here, making what one would think are typical shots and settings a little more eerie. One example would be a mud bath where a husband and wife (Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright) work. Each massage area is separated by a curtain, giving Kaufman lots of angles to play with, which he certainly does.
It stars Donald Sutherland as Matthew Bennell (that's B-E-N-N-E-L-L), an inspector for the Department of Health. He works with the beautiful Elizabeth (Brooke Adams), who naturally has a class A jerk scumbag idiot boyfriend. Elizabeth starts to notice her usually belittling beau is more abrupt and suspicious than usual. Turns out he and pretty much the rest of the city have been duplicated overnight as aliens, spawned from pods produced by tiny extra-terrestrial flowers. This sends Sutherland, Goldblum, Adams and Cartwright to enlist the help of reputed psychiatrist David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy). From there, it's a race to avoid the doppelgangers who have infiltrated the city, including the merchants, the doctors, and even the police. It all culminates in a wild final 15 minutes where a drugged, manic Sutherland tries to save the world while trying to differentiate friend from foe.
The score is a real blast here, and is definitely worth singling out. There are distorted wails and screams, loud heartbeats, or sometimes blaring notes spun from a synthesizer. Denny Zeitlin, who I'll admit I have never heard of, provides excellent atmosphere even when the scene doesn't appear all that suspenseful on the surface.
The layers of paranoia build so well throughout Invasion of the Body Snatchers, that the audience is constantly forced to analyze the characters and try to figure out if they've been snatched or not. It makes for a wild and disturbing trip, which in this case is a good thing.
