The Invasion (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Invasion

| image = The Invasion film poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Oliver Hirschbiegel

| producer = Joel Silver

| screenplay = David Kajganich

| based_on = {{Based on|The Body Snatchers
1954 stories in Collier's|Jack Finney}}

| starring =

{{plainlist|

}}

| music = John Ottman

| cinematography = Rainer Klausmann

| editing = Joel Negron
Hans Funck

| production_companies = Village Roadshow Pictures
Silver Pictures
Vertigo Entertainment

| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures

| released = {{Film date|2007|08|17}}

| runtime = 99 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English
Russian

| budget = $65–80{{nbsp}}million

| gross = $40.2{{nbsp}}million

}}

The Invasion is a 2007 American science fiction horror film{{cite web |first=Chad |last=Collins |title=‘The Invasion’ Is Terrifying in its Alien Sensibilities |work=Dread Central |date=November 5, 2021 |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/417543/the-invasion-is-terrifying-in-its-alien-sensibilities-rotten-outlook/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211195135/https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/417543/the-invasion-is-terrifying-in-its-alien-sensibilities-rotten-outlook/ |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |url-status=live}} directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, written by David Kajganich, and starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Unhappy with the original cut of the film, the studio hired The Wachowskis for additional writing and James McTeigue to re-shoot some scenes. The plot follows a psychiatrist (Kidman) in Washington, D.C. who finds those around her turning into emotionless beings shortly after a Space Shuttle crashes to Earth, bringing with it mysterious alien spores.

Development of the film began in 2004. Warner Bros. hired David Kajganich to write what was intended to be a relatively straight-forward remake of the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but Kajganich amended the story to reflect contemporary times. Principal photography began in September 2005. Released on August 17, 2007, the film was a commercial failure and received primarily negative reviews from critics.

The Invasion is the fourth film adaptation of the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney following Don Siegel's 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of the same name, and Abel Ferrara's 1993 film Body Snatchers.

Plot

After a Space Shuttle crashes on Earth, an intelligent fungus-like lifeform is discovered on shuttle remnants scattered widely over the United States. Once people are infected by the organism and REM sleep occurs, the organism takes control of its host and reprograms its genetic expression. One of the first people infected is Tucker Kaufman, a CDC director investigating the crash. Tucker's ex-wife, the psychiatrist Carol Bennell, begins to feel people have "changed". Her patient, Wendy Lenk, says her husband "is not (her) husband", and one of Carol's son's friends acts detached and emotionless.

At a neighborhood Halloween party, Carol's son Oliver finds an unusual patch of "skin" on a partier, which is initially believed to be costume makeup. Carol speculates that the skin may be connected to reports of a fast-spreading flu. Carol takes the sample to her friend Dr. Ben Driscoll to have it analyzed. Carol and Oliver witness a car accident where a troubled woman is killed. Carol approaches the crash scene to give a witness statement, but an emotionless cop takes down her plates and orders her back to her car. Carol drops Oliver off at Tucker's house for the weekend.

That night, Ben and Carol attend a friendly dinner meeting between Russian diplomat Yorish and Czech diplomat Belicec (along with his wife Luddie). Carol and Yorish debate the violent nature of humans. Tucker uses the CDC to spread the disease further, disguising the spores as flu vaccine. Carol, upon returning home, is attacked by a "census department" worker who tries to break into her house.

Ben and Dr. Stephen Galeano, a biologist, discover the spore takes over the brain during REM sleep. Luddie calls Ben, worried about Yorish's behavior. Ben and Galeano also find that people who had brain-affecting illnesses, such as encephalitis or ADEM, are immune to the spore because their previous illnesses prevent the spore from "latching on" to the brain matter. Oliver is immune to the spore because of the ADEM he had as a young child. Carol decides to retrieve Oliver, who might show a way to a cure. Before she drives to Tucker's house, she joins Ben's team at the Belicecs' house, in a case of emergency. There they witness the transformation of Yorish and the Belicecs' friend.

When Carol arrives at Tucker's house, he and several colleagues close in on her. He explains that the changed humans, devoid of irrational emotions, offer a better world, and asks her to join them. When Carol resists, Tucker infects her by spitting on her. She escapes and returns to Ben at the Belicecs' house. They flee when Belicec returns with more transformed people intent on infecting anyone in the house.

