INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)Keep the No-Doz handy

Since the ‘50s, body/brain snatching has been a theme in sci-fi movies and a Hollywood metaphor for everything from communism to television. Arguably the best of the genre is INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, in which alien pods take over the bodies and souls of humans while they're sleeping. The 1978 remake is far more graphic, but for my money the original is far scarier – more for what you don’t see than do. Who could ever forget the unnerving ending when Kevin McCarthy runs down the highway screaming - screaming at us - "Look, you fools. You're in danger. Can't you see? They're after you. They're after all of us ... You're next!" (Trivia note: in the original cut, this is the way the movie ended. But studio heads considered that too downbeat and added a scene in which it's apparent the aliens will be discovered and routed.)