10 Great Sci-Fi Movies Where The Aliens Walk Among Us

7. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

When Philip Kaufman remade the 1950s sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1978, the Cold War might not have been over but the "reds under the beds" hysteria had certainly died down. Subsequently, Kaufman toned down the Communist hysteria allegorical aspect of the original film (itself an adaptation of the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney) focusing instead on the interpersonal paranoia, as human beings are increasingly replaced by unemotional parasitic aliens. Donald Sutherland stars as health inspector Matthew Bennell, who soon finds himself drawn into a web of extraterrestrial intrigue in which autonomous pod people seek to take over the human race and transform them into a mindless, obedient collective. While there is an undercurrent of political commentary and the dangers of conformity (laughed off by some critics at the time as "liberal nonsense"), Invasion of the Body Snatchers is best enjoyed as a thriller, where disquieting tension rises to the full blown horror of a world in which no one is who they appear to be. A great film in its own right, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is proof that not all remakes are unnecessary - indeed, in the right hands they can both pay homage to and exceed their originals, a fact today that most of us will agree Hollywood would do well to remember.