Donald Sutherland’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers Has a Shocking Ending

Donald Sutherland, the Canadian actor who recently passed away and was mostly known for films like Don’t Look Now, The Hunger Games, and Animal House, among others, was a classic performer who imprinted his own identity on his movies. It didn’t matter if he played the lead character or if it was a more secondary performance; Sutherland had the presence needed to make every role a memorable one. Among his most notable renditions was playing Matthew Bennell in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Bennell is the lead character in Philip Kaufman’s 1978 version of the literary classic by Jack Finney, The Body Snatchers. The second of several versions that were eventually made in the following years, the remake was popular with audiences and critics, although its cult status has grown over the years. When compiling all of them in the same bag, the Body Snatchers films are incredibly different, and each stands out for various reasons.

Many point out that the film’s depiction of America and consumerism in the 1970s is spotless. Others praise the ensemble cast, including Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Sutherland. The film was also famous for featuring state-of-the-art special effects and makeup work, making it a notable horror piece by a big studio in the late ’70s. It’s also important to mention it featured great cameos by Don Siegel (the director of the 1956 movie) and by Kevin McCarthy, the original film’s star, who reprised a similar character. Perhaps you’re familiar with the movie if you’re a horror connoisseur, but if you’re catching up with Sutherland’s catalog, you may want to know Invasion of the Body Snatchers has one of the most heartwrenching and disturbing endings in horror film history.

The following article contains major spoilers for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

Invasion of the Body Snatchers Is a Great Alien Invasion Film

In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the world is slowly invaded by outer space spores. However, no one seems to notice. Elizabeth Driscoll, a lab scientist in San Francisco, notices her boyfriend has suddenly changed his behavior. When she tells her colleague and friend, Matthew Bennell, he suggests she should see a psychiatrist. They plan to visit one of Matthew’s friends, but Elizabeth’s suspicion grows: she thinks someone may have replaced her boyfriend.

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However, as they continue noticing many people growing cold and emotionless, they see this can’t be a coincidence. Eventually, they’re joined by Matthew’s friends, Jack and Nancy, who make a daunting discovery in their mud spa: they discover pods growing in strange places, spawning into duplicate versions of themselves. These duplicates follow the same agenda: to be mindless minions of an extraterrestrial force taking over the planet.

Bennell, Driscoll, and Nancy escape, but they won’t be able to outrun a mindless collective force that reacts in the most gruesome and eerie of ways when they notice there are some humans who haven’t been replaced. The future looks grim and hopeless for the few remaining survivors of the alien invasion.

The Ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers Is Shocking and Unforgettable

The film ends as Bennell hides away after having been chased by all remnants of those who used to be his human peers. Heartbroken after losing Elizabeth (for whom he declares his love), Matthew is now a survivor whose victory of burning down the building with the pods inside is not worth celebrating. Kaufman could have ended the film right there, with a vestige of hope for a future where the aliens haven’t conquered the planet.

However, the director decides to properly design an ending that will chill you to your bone the way the previous film didn’t: Nancy, Jack’s partner and one of the survivors, is following the premise of trying to hide her “humanity.” She sees Matthew standing in a square with no one else around. As they make eye contact, Nancy can’t help but show relief that her friend has been able to recognize her. Or has he?

Slowly, Matthew lifts his arm and opens his eyes in a monstrous fashion. With his mouth wide open and pointing at Nancy, he produces the screeching sound of aliens that have taken over humans. Nancy looks desperate and tries to hide her cries, but it’s to no avail. Her friend has been taken, and she’s on her way to becoming one of them as well. Although such a conclusion only lasts a few seconds, Sutherland’s execution of the final scene is good enough to be a memorable ending in the annals of horror films. It is simply a disturbing moment that will forever live in the minds of those who watch it. The reason is Donald Sutherland’s facial expression and the chilling sound effect used throughout the movie.

Another Great Donald Sutherland Performance

As mentioned, Sutherland’s execution of the lead in 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of his finest. This was arguably Sutherland at his peak, and he was able to embody the perfect version of a desperate victim who navigates between the vulnerable and the capable in a tension-filled film that hasn’t lost a bit of agency. The ending and the iconic shot of his screeching is a golden bow for any retrospect about his career.

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Yet Sutherland was never an actor who suffered from being typecast. He was versatile enough to play every character, and most importantly, he didn’t see this ability fade during his last years as a performer. He was very active during his final years, even making a film called Heart Land, which has yet to be released, at the age of 88. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is streaming on Prime Video. In addition, these are some of his most notable performances throughout his career, aside from his 1978 sci-fi hit: