Home Projectionist

Trick & Treat for October 26th:

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956; with Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter; directed by Don Siegel)

“You don’t seem like yourself.” That’s an expression most of us have addressed a friend or family member with. Maybe they seem distracted, distant or moody. Most of the time, they eventually will be more like themselves again. But what if your spouse or sibling really wasn’t his or herself? What if some sort of entity had entered their physical beings while they were sleeping, transforming them into a cold, unfeeling sort of person–a person who almost wasn’t human anymore? That’s basically what transpires in this outstanding, classic bit of 50s celluloid paranoia. (Director Don Siegel insists he wasn’t doing a Commie/red scare parable, but judge for yourself). We’re in a middle-class, small community, not unlike those of 1950s TV shows like Father Knows Best, where the townsfolk are warm and friendly. But then the town’s doctor (Kevin McCarthy, perfectly cast) gradually realizes he can’t brush off complaints he’s getting about strange changes in temperaments. There’s something going on, and that something involves pods–squishy, gelatinous, creamy pods, growing in greenhouses, trucking around in trucks, waiting silently for the unsuspecting to nod off, peeling their outer layers and taking over people and their personalities, one at a time. Now, go ahead and enjoy your Cadbury’s Creme Egg bedtime snack. But don’t say we didn’t warn you. 

Who wants to wait until the 31st to wallow in Halloween indulgences and scary movies?! Home Projectionist doesn’t! And so we’ll have pairings of 31 Frights and 31 Bites every one of October’s 31 nights: a scary, snack size movie “trick”, and a delicious “treat” to go along with it.