Everyone knows the plot of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS because they`d already been two adaptations before the 1993 remake . The same basic plot had also been done in the 1955 television serial QUATERMASS 2 which was also remade by Hammer films in the late 1950s and we`ve seen DOCTOR WHO stories like Spearhead From Space that uses a very similar premise . In short the idea had been done to death by the 1990s

On its own BODY SNATCHERS isn`t a terrible film , it is moody and dark as it should be , but it does have a rather mechanical script with a scene featuring some teen angst followed by a mysterious scene followed by a scene featuring teen angst followed by a mysterious scene followed by a scene featuring teen angst . Everyone knows that the plot revolves around alien infiltration so do the audience get to find out why the aliens come to Earth ? Not really , unlike the 50s original there`s no real ambiguity as to the aliens motive or subtext either . I should also point out that aliens taking over military bases makes perfect logical sense if they want to nullify humanity but unfortunately setting the story on a military base where through necessity human individuality is disallowed and where the newly introduced protagonists don`t know the other characters means we have a story that lacks compelling and terrifying drama . We find it somewhat difficult to care about the people involved because they lack individuality to begin with .

As I said it`s by no means terrible but BODY SNATCHERS fails alongside the 1978 version which I rate as the greatest paranoid thriller ever made

The original story by Jack Finney is thrown headlong into the 1990s in this, the third adaptation of the original classic of paranoia, following the other versions released in 1956 and 1978. While this film could have been a total fiasco, much like other remakes we've been seeing in the '90s, the one saving grace is the presence of director Abel Ferrara, who, along with Stuart Gordon and Larry Cohen lifts the average material to more than it might have been. However, it might not be enough...

The trouble with horror films of the 1990s is that even when they do get something right, they do just about everything else wrong. WISHMASTER had great gory ideas, but a tepid plot. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, well... that didn't really have anything did it? Anyhow I digress. BODY SNATCHERS is full of atmospheric imagery and bursting with style, but sadly the plot and script are turgid, relentlessly chewed up hundreds of times before in other films, and therefore lacking any real sense of menace.

Ferrara gets carried away with the Raimi-like diagonal camera angles, filling every scene with haunting shadows. Which is great, you know, but somewhat...pretentious? Unfortunately the cast is populated with dense, unlikable characters, and even the little boy turns out to be a stereotyped whining American brat. The females are bland, the actor playing the father is expressionless, with the only believable character being Forest Whitaker (ironically his character is almost an exact replica of Kevin McCarthy's hero in the original classic). This really drags down the attention level. Plot wise, the idea of setting the story in a military base is quite effective, but once you realise that it's just a one-note idea which is never fully explored, then you feel that it's quite a letdown.

The film is in two halves. In the first half, there are vague shadows and sounds but nothing much really happens. After an effects-laden scene in the middle of the film, it becomes one elongated chase movie, all set at night and involving people running in a variety of settings. Does this sound like your idea of fun? Not really. The film does benefit from some good special effects in the form of the alien pods, although they're almost exact replicas of the pods from 1978's sublime INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

There is some nudity put in to spice things up which seems quite desperate, and two great scenes which make the film worth watching. However apart from these key moments and an ambiguous ending, the film never really goes anywhere. If it was original I would give it a higher mark but the trouble is that we've seen it all before, twice before, and it was better both of those times so the third outing just appears to be a tired rerun of the earlier events.

The EPA sends Steve Malone (Terry Kinney) to a military base in Alabama for a month. He brings along his daughter Marti (Gabrielle Anwar), his second wife Carol (Meg Tilly) and their son Andy. Marti is scared by a soldier who tells her that "They get you when you sleep". She befriends base commander (R. Lee Ermey)'s wild daughter Jenn Platt (Christine Elise). She falls for chopper pilot Tim Young (Billy Wirth). There are strange things happening and Maj. Collins (Forest Whitaker) asks Steve if it could be chemical toxins. Military personnel delivers mysterious boxes to the Malones. Carol is the first to turn.

The major drawback is that the premise is known to everybody. There is no surprises except for the sci-fi uninitiated. The bathtub scene is pretty good although it's nothing shocking. This is a solid execution. The army base location is pretty good. Body snatchers can be camouflaged by being stoic soldiers and they are pretty creepy. There is nothing wrong with this version but it adds nothing new to the idea.