Big Screen Classics: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. (NR, 85 min.)
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Tuesday, October 22, 2024
7:00 PM
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Something evil has taken possession of the small town of Santa Mira, California. Hysterical people accuse their loved ones of being emotionless impostors; of not being themselves. At first, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) tries to convince them they’re wrong…but they’re not. Plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Earth, replicating the villagers in giant seed “pods” and taking possession of their souls while they sleep. Soon the entire town is overwhelmed by the inhuman horror, but it won’t stop there. In a terrifying race for his life, Dr. Bennell escapes to warn the world of the deadly invasion of the pod people! Remade in both 1978 and 1997, this chilling combination of extraterrestrial terror and anti-conformity paranoia is considered one of the great cult classics of the genre. [Paramount Movies]
Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes
Director: Don Siegel
Genre:Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
"A film whose righteous anger is visible in its every frame."
— David Jenkins, David Jenkins Little White Lies
"Few modern-day movies are more genuinely frightening."
— Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"A 50s horror classic that remains a gem of allegorical paranoia."
— Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
"Wonderfully performed and imbued with a genuine sense of trepidation and unease."
— David Wood, BBC.com
"Watch it in the cinema and you'll find yourself gazing warily at everyone else in your row."
— Jonathan Romney, Observer (UK)
"Brilliantly placed, however unwittingly, to illustrate America's political paranoia from both ends."
— Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph (UK)
"A movie that can claim kinship with Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well? as well as The Matrix and Under the Skin."
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
"This modest, sci-fi-inflected 1956 horror movie may come to be seen as the defining metaphorical work of the twentieth century."
— Tom Huddleston, Time Out
"It's still a chilling picture, gaining over Phil Kaufman's smart remake by virtue of its intimate small town setting, and it has one of the greatest endings ever filmed."
— Tom Charity, Time Out
"'You fools! You're in danger! Can't you see? They're after you! They're after all of us!' It's one of the greatest lines in sci-fi movie history, from one of the greatest films, Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
— Kevin Maher, Times (UK)
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