It seems the primary thing taken away from this movie is parallels between this film's plot and McCarthy-era paranoia. I choose to view it as an alien invasion movie. Silly, unenlightened me. This is really frightening as you truly feel the helplessness of the cool Dr. Bennel (Kevin McCarthy) and the beautiful Becky (Dana Wynter). As they slowly discover the assimilation of humans by the aliens, things get more desperate and frustrating and you really feel their plight. Later, it's heartbreaking when Bennel and Becky are separated. Even though the special effects are limited, they bring the perfect level of impact to the film. The ending is incredible. "They're here already!!! You're Next! You're Next! You're Next!"

A well directed, if frequently mocked, narrow little metaphor for the perils of group-think and McCarthyism. It's certainly a product of both its genre and the era, from the wide-eyed straight man constantly running to escape a hidden threat to the blunt, hammer-to-the-temple methods of the plot structure. I most enjoyed the opening act, when the jury was still out on whether the monstrous mimics were real or imagined. Though we can gather our answers from the title alone, it's fun to explore things from the other perspective and the film seems to enjoy dallying in that uncertainty, too. Once the giant, clumsy, man-sized sea pods start showing up, it's time for a hard turn into the cheesy stuff and a subsequent tumble into the usual pit of 1950's sci-fi tropes. The ending is a horrible mismatch, too, quite obviously crammed in at the last moment and completely at-odds with the message and the pace of the preceding seventy minutes. I couldn't stop thinking about one particular episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.

> "I don't want to live in a world without love or grief or beauty, I'd rather die." Wow, I am glad this year I am watching older horror movies because there is a certain charm to these when ideas weren't rehashed too much. The effects are creative and the acting is pretty good. I can see how this starts a trend of body snatcher movies. I did think it's interesting how the ending feels off then looked into it and the studio forced them to make that ending vs what the director really wanted.

“Here. Take two of these. It will help you stay awake.” “You know better than to use the phone”

An absolute classic. Do not miss it.