Remakes have been made since cinema was cinema, and most of the time they are unnecessary films, because if something is already well done, why do it again? Obviously there are exceptions throughout the history of the seventh art, and all those exceptions have always been versions that offered a new approach to the story, and that also contributed something different from what has already been seen. This is the case of ‘The Invasion of the Ultrabodies’a film that in 1978 revisited what Don Siegel did so well in his classic from ’56.
We all know the story by now: an alien invasion, in which little by little every human being on Earth is replaced by people without any kind of emotion or feelings. This change occurs when the human being falls asleep, so our protagonists cannot fall asleep for a single moment if they want to survive what seems to be the end of the human being.
‘The Invasion of the Ultrabodies’ is directed by the craftsman Philip Kaufmann, who most likely achieved his best film with this work. Despite starting from a well-known film that has endured over time as one of the masterpieces of the fantastic, Kaufman managed to redo it with great intelligence, and above all with great respect for the original., from which he took his entire argument 100%, changing it simply in a few small details, which give it a new approach, enriching it in a certain way, and of course, adapting it to new times. They are exemplary, the opening credits that take place in space, making it very clear where the threat comes from, thus saving any subsequent explanation; and of course, its unforgettable ending, practically silent until it is broken by a chilling scream that in its own right has already gone down in the annals of the most shocking moments in the entire history of cinema.
Obviously and in keeping with the times, this version lasts longer than its predecessor. The film stops a little more to let us know the lives of each of the central characters, lengthening the prologue a bit, and stretching the central and final chase of the film, at which point the rhythm of the film suffers. a bit. And it is that in the cinema the stories were no longer told in less than an hour and a half, now it was necessary to spend more time, with which sometimes the films are too long. Even so the atmosphere and the climax are fully achieved and the burden on the viewer very well transmitted, thanks to the identification with the characters, and the realistic treatment of the story, something that is also helped by the few excellent visual effects, which take on a certain role when the characters fall asleep and are about to be supplanted.
‘The Invasion of the Ultrabodies’ It has a better-known cast than its predecessor, although of that only two were sufficiently well-known stars: Donald Sutherland, who played the central character, and Leonard Nimoy, who needless to say why he was known by the public, and who here he gives life to a rather disturbing character. The rest of the main characters are played by the beautiful Brooke Adams, who for a long time was confused with Karen Allen; Jeff Goldblum, who stars in two quite successful moments, and Veronica Cartwright, who since she was a child has spent almost every movie in which she has been in tears. Perhaps this last character is the most neglected of the entire plot, coming to disappear and appear at his own whim.
In very secondary characters, two important cameos, those of Kevin McCarthy and Don Siegel. The first, at the beginning of the film running through the streets while he yells that everything is going to end and is chased by a group of people. You could almost say that this sequence is a continuation of the end of the previous version. Don Siegel plays a taxi driver, with dark intentions. Thus, both the director and the actor give their new approval to this new version, also marking two appearances that are even nice.
‘The Invasion of the Ultrabodies’ It is a splendid film that falls short of the original, but is enormously convincing. One of the key horror titles in the 70s, and like Siegel’s version, it powerfully influenced later cinema. Certain high-speed chases of human characters pursued by infected find their origins in Kaufman’s film, where the central characters are not fleeing from horrifying monsters that are going to tear them to pieces, but from people who are apparently the same who are going to leave them without emotions so they can live. in a world without feelings, which is more terrifying. Remember, don’t fall asleep.