Galeano and one of his assistants head to Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where they and other scientists will attempt to find a cure for the virus. Carol and Ben separate to find Oliver, who texts his location, the apartment of Tucker's mother, to Carol. Carol goes there and spirits Oliver away, but is again pursued by Tucker, whom she has to kill to stop.

Carol arranges to meet up with Ben. Carol almost falls asleep waiting for Ben, but Oliver saves her. Ben arrives, but has 'converted'. He attempts to seduce Carol into the new society that has no crime or violence, but also frankly states that there is no room for people like Oliver who are immune. Carol shoots Ben in the leg and flees with Oliver. They are pursued, but she and Oliver are picked up by helicopter, and flown to the medical center. A vaccine is created, inoculations are made worldwide, and within a year, the alien virus is eliminated. People have no memory of the events that occurred while they were infected. Carol and Ben reunite, and society reverts to its emotional and violent ways.

Cast

{{cast listing|

Nicole Kidman as Dr. Carol Bennell
Daniel Craig as Dr. Ben Driscoll
Jeremy Northam as Tucker Kaufman
Jackson Bond as Oliver
Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Stephen Galeano
Veronica Cartwright as Wendy Lenk
Josef Sommer as Dr. Henryk Belicec
Celia Weston as Ludmilla Belicec
Roger Rees as Yorish Kagonavich
Eric Benjamin as Gene
Susan Floyd as Pam
Stephanie Berry as Carly
Alexis Raben as Jill
Adam LeFevre as Richard Lenk
Joanna Merlin as Joan Kaufman
Malin Åkerman as Autumn (uncredited)
Jeff Wincott as Transit Cop

}}

Production

=Development=

In March 2004, Warner Bros. hired David Kajganich to write a script that would serve as a remake of the 1956 science fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.{{cite magazine |first=Cathy |last=Dunkley |title=Scribe warms to WB's 'Body' |magazine=Variety |date=March 25, 2004 |url=https://variety.com/2004/film/markets-festivals/scribe-warms-to-wb-s-body-1117902307/ |access-date=April 28, 2007}} In July 2005, Oliver Hirschbiegel was attached to direct, with production to begin in Edgemere, Maryland.{{cite web |title=Body Snatchers Get a Director |website=ComingSoon.net |date=July 15, 2005 |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=10400 |access-date=April 28, 2007 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031405/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=10400 |url-status=dead}} The following August, Nicole Kidman was cast to star in the film, then titled Invasion, receiving a salary of close to $17 million. Invasion was based on the script by Kajganich, originally intended as a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but Kajganich crafted a different enough story for the studio to see the project as an original conception.{{cite magazine |first1=Michael |last1=Fleming |first2=Claude |last2=Brodesser |title=WB unearths 'Invasion' |magazine=Variety |date=August 1, 2005 |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/wb-unearths-invasion-1117926842/ |access-date=April 28, 2007}} Despite this, the end credits of the film still state "Based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney". Kajganich described the story to reflect contemporary times, saying, "You just have to look around our world today to see that power inspires nothing more than the desire to retain it and to eliminate anything that threatens it." The screenwriter said that the story was set in Washington, D.C. to reflect the theme.{{cite news |first=Felix |last=Cheong |title=Remaking the Remake |newspaper=Today |location=Singapore |date=September 14, 2007 |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/299761/1/.html |access-date=October 5, 2007 |archive-date=December 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224183044/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/299761/1/.html |url-status=dead}} In August, Daniel Craig was cast opposite Kidman in the lead.{{cite magazine |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |title=Craig plans for 'Invasion' |magazine=Variety |date=August 18, 2005 |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/craig-plans-for-invasion-1117927747/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124064254/https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/craig-plans-for-invasion-1117927747/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}} The film, whose original title Invasion of the Body Snatchers was shortened to Invasion due to Kajganich's different concept, was changed once more to The Visiting so it would not be confused with ABC's TV series Invasion.{{cite magazine |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |title='Invasion' title snatched |magazine=Variety |date=October 9, 2005 |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/news/invasion-title-snatched-1117930411/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241124064529/https://variety.com/2005/film/news/invasion-title-snatched-1117930411/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}} In October 2006, the title was changed from The Visiting to The Invasion, due to the cancellation of the ABC TV series.{{cite news |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |title=The 'Invasion' is back on again |magazine=Variety |date=October 15, 2006 |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/news/the-invasion-is-back-on-again-1117951861/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241124064550/https://variety.com/2006/film/news/the-invasion-is-back-on-again-1117951861/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}}

