Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Directed by: Don Siegel

Written by: Daniel Mainwaring

Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones

Rating: [4/5]

Trying to convince someone of something completely unbelievable you have just witnessed is a tall task to complete. It requires convincing individuals to abandon what they believe is real and accept a new reality that in all likelihood does not exist. Invasion of the Body Snatchers presents this situation for the lead character, where his town slowly but surely gets taken over by a strange phenomenon. 

Hearing from different patients of their concern about their relatives being replaced by identical-looking imposters, trouble begins to stir in this town. What is initially believed to be mass hysteria begins to bear truth as Dr. Miles (Kevin McCarthy) and Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter) find incubated bodies bearing the resemblence of the people they know. 

Such a fascinating story and one that rightfully has maintained so much staying power over the years, Invasion of the Body Snatchers presents a horror not necessarily based on a scary creature to avoid who can kill on masse but rather an allegory for the lack of individualism with unconditional conformity as its replacement. This occurs through the replacement of individuals where said replacement follows particular commands. The question remains of what is behind all of this and who leads the new command of these individuals. 

This creates the horror of this film as it opens the door for the deeper meaning behind all of this, especially in the time period of its release. Right in the middle of McCarthyism that seeped into all areas of life and especially Hollywood, this film moves with intention. With the fear of communism at its highest, the reading of this can work in two ways. It can exemplify the perils of communism as the economic and social system seeks to remove individuality in place for conformity. On the other hand, this film can be viewed as a criticism against the mass paranoia around accusing others of having sympathy for communism. Therefore, the negatively viewed conformity appears in a lack of individualism in having a belief different from the collective. I can presume one’s political leanings will help inform which interpretation they prefer. 

As these replacements continue to transpire, there’s inevitability that continues to build throughout this story. In one minute Miles and Becky could be dealing with a real person, and then the next instance where they interact, the replacement has completely taken over. A terrifying development, which makes it difficult to trust anyone they engage with. This becomes especially true when they find the pods of these replacements incubating and preparing to take over. It leads to an eventuality where once they see a pod for that individual, it’s likely they will soon be replaced. This represents an ominous feeling as more and more individuals get replaced, and it leads to the grand question of the end goal involved, not necessarily allegorically but narratively, in this story. 

We see instances of truckloads of pods coming into this town, surely to one-by-one take over everyone, but the film maintains the mystery of the grand source of this all. A choice I certainly respect, as it makes this story all the more terrifying, as it does not prove to be some governmental agency doing this or some alien species. All of this just happens with no real explanation, allowing for audiences to make their own interpretations and take in this story in the way this mass paranoia builds. 

Leading the way in this story, we have two captivating leads portrayed by Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter in portraying Miles and Becky, respectively. Funnily enough, the lead actor does not have a relation to the man of the same surname who led McCarthyism, but it does create a happy coincidence. This pair creates great chemistry between each other. As two ex-lovers who are now reunited, the spark they light for each other in this film in the little time they have to accomplish this does wonders. It builds in a vested interest to continually root for their survival as we want both of them to make it out of this situation. McCarthy does well in portraying not only the leading man qualities for a film like this one but also the bits of insanity he must also portray as things begin to go haywire. 

Still holding up magnificently well, Invasion of the Body Snatchers still carries power in the story told and how the interpretations can carry water even today. The mass paranoia continually builds as its physical manifestation haunts the people of this town. Providing such a suffocating experience, Don Siegel directs this movie so well in allowing the tension and the fear to continually build until it leaves only a handful of characters remaining trying to run away from the inevitable. Its continual mystery serves as its best feature, further allowing the horror at hand to live in our minds in trying to decipher exactly what or who caused this terrifying dilemna.