Universal Pictures is delighted to announce the release of the spine-tingling sci-fi classic Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Often referenced, always admired but never bettered, the influence of this masterpiece is immense and can be felt in horror and science fiction films and TV series alike. Directed by Don Seigel it will be released for the first time on DVD on 1 October 2007, to coincide with the theatrical releases of Invasion, the remake starring Nicole Kidman.Something weird is happening in the small, sunny Californian town of Santa Mira. People don’t appear to be quite themselves and their families are worried. With no one else to turn to, they seek the help of Dr Miles Bennel (Kevin McCarthy - The Twilight Zone, Dynasty).Reluctantly Dr Bennel begins digging for answers and stumbles across the harrowing truth; emissaries from a far away planet have sent enormous seed pods containing shape shifting aliens to assume human form and take over the world one unwitting person at a time. Lacking in a human soul the aliens only have one driving force, the need to propagate their species. Aided by his lover, (Dana Wynter - Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files) the couple desperately attempt to avoid the fate of their friends and neighbours while hysterically trying to warn the outside world of the danger that faces them.
Based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, this eerie 1955 classic has been interpreted as a statement against McCarthyism as well as Communism.
The unnerving message that the enemy is among us and are broadly indiscernible from those we consider our friends still has the power to shock and frighten an audience and is especially apt in this world of global terrorism perpetuated from within.
With a performance by the then unknown Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs), a screenplay written by the stellar Out of The Past writer, Daniel Manwairing and with striking performances from McCarthy and Wynter, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is a thrilling example of classic American cinema.