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They are coming!

ON THE RUN: Nicole Kidman plays super-protective mom in the latest version

“Stepford Wives”, based on a novel by Ira Levin told the sinister story behind the perfect wives of Stepford. While the original 1975 film, directed by Brian Forbes was a scathing indictment of patriarchal hegemony and straitjacketing women, the remake helmed by Frank Oz had an uneven tone that finally descended into mindless camp with Glenn Close and Christopher Walken hamming away to glory.

Jack Finney’s “The Body Snatchers” was originally serialised in the Colliers Magazine in 1954 and the “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” directed by Don Siegel, was released in 1956. The film was seen as an allegory of the paranoia of the McCarthy era.

The film told the story of a doctor who realises that the people in his town are being replaced by clones who look the same but are definitely not normal. These replacements are happening thanks to alien spores from a pod.

The film was remade in 1978 by Philip Kaufman. While the scene shifts to San Francisco, the story essentially remains the same. Aliens come to San Francisco in the form of beautiful flowers. The flowers contain pods that attack humans as they sleep, creating a web-like substance that sucks out the individuality and emotion from the humans who wake up as clones of their former selves.

Donald Sutherland plays Matthew Bennell who works in the health department. His co-worker Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) is convinced her boyfriend has changed.

Bennell realises that the city has been taken over, and together with his friends Jack (played by a dashingly good looking Jeff Goldblum) and Nancy, must do all he can to stop the pod people. The film worked brilliantly with tension wound up to a feverish pitch and some marvellously creative set pieces.

The scenes where Goldblum’s character is almost taken over, trying to keep awake to fight the aliens and of course the pod factory are brilliant excursions in style.

The film could be looked at as an allegory of the death of individuality or as a great yarn with the right mix of tension, effects and charismatic leads.

The next cinematic avatar was called “Body Snatchers” and was released in 1993. Though the film directed by Abel Ferrara was nominated for the Palme D’Or at Cannes, it got a mixed reaction from the critics with some praising it and an equal number damning it. The film was quiet and serene in tone, which made the disturbing denouement that much of a greater shock.

Set in a military base in Alabama, the “Body Snatchers” is told through the eyes of a troubled teenager Marti Malone played by Gabrielle Anwar. She already has trouble adjusting to her step mother and when she first begins to voice her suspicions of her step mother, everyone thinks it is the natural resentment of a teenager who does not want anyone to take her mother’s place.

At a time of huge multi-million dollar special effects extravaganzas, the film, with its minimalist look and feel, muted palate and subdued acting consummately struck a chill in the heart.

The latest version has a rather troubled history. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s original cut did not find favour with the movie bosses who brought in Larry and Andy Wachovski (“The Matrix” brothers) to do rewrites and John Mcteigue (“V for Vendetta”) to reshoot, which contributes to the unevenness in tone.

Nicole Kidman plays Carol Bennell a psychiatrist in Washington who has to protect her son from a virus that is taking over mankind. Going by science fiction as a metaphor for the time, in this time of reverence for nature, the villains being a pod growing out of the good earth would not have found favour.

The virus that spreads with a sneeze taps more comfortably into our collective paranoia of biological warfare.

The movie also stars Daniel “James Bond” Craig. He must have signed the film before being chosen to play the suave super spy so we will not be treated to visuals of Craig’s wonderful body as he plays Carol’s purely platonic friend Ben Discroll – more’s the pity.

The movie has all the tropes for a successful film – from paranoia to pitiless aliens, invasions and when all else fails there is the lone mum out to save her child – where is Jodie Foster when we need her?

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