Body Snatchers (1993)

"Body Snatchers" is the fourth in the quasi-franchise based on Jack Finney's 1955 novel "The Body Snatchers" about an alien invasion where people die and their bodies become pod-versions of their former selves. The entries in the series are as follows:

• "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) - "Invasion of the Body

Snatchers" (1978) - "Body Snatchers" (1993) - "The Invasion" (2007)

The first one is in Black & White and is probably too dated and tame for most modern viewers, but it's still worthwhile; it takes place in small town, California. The 1978 sequel switches the setting to the big city of San Francisco. This 1993 sequel switches to an army base in the deep south. And the 2007 version switches back to the big city of Washington DC. I suppose they could all be viewed as progressive steps in the invasion, particularly the first three; I say this because the 2007 entry changes some aspects and might be better viewed as a variation on the story rather than a sequel.

I think this 1993 entry is the best, followed by the original, and then the 1978 and 2007 installments. What I like about "Body Snatchers" is the cast and the setting. The Army base naturally makes it easier for the alien imitations to go undetected as they spread through the community.

Although she was 22 during filming, Gabrielle Anwar plays the 17 year-old protagonist, the daughter of an EPA inspector (Terry Kinney) who's assigned to inspect an Army base in the deep south (shot in Selma, Alabama). Meg Tilly plays his young wife while Christine Elise plays Anwar's friend on the base, the daughter of the commanding general, and Billy Wirth co-stars as Anwar's chopper-pilot beau (Wirth, by the way, looks like an early 90s version of Robert Pattinson from the Twilight films). Forest Whitaker is also on hand as a military psychologist at the base.

Although "Body Snatchers" is a horror film it's a creepy/mysterious type of horror film and not a slasher/gore film. The gore you see is pretty much limited to the pod-people and is therefore more like vegetable-gore, lol. Anyway, the film has a nice haunting ambiance and everything works together for a standout film of this genre. The acting is superb and the swamplands of the deep south are utilized.

Gabrielle has a beautiful face, but she's too skinny for my tastes, Elise too. As such, the female eye candy is limited to curvy Meg Tilly and her body-double Jennifer Tilly. Don't expect much on this front.

Despite my fairly high opinion of "Body Snatchers," it bombed at the box office and so did the 2007 entry. It goes without saying, we probably won't see another stab at this story for some time.

The film runs a short but sweet 87 minutes.

GRADE: A-