When you’re a child, the nightmare or the day terror is always the same: One day, mom and dad start acting a little funny. Slowly, you become convinced they’re not really your mom and dad. Eventually it becomes clear: They’ve been replaced by pod people!
You run to the police for help. The police smile politely and do nothing. They’ve been replaced by pod people, too! AAAUUUGGGHHHH!
The nightmare has become a cliche, long after people forgot where the phrase “pod people” even came from. To find out, reach back into the vault for the taut, chilling sci-fi noir “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” from 1956.
Kevin McCarthy stars as a doctor returning to his California hometown after a convention. His appointment calendar is crammed with locals claiming their relatives have “changed” somehow.
Then, in the creepiest scene in a very creepy movie, McCarthy’s friend Jack (King Donovan) discovers a “blank” body in his house – the blank body will soon become Jack, fingerprints and all. The moment the body’s eyes fly open is a signature moment in horror cinema.
Some claim the movie is a warning about communism’s reduction of individualism to banal conformity. Others said it was a warning against Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist witch hunts – good people have to stand up and protest, or a sinister majority will trample all. But you don’t have to read it as politics to enjoy “Body Snatchers.” Simply appreciate it as a beautifully shot black-and-white classic, with tension in every frame.
Staff writer Michael Booth can be reached at 303-954-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com.
“Body Snatchers”
Not rated, made before current ratings system was in place. Similar to PG-13, for disturbing material, though the violence is understated by modern standards.
BEST SUITED FOR|’Tweens and teenagers interested in noir or sci-fi, all parents
