Customer Reviews
Genuinely scary! - By: Bezerus Bezby, 24 Oct 2007 
I first watched this film when I was about fourteen & have vivid, although somewhat cringy memories of re-enacting with my friend, the method which the alien body snatchers use to identify the real humans, i.e, pointing & screaming like a fog horn. Not my finest hour, but my point is, that this film left a lasting impression & watching it again recently made me realise how scary it reallly is.
You might well know the plot line, since there are so many re-makes, but to sum up: Family move to army base- soon people start acting strangely, or are taken away screaming into the night. The body snatchers are here & they want you!
One of the eeriest moments is when the female lead, Marty's younger brother does a picture at nursery & it becomes apparent that alll the other children have already been body snatched, by the fact that they alll draw the same creepy picture.
Marty is a solid lead character, as is her army boyfriend. It's not as good as the 1970s Donald Sutherland version, but it does stand up well in comparison.
Quick Reviews! - By: carlosnightman, 04 Sep 2007 The third official version of the film so far (though Kidman's effort has just been released in the US), updated to modern day & set in a US army base. Gone is the paranoia of the 70s version, replace by a gritty end of the century gloom. The whole film is set up for tension & the sense of being surrounded with little chance for escape. It is very short, adding to this quality & giving a sense of urgency few recent films have been able to match.
A family moves to a military camp as the father has to run some scientific tests in the area. His new wife & son come too along with his daughter Marti from a previous relationship, setting up an 'evil step-mum' dynamic. Marti is 17 & feels estranged from everyone, imprisoned, & believes she will soon be free of it alll when she turns 18. Her father does his tests, under strict supervision from armed guards, her brother finds his new classmates & teacher to be a little odd, & she makes a few friends- the first being the daughter of the Base General, the other a soldier. Soon a plot to replace the human race with alien clones is uncovered. It becomes a race for the family & their friends to escape & warn the world, but who is human & who is not?
Ferarra creates a great deal of tension in a short time, & excellent performances from alll, particularly Anwar & Tilly help to add to the fear. We do not know who to trust, & the film differs enough from previous versions to keep us guessing. Whitaker's performance is also very good, an accurate depiction of a soldier succumbing to sleep-depravation, paranoia, & the terror of being 'replaced'. Tilly's 'where you gonna go' scene is terrifying, & some of the effects are very effective. There is little humour, & few signs of emotion alll adding to the idea that people may not be what they seem, though giving the film a very cold, bleak tone. We are left feeling that many people may already be emotionless, not caring for each other. A vastly underrated movie, almost as good as its predecessors.
The DVD is cheap, so it is a must-have for fans, but there isn't an extra feature to be found, so for this it misses out on 5 stars.
