The Invasion (2007)

Overall rating from 1 to 100: 78

O Masterpiece (95-100)
X Excellent (75-94)
O Good video rental (60-74)
O Merely OK (50-59)
O Pure mediocrity (30-49)
O Medusa: don't watch (1-29)

Review by Jason Pyles / August 25, 2007

I learned the hard way from “The Village” (2004) that there’s no accounting for taste. As with “The Village,” here again, we have a good movie such as “The Invasion” that everyone inexplicably seems to hate. Let me put it this way: If you liked “War of the Worlds” (2005), then you’ll like “The Invasion” almost as much.

“The Invasion,” of course, is the fourth remake of the original 1956 sci-fi thriller “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

A brief history lesson from Jason:
The very first science fiction movie ever was “A Trip to the Moon” (1902). But the term “science fiction” wasn’t coined until the 1930s — and it wasn’t for film but for literature. Science fiction film blossomed (or should I say mutated?) in the 1950s. Why? Because two fears pertaining to technological development surfaced: anxieties from the Space Age and nuclear weapon development.

All of the fascinating, new science led to concerns like “What if this goes wrong?” The Space Age led us to wonder about extraterrestrial life “out there.” Communism, the Red Scare and the ensuing Cold War with Russia led to little beauties like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” which is basically an alien-movie metaphor for having a sabotaging enemy (Communists) secretly hidden among us in plain sight.

The humorous thing about “The Invasion” is, we have a cleverly placed Russian man as an homage to the underlying theme of the 1956 original. And, even better, we have a modernized message that basically mocks the United States for its present fears toward our “enemies of the world,” as if to suggest that we’re smitten by another unfounded hysteria, much like the Red Scare of the ‘50s. (I personally disagree with the message, but I still appreciate the filmmakers’ attempt at being cute.)

All of these invasion movies are essentially a spin on your traditional zombie flick. Here we have Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman), a good mom and professional woman who slowly realizes that some kind of epidemic is sweeping the Earth, turning its victims into emotionless, zombie-like versions of themselves.

That’s the plot. Kidman’s character has to try to keep herself and her son Oliver (Jackson Bond) from being body snatched.

“The Invasion” is gross and creepy. There is infectious projectile vomiting, much like we have in “28 Days (and Weeks) Later” (2002 and 2007), and violence toward children that aren’t exactly 100 percent children. Even so, it’s weird to watch. (Rest assured, “no children were actually harmed during the making of this film.”)

I guess what I’m trying to convey is that “The Invasion” is an effective thriller and not as benign as its critics claim. In fact, I’d bet my body that it will get under your skin.

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Nicole Kidman / Daniel Craig / Jackson Bond
93 min. Sci-Fi / Thriller
MPAA: PG-13 (for violence, disturbing images and terror)

Copyright 2007.
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