Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Review

 Number 454 on the top 1000 films of all time is the science-fiction horror film 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.'

Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is a doctor in LA who soon starts to be convinced that everybody around him has been replaced by copies. This includes everybody except for his girlfriend Becky (Dana Wynter.) However, as things start to become more serious, Miles struggles in getting anybody else to believe him. He endeavours to prove the truth no matter the cost.

I think it can be all too easy to dismiss films like these as just another science-fiction flick capitalising on the Red-Scare panic of the 1950's. And while Don Siegel certainly captured the paranoia of McCarthy's America, this film is certainly more than your average B-movie sci-fi film.

Although it was initially forgotten by critics, it has since grown into one of the pre-eminent science fiction/horror films and for good reason. Despite having a minimal $400,000 budget and a paltry 80 minute runtime, it grossed over seven times that. Probably due to the small budget, it was simple, but incredibly effective. Siegel did well to really convey a fearful atmosphere. 

Perhaps that's because he deliberately under-played things. Despite hearing throughout about the pod people who have replaced the town, we only see glimpses of the pods themselves and never anything of the actual aliens. Instead, they these people look like the average person on the street, again showing the paranoia that was rampant at the time. It was the simplicity that, I think, made this film stand out against some of its contemporaries like Forbidden Planet.

Kevin McCarthy - no relation to Joseph McCarthy who gave his name to the anti-communist policies that dominated the 60's - was very good as the lead Miles Bennell. He brought an everyman quality as we see Bennell trying desperately to expose the truth while not falling to hysteria. And, best of all, unlike most science fiction, Bennell was actually an interesting character that you want to root for.

I enjoyed Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Although it was low-budget, this by no far impacted it quality. And it was certainly more than your average 1950's sci-film which exploited the McCarthyismesque paranoia of the time.