Live Life Team
The original of this story is still considered a classic by many filmgoers. The film is really a Cold War thriller thinly disguised as a sci-fi horror story. Although you don’t see much in the way of scary scenes or special effects, the film is still able to creep you out by its underlying premise.
The plot is simple: strange pods have fallen to Earth from space. If one of them gets next to a person while they’re sleeping, the pod essentially takes the person’s mind and body over. After that, they become cold and emotionless, and one of the loyal aliens. Of course, this is a metaphor for the idea of free-thinking Americans being replaced by the automaton-like Soviet Communists.
Kevin McCarthy stars in the picture as Dr. Miles Bennell, and he’s faced with the twin dilemma of not being able to go to sleep, and not knowing who he can trust. Originally, the movie was supposed to end with him standing in a street full of cars, screaming at the camera: “They’re after you, you’re next!” But, when this version was shown to test audiences, it got a very negative reaction. So, the filmmakers shot an alternative ending. The entire story became a flashback; McCarthy is telling the story to a doctor in a hospital. Initially, he doesn’t believe the story, but then a truck driver is brought into the hospital. He was found under a truck full of the pods! The film ends with the doctor picking up the phone and calling the FBI.
