Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - NEWSFLASH: remakes CAN work!

I know that every horror movie from the seventies, eighties, nineties and even beyond are getting remade, re-imagined, or rebooted - and most of them are awful.  They fail to really capture what made the original film great and it doesn't gel with modern audiences, while the older fans just see it for a mindless cash grab.  However, all the way back in 1978, 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' was remade with barely any fanfare - and it still holds up to this day (in fact... it surpasses a lot of modern horror and sci-fi offerings!).

The original film was about an invading army of aliens taking over the human residents of a small American town one by one.  The premise here is much the same, but now it's in colour and also cranks up the paranoia factor so high that it still gives audiences the creeps to this day.

Donald Sutherland is the health official who uncovers the plot and does his best to bring it to light before the aliens get the upper hand completely and take over the world.  No doubt he's the star and much of the film - acting-wise - rests on his shoulders, but you've got to appreciate the rest of the stellar cast which includes 'Spock' himself, Leonard Nemoy, Jeff Goldblum and Nancy Cartwright, all of which turn in excellent supporting roles.

If you're looking for action and gore then you may leave a little disappointed.  There's not too much of that here.  What you get in the 1978 version is the ultimate in creepy paranoia - it's a slow-burning feeling of dread that gets more and more intense with every scene.  Plus the direction itself deserves a shout out, simply because it's so - literally - dark.  There are times when you can barely see what's going on and, although that may sounds like a negative, it's never used badly and only adds to the hellish atmosphere that's being created.

If you can put up with the moustaches and permed haircuts then this is one horror/sci-fi film that is truly timeless.  I know the original black and white one is also heralded as a classic, but this one seems more modern for its time and also is as worth watching to this day.  They've tried doing sequels and yet more remakes, all of which never really hit the same high notes as this one - and don't get me started on how terrible the Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig version was, simply entitled 'Invasion.' Yuck.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather