Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Reviews

That is along with the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, original War of the Worlds, Metropolis, Blade Runner and the granddaddy 2001:A Space Odyssey. Of the three versions I have seen of this great story, this film for me is by far the most well-done and the most faithful to the source material. It is too short perhaps though, and the ending seemed rather rushed. However the cinematography and editing still hold up very well, and the costumes, sets and effects are timeless. The script and story, with so many interesting ideas, are compelling and these ideas developed very well considering the length and the relatively fast pace(which I personally don't see as a problem). Alongside Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is Don Siegel's best directed film, the music is atmospheric,there is genuine tension and suspense in the atmosphere which alone sets it apart from the other film versions, and the acting is fine for what it was, with Kevin McCarthy giving one of his more memorable performances. All in all, a sci-fi classic. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Since this movie has a really solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, it is too bad that I saw before two really weak remakes ('Body Snatchers' and 'The Invasion'), without mentioning the countless copycats such as 'The World's End', as they slightly ruined the story for me. I mean, right from the very start, I already knew how the whole thing was going to play out and, as a result, it didn't have such a huge impact. Still, it must have been pretty neat to see this movie in the 50's, when the formula was completely new. Furthermore, I wish they didn't force Don Siegel to add an introduction and this happy-end because the movie, above all with a bleaker ending, would have worked better. Still, it is a really solid horror flick, terribly effective and entertaining. Concerning the actors involved, to be honest, I didn't care much for Kevin McCarthy but he was not bad at all but, on the other hand, I was quite mesmerized by Dana Wynter who was simply quite gorgeous to look at. To conclude, even if it is 60 years old, it still works fine, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

A great classic sci-fi horror that thrills by channeling it's chills thru the use of the fears that we tend to hold most as a general populace. The fear that we & our brethen are not we seem to be.
And rarely does the black & white look of the time capture this cultural sub-genre fear of the unknown & magnify it so that even today, Invasion makes the viewer feel the sparseness of trust that was running amok during this era of red scares & McCarthyisms.
At the time, this movie could've easily influenced one to view his neighbor with a questioning look of "Are you a friend, a Pinko or a pod?"