The Invasion

The Invasion (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2007) - B-

Bizarro, somewhat gutsy subtext -- we should resign ourselves to genocide, war and famine because it's an inescapable part of the human condition -- makes this kind of a downer, if you ask me, though it works for a while. At its best when depicting the invasion itself; the body snatchers' gradual, inevitable takeover is pretty creepy, most effectively so in the frightened faces and voices of people realizing that something is going horribly wrong -- Veronica "My Husband is Not My Husband" Cartwright is perhaps the best thing in the film. Inexplicably gets hung up on the medi-babble about the mechanics of the alien virus, or what not -- who gives a shit? I wonder if this too was a Wachowski addition, or just that damn car chase? -- and the ending really is a shame, but if nothing else it does take advantage of its premise, still killer after all these years. Hirschbiegel's original cut must have been better.