=Filming=

Filming began on September 26, 2005, in Baltimore and lasted 45 days.{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Kaltenbech |title='Invasion,' downgraded to a 'Visiting,' will hit city |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=September 24, 2005 |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bal-to.kidman24sep24,0,5340977.story |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301123351/http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bal-to.kidman24sep24,0,5340977.story |archive-date=March 1, 2014 |url-status=dead}} Filming also took place in Washington, D.C., including in the Cleveland Park Metro station,{{cite news |last1=Argetsinger |first1=Amy |author-link=Amy Argetsinger |last2=Roberts |first2=Roxanne |author-link2=Roxanne Roberts |title=Kidman, Fare Game |work=The Washington Post |date=October 26, 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102600311.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 12, 2020}} outside the Foggy Bottom–GWU Metro station, and in Dupont Circle.{{cite news |title=Nicole Kidman on campus for 'The Visiting' |last=Monaco |first=Matthew |work=The GW Hatchet |location=Washington, D.C. |date=October 27, 2005 |url=https://www.gwhatchet.com/2005/10/27/nicole-kidman-on-campus-for-the-visiting/ |access-date=January 29, 2020}} The film had minimal visual effects, with no need for greenscreen work. Instead, the director shot from odd camera angles and claustrophobic spaces to increase tension in the film.{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Wloszczyna |title=Paranoia gets revisited in 'The Visiting' |work=USA Today |date=January 11, 2006 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-01-11-visiting-main_x.htm |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123012856/https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-01-11-visiting-main_x.htm |archive-date=November 23, 2008 |url-status=dead}}

==Re-shoots==

Warner Bros. was unhappy with Hirschbiegel's results and hired The Wachowskis to rewrite the film and assist with additional shooting.{{cite magazine |first1=Nicole |last1=Sperling |first2=Christine |last2=Spines |title=Hidden 'Invasion' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=August 10, 2007 |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/08/10/whos-behind-invasion/ |access-date=August 18, 2007 |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014230838/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20050837,00.html |url-status=live}} The studio later hired director James McTeigue to perform re-shoots that would cost $10 million, for which McTeigue would not be credited.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Fleming |title=McTeigue to get Thai'd up in 'Bangkok' |magazine=Variety |date=June 26, 2007 |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/mcteigue-to-get-thai-d-up-in-bangkok-1117967691/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241124064718/https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/mcteigue-to-get-thai-d-up-in-bangkok-1117967691/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}} After 13 months of inactivity, re-shoots took place in January 2007 to increase action scenes and add a twist ending.{{cite magazine |title=August 17 – The Invasion |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 4, 2007}} The re-shoot lasted for 17 days in Los Angeles. During the re-shooting, Kidman was involved in an accident, while in a Jaguar that was being towed by a stunt driver, and was taken to a hospital briefly.{{cite news |title=Kidman in Crash on The Invasion Set |agency=Associated Press |website=ComingSoon.net |date=January 25, 2007 |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=18572 |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225040738/https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=18572 |archive-date=December 25, 2007 |url-status=dead}} Kidman broke several ribs, but she was able to get back to work soon after being hospitalized.{{cite news |first=Patrick |last=Lee |title=Kidman Talks Invasion Injuries |website=Sci Fi Wire |date=August 14, 2007 |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43214 |access-date=August 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011231444/http://scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43214 |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}

=Musical score=

In May 2007, composer John Ottman recorded the musical score for The Invasion, using heavy synthesizers combined with a 77-piece orchestra intended to create "otherworldly foreboding and tension". The music was also designed to have an avant-garde postmodern style, with atmospheric and thrilling action elements.{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Goldwasser |title=John Ottman scores The Invasion |work=SoundtrackNet |date=May 25, 2007 |url=http://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=992 |access-date=May 9, 2007 |archive-date=August 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813102042/https://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=992 |url-status=dead}}

Promotion

The music in the trailer is called "Untitled 8 (a.k.a. "Popplagið")" by Sigur Rós.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Release

The Invasion was originally intended to be released in June 2006,{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Wloszczyna |title=Kidman happily visits while filming 'Visiting' |work=USA Today |date=November 17, 2005 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-11-17-kidman_x.htm |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523014248/https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-11-17-kidman_x.htm |archive-date=May 23, 2006 |url-status=dead}} but it was postponed to 2007. The film was released on August 17, 2007, in the United States and Canada, in 2,776 theaters.

