Anytown U.S.A. gets clobbered again. This time alien pods replicate full-fledged citizens, turning them into unfeeling collectivized conformists. And the threat this time is not a bug-eyed alien or insidious Commie, but Mom, Dad, and Little Timmy, affectless advocates of acquiescence. Kevin McCarthy plays the heroic Dr. Miles Bennell who tries to rouse his small town from its stupor, only to be hunted by the post-pod people. The specter of a victorious visitation (whether political or just cultural) is of a life emptied. The podified psychiatrist offers this rebuke to Dr. Bennell and his love interest, played by Dana Wynter: “Love. Desire. Ambition. Faith. Without them life's so simple, believe me.” Hoberman recounts: “Although science fiction, Jack Finney's story was a period piece and, in a sense, a secret history. The writer would deny that ‘The Body Snatchers' was a Cold War allegory but it was specifically set during the summer of 1953, immediately following the Korean armistice and soon after the Rosenberg execution capped a six-year hunt for Communist traitors.” Almost delirious from his sleep-deprived ordeal, Dr. Bennell is left screaming his final warning into the roar of oncoming traffic: “They're already here. You're next! You're next!”