YMMV / Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

• Awesome Music: Danny Zeitlin's score, helping enhance the horror through atonal, synthsizer-based jazz music.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • A common piece of Wild Mass Guessing is that Kevin McCarthy (in his Remake Cameo, once more screaming "They're here!") is the original Doctor Bennell from the 1956 version, making the film a Stealth Sequel.
  • At what point was Kibner replaced? Was he already a pod person during the book-signing party, or was he still human when we first meet him only to be turned shortly afterwards? On the side of Kibner still being human in his first scenes is the fact that he showed emotion at the party. On the other hand, Kibner also seemed emotionally "normal" in his interactions with Matthew even after it was confirmed that he was turned, suggesting that pod Kibner could imitate normal human emotions as a ruse when necessary, and thus may have been a pod from the first time we saw him.
• Broken Base: Not that the film is considered bad by anyone, but a sure way to start arguments on film forums is to ask whether this or the 1956 original is better.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The pod people would like to remind you that the yellow zone is for loading and unloading only.
  • Jeff Goldblum never expected an alien invasion by metal ships.
    • Goldblum's said that during shooting he stuttered on that particular line and the director liked it; he credits this as ground zero for the mumbling affectation that he would become legendary for on and off screen.
    • This would not be the only time he appeared in a new, more gruesome take on a 1950s horror story that would prove to be a critical and audience hit in its own right!
• It Was His Sled: The final shot of Matthew revealed to be a pod person as he points at Nancy and screeches is easily the most famous thing about the film, and is often parodied as a shorthand for brainwashing.
• Memetic Mutation: That "pointing" bit from the end has become an Image Macro. No text needed.
• Narm: At least some of the horror generated by the infamous man-dog scene is undermined by the banjo music playing in the background.
• Narm Charm: The final shot has become unintentionally humorous out of context thanks to undergoing Memetic Mutation, but it's still a chilling scene.
• Signature Scene: The ending scene where Matthew discovers Nancy, and points to her, eyes and mouth agape, while emitting the piercing pod scream, revealing that he is one of "them" now.
• Special Effect Failure: The man-mask on the dog. In the long shots, it's a pretty obvious mask.
• Vindicated by History: While not loathed upon its original release in 1978, and turning in a respectable profit^note The film was made for $3.5 million and earned nearly $25 million, responses were fairly mixed, with some regarding it as a good science-horror movie and others seeing it as having too ridiculous of a premise to take seriously. In the decades since, it's become regarded as one of the greatest remakes in film history and one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made.
  • Part of the lukewarm response may have been the result of unfortunate timing. The film was released in December 1978, after what had previously been a very tragic month for San Francisco. On November 18, the Jonestown massacre occurred in Guyana, with many of the victims having been Bay Area residents. Just nine days later, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were both assassinated at City Hall, which famously appears at the end of the film.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Specifically, sound effects. Ben Burtt follows his organic soundtrack for Star Wars with some truly chilling sounds, such as the fetal sounds when the pods begin duplicating and, of course, the infamous pod scream. And of course, the creature effects themselves are done very well too, especially in the duplication scene at Matthew's house.

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