INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956–2007) - “They're Coming! They’re Here Already!”

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) d. Don Siegel (USA)
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) d. Philip Kaufman (USA)
BODY SNATCHERS (1993) d. Abel Ferrara (USA)
THE INVASION (2007) d. Oliver Hirschbiegel (USA)

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The theme of an alien entity occupying or replacing the bodies of those nearest and dearest to us had been utilized in horror cinema throughout features as plentiful and varied as Invaders from Mars, It Came from Outer Space, Planet of the Vampires, It Conquered the World, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, The Stepford Wives, The Thing, The Faculty, and many more. But it is producer Walter Wanger’s 1956 production of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, which has come to exemplify the concept.

CURTAINS/PSYCHO II - 1983 DOUBLE FEATURE!!!

PSYCHO II (1983) d. Richard Franklin (USA)
CURTAINS (1983) d. Richard Ciupka/Peter Simpson (Canada)

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Tonight we're jetting back to 1983 to discuss a couple of undersung gems from the heyday of the slasher boom, one a belated sequel to a groundbreaking masterpiece, the other a curious Canadian feature made all the more appealing by its troubled production, release, and subsequent obscurity.

PSYCHO II (1983) Blu-ray Review

 
Psycho II (1983) d. Franklin, Richard (USA)

Being a dead-icated young pup, I dutifully read Robert Bloch’s 1982 literary follow-up to Psycho before seeing its celluloid counterpart on cable during its HBO run, even going so far as to ask the local bookmarm to conjure it via interlibrary loan. I found it satisfying enough, including its key twist of leaving Norman Bates by the wayside early in the narrative. However, with Anthony Perkins returning to the role that had loomed large over his career for the past two decades, it was even money that screenwriter Tom Holland would not be following Bloch’s game plan – even as a lad I knew that Hollywood couldn’t squander an opportunity like that for the sake of a clever plot twist. (Then again, Hitchcock had done something mighty similar 22 years earlier, to memorable success, so who knew...?)