This is a second Hollywood remake of a sci-fi thriller, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" of 1956. It was based on a novel of the same title by Jack Finney. The original was a suspenseful sci-fi with a film noir look that didn't have a single ugly creature. It held the audience in suspense for most of the film. But this film, "Body Snatchers," is a major revision of the story. The setting, characters and situations are quite different. And, it clearly is more of a horror story. It's not too bad for that, but with horror stories being a dime a dozen, neither does it offer much of anything better or original. The performances are just OK. There are many other good sci-fi thrillers out there, so one doesn't have to settle for lesser films like this one.

This film is not 100% garbage but it's not a good film - it's is bad though. The only thing I like about this film are 3 actors: Meg Tilly, Forest Whitaker and R. Lee Ermey - that's it. Nothing else good can be said about this movie coming from me.If you want to see a good "body snatchers" film watch the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) or even the 1978 remake which is pretty good - the original is the best.This 1993 film - I have nothing good to say about it. The first 45 minutes is mainly about a family moving into a new area and the "drama' between a teen daughter, her father and step-mother. This teen daughter gets a new friend and a boyfriend - wow just wow. I am not wanting to watch a teen drama I'm wanting to watch another remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and this remake basically sucks - minus 3 actors that I have already mentioned. I'm giving it 3 stars - one star for each actor because the movie is terrible.3/10

The second remake of the sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers is decent but nowhere near as good as the original or the 1978 version. Part of the problem lies in the story's familiarity. Changing the setting does little to help the fact that you feel like you know what's going to happen throughout the movie. Actually, changing the setting in this case only serves to hurt the film, as the military base backdrop does more to diminish the paranoia than add to it. There are some good scenes and some creepy moments but ultimately there's a lack of real suspense and no surprises.The quality of the acting varies. Terry Kinney is solid and Meg Tilly is great when the scary business starts. Forrest Whitaker overacts. Christine Elise and R. Lee Ermey do what they always do -- portray themselves. Gabrielle Anwar is a little weak and Billy Wirth is wooden. Director Abel Ferrara, one of the most overrated directors in cinema history, does fine here. Nothing exceptional, but fine.The movie is entertaining enough. It moves at a decent pace and provides some creepy moments. What it does not do, however, is break new ground or have layers to it like the original film or, to a certain extent, the '78 remake. It's just good time killer. That's all.

Abel Ferrara is a talented and interesting director. He's made some great films ("bad lieutenant", "china girl") and he always seems to bring out the best in his actors. With "Body Snatchers", Ferrara tackles the task of directing a big budget, studio sci-fi film. And for the most part, he succeeds. Ferrara injects the film with tight closeups and experiments with tilted and off balanced framing. Making the viewer feel like something in the film is off and eschewed. But the film just isn't that exciting. It's more of a slow burner. It never really lives up to it's own potential sadly. But the effects are solid and some of the semi-transformation scenes are disturbing.The acting for the most part is solid with Meg Tilly giving the best monologue in the film. Gabrielle Anwar is gorgeous to stare at and Billy Wirth (Lost Boys) plays the chopper pilot hero. It could have been a better film, but "Body Snatchers" is entertaining, well-acted, and often creepy. I'm always surprised that an independent director like Ferrara was the guy chosen to helm such a big budget studio film...