Body snatching has long been a story device used to grip audiences. As humans, bodily autonomy is something generations have fought for and the fragility of that agency can be a terrifying prospect. The paranoia of not knowing who to trust and the gut-wrenching fear of losing oneself to something alien are all tropes rife with social underpinnings.
From stealthy aliens inInvasion of the Body Snatchers, to the sinister family inGet Out, these types of films have been used to reflect cultural fears of assimilation and loss of identity. The psychological horror that gets to the heart of the human experience is amplified in the method and the conspiracy that feeds into the terror of the main characters as they attempt to escape their inevitable fate.
10’Invasion of The Body Snatchers' (1978)
Based on a book of the same name,Invasion of the Body Snatchersis the second film to adapt the Jack Finney novel for the big screen. The film follows two San Francisco health inspectors (Brooke AdamsandDonald Sutherland) as they discover their neighbors and friends are being replaced by alien duplicates known as “pod people.” The parasitic aliens grow six-foot seed pods that contain an emotionless clone that assimilates into the alien faction that is taking over the city at an alarming rate.
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Named one of the best science fiction films of all timeInvasion of the Body Snatchers, not only lives up to but surpasses the success of the original 1956 adaptation. Also starringLeonard NimoyandJeff Goldblum, the film is a commentary on consumerism and counterculture assimilation into the mainstream. The film’s iconic last scene is one ofcinema’s greatest twist endingsand one of the most terrifying.
9’Get Out' (2017)
Most body snatching in films takes place at the hands of aliens, but the villains inGet Outare much more sinister. When Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) visits his girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents for the first time, he notices something is off about the Black people in their orbit. He soon realizes that her family has been abducting Black people and placing the brains of the wealthy elite into their bodies in a quest for immortality.
In the film, Missy (Catherine Keener), Rose’s mother uses hypnotherapy to transport Chris to “the sunken place,” where he will remain alive but a powerless observer in his own body. The terror is actualized when Andre (LaKeith Standfield), whose body has been taken over by an older white man, is pulled out of his hypnosis by a camera flash. The film has been lauded for its writing, directing and social critique, and critics have called it one of thebest movies of the 21st century.
8’The World’s End' (2013)
The World’s End, the third film inEdgar Wright’sThree Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, follows five friends who return to their hometown for a pub crawl and discover alien robotic clones have overrun the town. The film packs in the laughs and pulls at heartstrings as the group drunkenly tries to thwart the invasion.
The clones, dubbed “Blanks,” are part of an alien entity attempting to build a galactic conglomerate, replacing any resisting humans to achieve their goal. It’s the group’s immaturity that allows them to uncover the plot and eventually come out triumphant. StarringSimon Pegg,Nick Frost,Paddy ConstantineandMartin Freeman, the film is an exploration of trying to capture one’s youth, the assimilation that goes into maturing, and the feeling of being a stranger in your hometown.
7’The Invasion' (2007)
The Invasionstarted out as aremake ofInvasion of the Body Snatchersbut was updated into a different story taking on a more global scope. Two psychologists Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman)and Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) discover an epidemic ravaging Washington D.C. is extra-terrestrial in origin. They deduce that the key to ending the invasion is Bennell’s young son, whom they race to find amidst the panic of the epidemic.
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A loose remake, the film has the most optimistic of endings and is more action-packed than most other adaptations. Though it tries to distinguish itself from previous incarnations, its plot and theme keep it tethered to its source material.
6’Body Snatchers' 1993
Yet another adaptation of Jack Finney’s novel,Body Snatcherstakes place on a military base in Alabama as opposed to a coastal town in California. When Marti (Gabrielle Anwar) moves onto the base, she begins to notice duplicates have taken over not only the soldiers who live and work there but her family as well.
Though a departure from the novel, the film has been hailed as one of the better adaptations, playing into the paranoia-induced terror of the invasion.Body Snatcherscould be seen as a critique of American life in the 90s, militarism and nuclear families. The film is most similar to a typical horror film than its predecessors and was hailed for its tension and a strong performance byMeg Tilly.
5’The Faculty' (1998)
The FacultyisInvasion of the Body Snatchersset in a rural high school in Ohio. When a group of teen outcasts discovers their teachers have become infected by aliens they conspire to stop the invasion and the control the aliens have over their school.
The film presents the invasion as a metaphor for the alienation and awkwardness of high school, the alien queen offers a reprieve from that feeling in her pitch for the teens to assimilate. Directed byRobert Rodriguezand starring Josh Hartnett,Elijah WoodandJordana Brewster, the film pays homage to its body-snatcher predecessors but makes the genre its own.
4’The Stepford Wives' (1975)
The Stepford Wivesfollow a young woman, Joanna (Katherine Ross), that moves with her family from New York to a quaint town in Connecticut, where she notices the wives in her new community are unusually subservient to their husbands. It’s soon revealed that the husbands of Stepford have been replacing their wives with “perfect” robot replicas.
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The film, which remains one of the most influential films of the twentieth century, hasinspired films likeGet OutandDon’t Worry Darling.Unlike other films that deal with body snatching, the danger comes from the husbands of Stepford, not an outside threat. The film serves as a commentary about misogynistic expectations placed on women in an era when women were gaining more autonomy, much to the ire of a patriarchal society.
3’Disturbing Behavior' (1998)
Disturbing Behaviorfollows teen slackers (James Marsden, Katie Holmes and Nick Stahl) at a high school where a group called The Blue Ribbons are taking over. The academically inclined but hostile group is discovered to be part of a program in which parents volunteer their kids to have microchips implanted in their brains to turn them from delinquents to model citizens.
ThoughDisturbing Behaviorflew under the radar and was a victim of studio interference, it remains a reflection of teen life in the 90s. Its themes of high school conformity, pressure to succeed, and parental expectations keep the film grounded in an eerie reality.
2’Assimilate' (2019)
A loose adaptation ofThe Body Snatchersby Jack Finney,Assimilatecenters around a small group of friends that discover their town has been taken over by human copies while making a video for their Youtube channel. Unlike other adaptations, the alien appears as a bug, and being bitten is what infects humans and transforms them into copies.
This modern adaptation remains humble and its stars carry the film. Though low budget, the tension remains high as new zombie-like elements are introduced into the adaptation of the well-worn source material.
1’The Host' (2013)
Based on the Stephanie Meyer book of the same name,The Hosttakes place on Earth after parasitic aliens have already infected most humans. The film centers on a young woman (Saoirse Ronan) who is infected and vies for control of her own body with the entity.
This science fiction film sets itself apart from the horror of body invasion, with a heavy dose of teen romance. Though rife with common themes of the genre, body image additional plays a large part in the subtext of the film.
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