Science fiction taught us to be scared or at least highly suspicious over emotionless creatures (or creations), but what if they are family? What if their emotionlessness is also the promise of a life devoid of the tormenting effects of feelings? How would that premise, so scary back then, holds up today?I don't think Jack Finney, author of the original novel could have predicted that at the dawn of the 20th century, his "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" would inspire three movie adaptations, and three damn good ones at that. I guess he foresaw that there was something universal and timeless about the story, which explains how it could regularly reinvent itself. Indeed, each film reflects the social mood of its era, each one borrowing a little something from the predecessor yet providing a novelty that fits its own context.In 1956, Don Siegel entered "pod culture" with a story set in small Californian town. In Philip Kaufman's version of 1978, the town was San Francisco, the era made soullessness even less visible and the film was more generous in horror artistry and introduced the now iconic pod scream and signal. Intentionally or not, the first was an allegory of conservative conformism while the second a commentary of the failure of counterculture with modernity alienating people from each other and maybe the pointed finger as the brutal demonization of social outcastsNow, we're in 1993, and the director is Abel Ferrara. It's been a while since I saw his movies but they always struck me with their nihilistic feel and the way violence could have an exorcising effect without being enjoyed in the proper term of the word. His characters are often prone to bitterness, devoured by their own demons and barely capable to show emotion. It's not a coincidence that one of his fetish actors was Christopher Walken, who's so intimidating you could never tell if you had to fear him or avoid him, a natural-born pod man. So there wasn't many joy in his films but a form of subtle introspection within doomed but not meaningless lives.His 1992 "Bad Lieutenant" was a masterpiece and highlighted one of his greatest talents which is not to sell out for cheap and predictable genre tropes. One can say that his use of violence could make him a good candidate for a horror film, but even then, you can sense there's a Ferrara touch in the story, it is faithful to the novel in structure and story, but in spirit, it is different. And even by tackling the genre, Ferrara doesn't indulge in an exercise in style and, he sticks to his guns and dares to play it in a surprisingly low key way. His most inspired idea was to flip the genders and center the story on a young teenage girl played by Gabrielle Anwar, in fact, he tells a totally different story.Marti is 16, she lives with her father (Terry Kinney), her step-mother (Meg Tilly) and little half-brother and strikes you as the typical angry teen who gets alone with nobody. This is an interesting departure from the first films where the shifts of personalities occurred within happy couples or families. We're in an interesting case of new marriage where members seem estranged one to another, quite an irony when the change is meant to be the pivotal point. So if the little boy feels the children in school all act bizarrely the same or that his "mother is dead", the dysfunctional thing will serve as a perfect alibi. Ferrara tricks the card already by making the slights change more difficult to notice. Another example the the film is set in a military base, so the emotionless façade is in line with the soldiers' rigid conformity, as pointed out by Roger Ebert who gave the film four stars. I liked the film but within its short runtime, it doesn't try to play with our minds for too long, Ferrara knows that we all wait for the first pods to appear and on that level, he gets as graphic and visually generous as Kaufman, but in a rather sordid and disgusting way, the tendrils don't have this macabre but bizarre sensuality and the sight and sounds of "unfinished" bodies are pretty unsettling, not to mention those damn finger-pointing screams.Kaufman's art was almost beautiful and give the film a sort of hypnotic beauty, "Body Snatchers" is gloomy from the start, there's no cheerful neighbors to welcome the family, the means of socialization are quite minimal: people drink and sleep all day and barely talk to each other. Even Marti makes only two friends, the general's daughter and a handsome soldier, the rest of the environment involvement military police under the commandment of the late R. Lee. Ermey, far less colorful than his legendary Hartman but even more intimidating. His confrontation and speech to a mentally cornered Forest Whitaker and is perhaps the most depressing "explanation moment" of the trilogy. Even the Alabama military base is a sort of anachronistic sepia-toned town so typical of these "Great Depression" movies of the 70's. In the end, we don't know if the body snatching either is a predictable evolution or a deliverance. It's interesting that the only outburst of pure humanity are either suicide or intense hatred, not our most positive assets. Ebert said that the film reflected the "no future" depression of the 90's, the AIDS period, I think Ferrara took an interesting angle that fit the disillusioned spirit of his characters, driven yet undefeated. Indeed, just because one hates his life doesn't mean he should accept someone to suck the life out of him, that's the point.As usual, the 'body snatchers' say something about what we are, but also what we don't want to be. Maybe as long as we'll be "afraid to sleep", the story will be relevant enough to inspire more remakes like the 2007 one.

