Body Snatchers
2/4
Starring: Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Wirth, Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, Reilly Murphy
Rated R for Violence, Nudity and Language
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is one of those movies that gets remade on a fairly regular basis. Whether or not it credits the novel by Jack Finney, the idea remains the same: a group of people is terrified to learn that aliens have killed everyone around them and replaced them with emotionless doppelgangers. It's a good idea, if a bizarre one, but knowing the story makes it less frightening. Abel Ferrara doesn't find a way around this problem (or use it to his advantage). He compounds the issue by using a dreadful screenplay.
Marti Malone (Anwar) is being forced to live on an Army base for a month. Not exactly what she had in mind for her summer. Her father Steve (Kinney) is doing some environmental tests there for the EPA, and she's being dragged there alongside her stepmother Carol (Tilly) and stepbrother Andy (Murphy). Things don't get off to a great start: she gets trapped in a gas station bathroom by an army soldier uttering strange ramblings about people being replaced with others and the importance of staying awake. Of course, when she escapes and everyone looks for him, he has vanished. She does make a new friend and flirts with a hunky helicopter pilot (Wirth), but strange things are going on. Soon the entire base is filled with emotionless doppelgangers who want to turn everyone else by any means possible.
Everyone knows this story. More to the point, they know every beat of the story. For a horror film, that's a huge hurdle to overcome (with all the remakes, the movers and shakers in Hollywood think that no one will notice). It can be done with a smart script, strong characters and great storytelling. This iteration has none of those things. The script is bland, the characters are stick figures and the film has no sense of story construction. As soon as the characters are introduced, the climax begins.
The actors do what they can, but it isn't much considering the flat screenplay gives them nothing to work with. Gabrielle Anwar does a good job playing a rebellious teen, Billy Wirth is suitably macho as her love interest, and Meg Tilly manages to chill with her infamous line. But that's it. Marti, Carol, and Tim the helicopter pilot never grow beyond that. And they're the lucky ones in that respect. Everyone else is a nonentity.
Although he has been working in film since the 70s, Abel Ferrara is known for one thing and one thing only: "Bad Lieutenant." It was a divisive film; some called it a masterpiece while others hated it. I belong in the latter category, awarding it only a 0.5/4. "Body Snatchers" isn't a good film, but at least it's better than that. The film moves consistently and is watchable, which is more than can be said for is claim to fame. But he isn't a good filmmaker. This movie is all climax. Every thriller needs to build. It must start out innocuously then slowly ramp up the tension. That doesn't happen here. Once Marti realizes what is going on, the film turns into one long action scene.
"Body Snatchers" does have a few elements that do work. The special effects are appropriately gruesome. Credit must go to the artists who brought them to life but also to those who gave it those spooky, crinkly sounds. And there are a few moments that are creepy.
All in all though, this movie is a disappointment.
Starring: Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Wirth, Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, Reilly Murphy
Rated R for Violence, Nudity and Language
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is one of those movies that gets remade on a fairly regular basis. Whether or not it credits the novel by Jack Finney, the idea remains the same: a group of people is terrified to learn that aliens have killed everyone around them and replaced them with emotionless doppelgangers. It's a good idea, if a bizarre one, but knowing the story makes it less frightening. Abel Ferrara doesn't find a way around this problem (or use it to his advantage). He compounds the issue by using a dreadful screenplay.
Marti Malone (Anwar) is being forced to live on an Army base for a month. Not exactly what she had in mind for her summer. Her father Steve (Kinney) is doing some environmental tests there for the EPA, and she's being dragged there alongside her stepmother Carol (Tilly) and stepbrother Andy (Murphy). Things don't get off to a great start: she gets trapped in a gas station bathroom by an army soldier uttering strange ramblings about people being replaced with others and the importance of staying awake. Of course, when she escapes and everyone looks for him, he has vanished. She does make a new friend and flirts with a hunky helicopter pilot (Wirth), but strange things are going on. Soon the entire base is filled with emotionless doppelgangers who want to turn everyone else by any means possible.
Everyone knows this story. More to the point, they know every beat of the story. For a horror film, that's a huge hurdle to overcome (with all the remakes, the movers and shakers in Hollywood think that no one will notice). It can be done with a smart script, strong characters and great storytelling. This iteration has none of those things. The script is bland, the characters are stick figures and the film has no sense of story construction. As soon as the characters are introduced, the climax begins.
The actors do what they can, but it isn't much considering the flat screenplay gives them nothing to work with. Gabrielle Anwar does a good job playing a rebellious teen, Billy Wirth is suitably macho as her love interest, and Meg Tilly manages to chill with her infamous line. But that's it. Marti, Carol, and Tim the helicopter pilot never grow beyond that. And they're the lucky ones in that respect. Everyone else is a nonentity.
Although he has been working in film since the 70s, Abel Ferrara is known for one thing and one thing only: "Bad Lieutenant." It was a divisive film; some called it a masterpiece while others hated it. I belong in the latter category, awarding it only a 0.5/4. "Body Snatchers" isn't a good film, but at least it's better than that. The film moves consistently and is watchable, which is more than can be said for is claim to fame. But he isn't a good filmmaker. This movie is all climax. Every thriller needs to build. It must start out innocuously then slowly ramp up the tension. That doesn't happen here. Once Marti realizes what is going on, the film turns into one long action scene.
"Body Snatchers" does have a few elements that do work. The special effects are appropriately gruesome. Credit must go to the artists who brought them to life but also to those who gave it those spooky, crinkly sounds. And there are a few moments that are creepy.
All in all though, this movie is a disappointment.
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