” TV show was an allegory to some ‘60s controversy). Opening this week, “The Invasion
” is the latest film version of a much-dissected sci-fi classic, the story of paranoia that comes when you start to suspect that the people around you aren’t what they appear to be… It’s a tale that’s been terrifying audiences for more than half a century, since author Jack Finney first serialized “The Body Snatchers
” in Colliers Magazine in 1954. The 1950s
were in many ways the quintessential American decade, as the nation basked in postwar pride and prosperity. It was the iconic age of Elvis Presley
, Marilyn Monroe
, James Dean
and Jackie Robinson
. Suburbia bloomed. Everyone liked Ike and loved Lucy
. It seemed like the only thing to fear was the ongoing Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. 
Into this era came “Invasion of the Body Snatchers
.” The 1956 movie stars the ironically-named Kevin McCarthy as Miles Bennell, a California doctor who discovers that people in his town are being replaced by exact duplicates grown from giant pods. The “pod people” are identifiable by their utter lack of emotion, and they turn out to be aliens planning to replace the entire human race. Bennell and his former girlfriend Becky (Dana Wynter) try to convince the authorities of their fantastic tale while battling to avoid being taken themselves, but nobody wants to listen. The film was originally to bleakly conclude with a beaten Bennell standing in the middle of a highway screaming “You’re next!!,” but the studio demanded an epilogue that bode better for our continued existence. The movie has been interpreted as having three distinct allegorical meanings, two relating directly to the Cold War. Some view it as a cautionary tale on the threat of Communism, showing how the Godless, classless system of government would strip away American individuality. Others see it as a commentary on the hysteria ABOUT Communism fostered mainly by witch-hunting Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. And others like to think that the film is an indictment of the American tendency towards blind, unquestioning conformity. Amazingly, to this date, if the filmmakers had a specific agenda, they still aren’t telling, leaving it open to the different interpretations.
22 years later, it was time for another visit from the pods. Philip Kaufman directed the 1978 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers
,” with Donald Sutherland starring as Matthew Bennell, now a health inspector in San Francisco who discovers the existence of the emotion-free pod peeps. Times had changed since the “Leave it to Beaver
” ‘50s, and in the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate era, the public was far more mistrusting of the government and authority, amping up the paranoia quotient in this version. When Bennell contacts Washington DC for help, the person he reaches knows his name before he gives it, causing him to wonder if the aliens have already infiltrated our government. The movie also takes a jab at the psychoanalysis boom of the ‘70s (and the “personal transformation” EST movement specifically), with Leonard Nimoy playing a pop psychologist who tries to tell Brooke Adams that her suspicions about her pod-boyfriend are actually a product of her own troubled psyche. In addition, with its big city setting, the movie felt like a commentary on the ironic loss of identity one can feel when immersed in such a concentrated, yet detached mass of humanity. And this time, the studio let the filmmakers have their unhappy ending.
The third visit from the pod people, 1993’s “Body Snatchers
” transposes the story to a military base where Marti Malone (Gabrielle Anwar), the teenage daughter of an EPA agent discovers that soldiers are being replaced with the soulless automatons. What follows is less of an allegorical thriller than a more standard blood-n-guts horror film. In addition, this version (directed by Abel Ferrara) loses some of its power by placing the film in a context to which the average filmgoer can’t relate. Besides, isn’t stiff, unquestioning conformity the norm for the military? Or is that the point?Still, if only out of habit, some sought hidden meaning. The interpretations this time ran the gamut from a condemnation of President George Bush’s (the elder) post-Cold War New World Order to an allegory about fear of AIDS (as critic Roger Ebert famously interpreted).
The powerful concept of the Body Snatchers has seeped into our public consciousness. Other movies such as “The Stepford Wives
” (1975 and 2004
), “The Hidden
” (1987) and “the Faculty
” (1998) are based upon the idea of mindless doppelgangers and “pod people” has entered the lexicon as a euphemism for those who refuse to think for themselves. So what will modern audiences see beneath the surface of “The Invasion?” Will the fact that the film (originally completed in early 2006) had a screenplay tweak by the Wachowski brothers and new scenes shot by director James McTeigue add to the mystery? And will old fans miss the excised pods? All we know for sure is that you are advised to make sure you don’t fall asleep in the theater… They’re here! You’re NEXT!
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ORIGINALLY POSTED in REWIND on MTV.COM, August 2007
” is playing up a common, yet often sublimated aspect of monster movies: Sexuality. There’s a distinct correlation between the primal, feral nature of mutated beasts and what happens to humans when we truly give ourselves over to our baser instincts. Over the years, a number of creature features have exploited this similarity to great effect, as our list of the ten sexiest monster movies shows…
(1958)
starring Daryl Hannah was less memorable).
(1994)
(1995)
(1956)
(Beauty and the Beast) (1946)
(all of ‘em)
,” the oft-reviled 
have in common is the monkey-love felt for the comely blonde offered up for sacrifice by the natives of Skull Island. However, while both Kongs ‘33 and ‘76 exhibited some chauvinistic tendencies (attempting to undress their respective ladies, played by Faye Wray and Jessica Lange), Kong ’05 was a more respectful suitor to Naomi Watts, preferring the simple pleasures of ice skating in the park to wet gown contests. Still, we’re pretty sure that all three women were glad that Kong didn’t try to go all the way. 
(1983)
,” vampires have always been inherently sexy. But the super-stylish Goth bloodsuckers of “the Hunger” are so carnal that bloodlust takes a backseat to the more traditional kind. Catherine Deneuve plays Miriam, a vampire thousands of years old whose lovers, once infected, sadly only retain their youth for another few centuries. David Bowie plays her soon-to-be-aging partner, and when an alluring doctor (Susan Sarandon) fails to cure him, she becomes Miriam’s latest prey. Still, the most monstrous thing about this movie is its terrifyingly ugly ‘80s fashions!
and 
)
(1954)
(pick one)
,” the first official movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, over 150 films about the seductive Transylvanian vampire have been produced. Which Dracula is the sexiest is subjective, of course. Some may prefer the exotic sophistication of ‘31’s Bela Lugosi, while others yield to the creepy gothic charm of ‘92’s 
. Maybe the silky suave 
of the ‘60s Hammer films gets your blood burning or 
’s dark virility in the 1977 version. Perhaps the Evanescencesque Richard Roxburgh of 2004’s “
” or that same year’s musclebound Drake (Dominic Purcell) in “
” is to your liking. Regardless, it’s doubtful there will ever be a movie monster with as much sex appeal as the Count.
has a hard time keeping track of how many girlfriends he’s got! Lucky bloodsucker.