One of the most unsettling horror films ever made, which is even more impressive when the disturbing tone is light on blood and guts. Though the film is rated ‘PG’, it’s haunting enough to deserve a stronger warning, including a final scare that hardened horror junkies still talk about today. Hope you enjoyed the show and good luck going to sleep.
Philip Kaufman catches San Francisco right at the point where the free love 60s is giving way to the cynical 70s, and the tension between the two moods is the perfect setting for this classic alien invasion story. (A lesson in presenting social commentary without once pointing out that it’s there.) Kaufman gets two very important aspects of directing exactly right. He creates unusual visual touches without ever going flashy and he has one of the great sound designs in cinema. When something as simple as a spinning chair or a shadow behind a shower curtain take on sinister aspects, it makes the pod-humans even more terrifying. Similar to the bear man in The Shining, this has the dog man, set up and paid off like a perfect sick joke.
The film is cast with actors who enjoy an oddball acting style: Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy and Veronica Cartwright have a natural eccentricity, and Kaufman uses it to play around with wondering if they’re still them or if they’ve been taken. Then for contrast, he casts the bland Brooke Adams in the lead and is able to make her lack of personality a plus too, having it both ways.
Leave A Comment