Invasion, The (2007, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig)

Invasion was originally in development for a couple of years and was scheduled to be released in 2006 but an accident on set and a title change to The Visiting and then back again (probably the fact that the TV series Invasion was on air at the same time).

Ostensibly a rehash of the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Invasion, scripted by David Kajganich, actually has a quality Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass feel about it, especially with its opening plot development of an alien life form (which actually takes the form of a spore) coming to Earth on a crashed Space Shuttle, spreading itself over a wide area the spore infets humans and turning them into emotionless zombies almost, enter psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Kidman) and Doctor Ben Driscoll (Craig) who are determined to get to the bottom of the epidemic.

A thriller at heart Invasion does well to bypass its genre origins and creates some tense moments. Carol learns that the infection begins during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) of sleep and of course she then has to try and stay awake to avoid becoming infected herself.

production details
USA | 99 minutes | 2007

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Script: Jack Finney, David Kajganich,

cast
Nicole Kidman as Carol
Daniel Craig as Ben
Jeremy Northam as Tucker
Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Galeano
Jackson Bond as Oliver
Veronica Cartwright as Wendy Lenk
Josef Sommer as Dr. Henryk Belicec
Celia Weston as Ludmilla Belicec
Roger Rees as Yorish
Eric Benjamin as Gene
Susan Floyd as Pam
Stephanie Berry as Carly
Alexis Raben as Belicec’s Aide
Adam LeFevre as Richard Lenk
Joanna Merlin as Joan Kaufman
Malin Åkerman as Autumn
Michael Stone Forrest as Butler
Cloie Wyatt Taylor as Sobbing Teen