=Home media=

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released The Invasion on DVD and Blu-ray on January 29, 2008.{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Preston |title=The Invasion |website=DVD Talk |date=January 25, 2008 |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/32129/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241124063129/https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/32129/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}} On November 12, 2024, Arrow Video released the film in newly-restored Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu-ray editions, licensed by Warner Bros. in both the United States and United Kingdom.{{cite web |work=Bloody Disgusting |title='The Invasion' – Arrow Video Brings Body Snatching Movie Starring Nicole Kidman to 4K |last=Squires |first=John |date=November 7, 2024 |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3838736/the-invasion-arrow-video-brings-body-snatching-movie-starring-nicole-kidman-to-4k-trailer/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/wip/bAkAo |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Reception

=Box office=

The Invasion grossed $15.1{{nbsp}}million domestically (United States and Canada) and $25.1{{nbsp}}million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $40.2{{nbsp}}million, against a production budget of $65–$80{{nbsp}}million.{{Cite Box Office Mojo |access-date=2024-11-24}} It opened at No. 5, spending its first two weeks in the Top 10 at the domestic box office.{{cite web |title=The Invasion {{!}} Domestic Weekly |website=Box Office Mojo |publisher=IMDb |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2893645313/weekly/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs |access-date=2024-11-24}}

=Critical response=

{{RT prose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT data|average}}|{{RT data|count}}|The Invasion is slickly made, but it lacks psychological insight and thrills.|ref=yes|access-date={{RT data|date}}}} {{MC film|45|31|ref=yes|access-date=2024-11-24}}

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "the fourth, and the least, of the movies made from Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel."{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=The Invasion |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=August 17, 2007 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-invasion-2007 |access-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217082502/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-invasion-2007 |archive-date=February 17, 2018 |url-status=live |via=RogerEbert.com}} Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that it was "a soulless rehash...The movie isn't terrible; it's just low-rent and reductive."{{cite magazine |first=Owen |last=Gleiberman |author-link=Owen Gleiberman |title=Review: The Invasion |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=August 15, 2007 |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20051850,00.html |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816225839/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20051850,00.html |archive-date=August 16, 2007 |url-status=dead}} Joanne Kaufman of The Wall Street Journal added, "With all the shoot-outs, the screaming, the chases, collisions and fireballs, there isn't much time for storytelling."{{cite news |first=Joanne |last=Kaufman |title=The Invasion |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=August 17, 2007 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118730238551600198 |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910155603/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118730238551600198 |archive-date=September 10, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times criticized the film, writing: "The latest and lamest version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers might have been an accidental camp classic if its politics weren't so abhorrent and the movie didn't try to hide its ineptitude behind a veil of pomposity."{{cite news |work=The New York Times |department=Movies |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |author-link=Manohla Dargis |date=August 17, 2007 |title=Review - The Invasion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/movies/17inva.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-date=September 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910155727/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/movies/17inva.html |url-status=live}} Paul Arendt of the BBC wrote: "Having established an effectively creepy mood in the first half, the film eventually degenerates into a muddled mess, with Nicole and Daniel Craig dodging zombies while popping amphetamines in a desperate effort to stay awake. We know how they feel."{{cite news |last=Arendt |first=Paul |work=BBC |date=October 5, 2007 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/10/08/the_invasion_2007_review.shtml |title=The Invasion (2007) |access-date=May 3, 2018}} Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide called the film "a frantic mess that opens with a scene plucked from the film's third act that smacks of having been moved up to pacify audiences too restless for a slow build."{{cite web |last=McDonagh |first=Maitland |author-link=Maitland McDonagh |title=The Invasion |work=TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-invasion/review/289883/ |access-date=May 3, 2018}}