I've always followed Donald Sutherland's impeccable career and was saddened to learn of his death. His incredible acting ability always elevated anything he appeared in, including Mash, Klute, Don't Look Now, Kelly's Heroes, and yes, even The Hunger Games. He was a versatile and unique actor who often played the role of the outsider, an unsuspecting lead character, who always brought something very un-Hollywood and grounded to every role.

Weeks before his death, I watched Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) because I was curious to see if it lived up to the original 1956 black and white science fiction horror classic. I had a weird feeling that I had seen it before but there was something odd about the film. For some reason I couldn't remember if the remake was better or worse. Obviously, I assumed it would be terrible. Jesus, was I wrong.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is a bona fide classic which builds on the orginal cold war premise of encroaching Communism and explores the societal weirdness as the invasion builds steam and more and more people are replaced. Donald Sutherland's performance as a curious, hard nosed, happy go lucky health inspector brings the role to life as he slides into encroaching paranoia.

The file was directed by Philip Kaufman, who it has to be said, was somewhat ahead of his time in the use of hand held cameras to track Sutherland's walk through New York City as he wakes up as an outsider in his own land. The unnerving extended shots of everyday people remind me of Adam Curtis's documentaries and express that intense otherworldly feeling of dread. Lingering shots of other people lurking in hallways, watching, conspiring, waiting for you to fall sleep and replace you.

Of course, the original film, and the remake, were analogies for cold war paranoia and the mcarthy era that swept America. But I would argue that this film can be seen in a new perspective since Covid-19. The constant fear of other people, family members, loved ones or strangers who might attempt social contact and infect you at any moment, represent pure agrophobia. Or perhaps it's just me? The shots of Donald Sutherland wandering the streets alone, caught within a circling web of conspiracy that he can never escape feel very familiar as the pandemic swept their world.

The remake also features an incredible cast of 1970’s actors including Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Veronica Cartright, Jeff Goldblum and Brooke Adams. Incredibly, it also features a brief cameo by the original 1956 actor, Kevin McCarthy, reprising his role as the original Dr. Miles J. Bennell. The electronic soundtrack was also ahead of its time with long electronic drones and weird noises punctuating the invasion of planet earth by strange biological wisp like beings from another world.

The final shot of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is pure 1970’s horror and may stay with you forever, which is perhaps why I always remembered there was something strange about this film. After all these years I think I must have blocked out the memory of this horror classic for my own sanity. Thank god I didn't rewatch it in 2020 at the height of the pandemic or I may never have left the house again.

Rest in Peace Donald Sutherland. Your career lives on.