This is the Third in a Series of Four Films from Jack Finney's Novel "The Body Snatchers" Written in the 1940's and Published in 1955. It First was Serialized in Collier's Magazine in 1954."Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) Directed by Don Siegel... "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978) Directed by Philip Kaufman... "Body Snatchers" (1993) Directed by Abel Ferrara... "The Invasion" (2007) Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel The First Three Versions all have Redeeming Value as Films and Social Commentary, although this one is Certainly Concerned almost Exclusively with the more Personal Horror of it all. Director Abel Ferrara, most known for Fringe Exploitation with Hard Edged Realism, gives this Sci-Fi Stalwart a Good Try with the Help of Horror Genre Participants Larry Cohen and Stuart Gordon.It's a Fittingly Creepy Affair with a Share of Chills and Shadowy Sullenness. A Few Scenes are Decidedly Unsettling with Ferrara Skirting the Edges to Disturb. But Overall the Movie seems a bit Rushed and its Short Running Time (88 Minutes) does not allow for much Suspenseful Buildup. A Good Cast all Contribute to make this a Watchable Remake and Despite a Tacked On "Explosive" Ending (the weakest element) it has a Following that Grows Every Year. Most Likely because of Cult Director Abel Ferrara. Note...The latest remake with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman is virtually worthless and nowhere near as entertaining or artful as the other three telling. In fact it is borderline bad.

Body Snatchers (1993)*** (out of 4) Teenager Marti Malone (Gabrielle Anwar) travels to an Army base with her father (Terry Kinney), stepmom (Meg Tilly) and her young brother. Before long she realizes that something isn't right with some of the people on the base and it turns out that some of them are pods of their former being.Abel Ferrara's BODY SNATCHERS has the unlucky job of trying to follow up two very well-known and very much loved films. The 1956 version of this is without question one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made and the 1978 version with Donald Sutherland is also quite good. This third version isn't nearly in the same league as those two pictures but at the same time I've always liked this one and it's rather surreal and bizarre atmosphere.Ferrara might have seemed like an unlikely person to direct this "mainstream" picture but he's got a couple other genre people on board. Larry Cohen is credited as one of the story writers and we've also got Stuart Gordon credited as one of the co-screenplay writers. The three of them gives this version of the story a few nice twists including how it's more psychological than the previous two films. This probably accounts for the bizarre atmosphere that is hanging over the film because there's just a very dry feel to the entire picture and an uneasy nature that really comes across.The film also benefits from some very good performances including Anwar who is very believable in the role of the teenager who finds everyone she knew suddenly changing. Kinney is also good as the father and Billy Wirth also delivers a fine performance. Meg Tilly is also extremely good as the stepmother. We're also treated to some very good cinematography as well as a score that perfectly fits the material.As much as I enjoy this version of the story, there's still always been something that just didn't sit right. I've seen the film around four or five times and I still don't know exactly what it's missing but perhaps a longer running time would have worked. Several subjects are touched upon in the short running time and perhaps these could have been better explored in a longer movie. I'm not sure. Either way, BODY SNATCHERS deserves to have a better reputation than it has.

I'm guessing I would have liked this a little better had I seen it closer to its release date. Now I can't help but compare it to The Faculty, which I absolutely love, so it was a little dull to me.The effects are pretty decent, and the story is kind of cool, there are some cool elements here and there, but all in all I wasn't that impressed. But like I said, had I seen this in the early nineties, I would probably have been fascinated by the story. It's short, which is a good thing, and it's pretty bleak which I like. It does take a while for it to get going, and when it does, it doesn't go all that fast. It's not a nail biter. Yeah yeah, it's alright, but for the ultimate Alien-taking-over-human- bodies-movie, I'd definitely go with The Faculty. (which is based on the same premise, btw)