Are your neighbours acting peculiarly? If so, it might be that they’re having a bit of an off day. But then again, they might be alien duplicates of their former selves, so you might want to steer well clear (and stay awake) if you think they have been taken over by something not of this world!
The movies based on Jack Finney’s novel Body Snatchers detail the lives of people whose friends, neighbours, partners, and work colleagues have been taken over by alien lifeforms. The first (and arguably best) movie adaptation was made in 1956 and this was followed by another adaptation (pictured above) that came close to replicating its success.
Finney’s book was adapted again in 1993 and 2007 and in the years since, there have been lots of copycat movies – some good (Assimilate), some bad (Invasion of the Pod People) – that are unofficially connected to the source novel.
In this article, we list the official Body Snatchers movies in release date order. How many of these have you seen? Let us know in the comments below.
Read More: 10 Movies Like Invasion of The Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
US Release Date: February 5, 1956
Worldwide Box Office: $3 million
Director: Don Siegel
Metascore: 92
Main Cast:
Kevin McCarthy (Miles Bennell), Dana Wynter (Becky Driscoll), Larry Gates (Dan Kauffman), King Donovan (Jack Belicec)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Movie Tagline:
There was nothing to hold onto – except each other!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
US Release Date: December 22, 1978
Worldwide Box Office: $24.9 million
Director: Philip Kaufman
Metascore: 75
Main Cast:
Donald Sutherland (Matthew Bennell), Brooke Adams (Elizabeth Driscoll), Jeff Goldblum (Jack Bellicec), Veronica Cartwright (Nancy Bellicec), Leonard Nimoy (David Kibner)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
When strange seeds drift to Earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city’s residents one body at a time.
Movie Tagline:
You’ll never close your eyes again.
Body Snatchers
US Release Date: February 18, 1994
Worldwide Box Office: $428,868
Director: Abel Ferrara
Metascore: 65
Main Cast:
Gabrielle Anwar (Marti Malone), Meg Tilly (Carol Malone), Terry Kinney (Steve Malone), Reilly Murphy (Andy Malone), R. Lee Ermey (General Platt)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A teenage girl and her father discover alien clones are replacing humans on a remote U.S. military base in Alabama.
Movie Tagline:
They’d kill…to be you.
The Invasion
US Release Date: August 17, 2007
Worldwide Box Office: $40.2 million
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Metascore: 45
Main Cast:
Nicole Kidman (Carol Bennell), Daniel Craig (Ben Driscoll), Jackson Bond (Oliver Bennell), Jeremy Northam (Tucker Kaufman), Jeffrey Wright (Stephen Galeano)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
As a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped.
Movie Tagline:
Do not trust anyone. Do not show emotion. Do not fall asleep.
Which of these movies is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.