Invasion of the Body Snatchers Movie Review

The subtlety of Donald Siegel's original gives way to gaudy special effects and self-consciously artsy camera work from director Philip Kaufman. The film is indulgently over-long, too, though it certainly has some shocking moments. In the leads, Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams are excellent, and they get solid support from Leonard Nimoy and Jeff Goldblum. The change in setting from small town to big city (San Francisco) provides more complications and striking visuals, but it doesn't really add to the atmosphere of dread created in the first film.

1978 (PG) 115m/C Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin McCarthy, Art Hindle; Cameos: Donald Siegel; D: Philip Kaufman; W: W.D. Richter; C: Michael Chapman. VHS, Beta, LV MGM