The Critics' Corner on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

"Though one of the subtlest films of the genre, containing little graphic horror, it is also one of the most passionate and involving. Its style is typical Siegel: energetic and violent, with clever use of natural locations to create a moody, threatening environment." - Georges Sadoul, Dictionary of Films (University of California Press, 1965).

"Not only the most subtly terrifying science-fiction picture ever made, but also a cautionary fable about the relentless movement of the world toward a sameness of thought and a total lack of feeling." - Peter Bogdanovich, Who the Devil Made It (Knopf, 1997).

"This plain and inexpensive piece of science fiction employs few of the resources of the cinema (to put it mildly), but it has an idea that confirms everyone's suspicions. People are being turned into vegetables - and who can tell the difference?...Some of the best lines of dialogue are voice-overs - the chatter of the dehumanized." - Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies.

. "One of the all-time great science-fiction films, one of the few that make the fantastic seem perfectly credible...Where Siegel's film outshines Phil Kaufman's 1978 remake is in pacing - the excitement just keeps building." - Danny Peary, Guide For the Film Fanatic.

"A masterpiece of sci-fi cinema...a classic, stuffed with subtly integrated subtexts (postwar paranoia, etc.) for those who like that sort of thing, but thrilling and chilling on any level - and look out for one of the most sinister kisses ever filmed." - Anne Billson, TimeOut Film Guide (Penguin, 2000).

"There are no moments of great violence in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We see no one die on screen and, technically, no one dies in the film. There are no monsters and only a few special effects, which are confined totally to the construction of a few pods shown but briefly. The essence of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is its aura of normalcy. It is normalcy, the acceptance of the status quo, the desire to escape from the pain of the abnormal that creates the sense of horror in the film." - Stuart M. Kaminsky, The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers.

"Shot in Siegel's sober yet energetic style and using real locations for the fictional Californian town of Santa Mira, the opening sequence creates a strong sense of unease that turns to terror in the second half as the good citizens of Santa Mira start to send out the pods across America. The horror of the situation is all the more chilling for being so understated: a nurse, holding a pod, to another nurse, 'Shall I put this in with the baby?', 'Yes, then there'll be no more crying.'...The result is one of Siegel's best films.." - The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers stands alone in representing the significance and occasional splendor of the Hollywood B-picture...Like many genre films in Hollywood's blacklist era, Invasion of the Body Snatchers functions as an allegory, raising questions about contemporary society that could not be confronted as directly in a realist manner. But the question is, an allegory of what?...Was it a warning, in familiar Cold War style, against communistic ideology that turns friends and neighbors into squadrons of malevolent drones?...Yet was it not also, more subtly, critical of postwar America and the strains of an acquisitive, competitive society from which individuals might welcome relief?" - Robert Sklar, The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films.

"This tense, offbeat piece of science-fiction is occasionally difficult to follow due to the strangeness of its scientific premise...Don Siegel's taut direction is fast-paced generally, although in his efforts to spark the climax he permits McCarthy to overact in several sequences." - Variety Movie Guide.

"Persuasive, thoroughly satisfying, low-budget science fiction, put across with subtlety and intelligence in every department." - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide.

AWARDS & HONORS

In 1994, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was chosen by the National Film Preservation Board to be one of the motion pictures preserved on the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

Compiled by Rob Nixon & Jeff Stafford