MovieChat Forums > Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Discussion > Kibner

Kibner

posted 10 years ago by Westchester914
6 replies | jump to latest

Just watching the film again now. This is my favorite version of the story. I liked the original, and the Billy Wirth 1993 version has a sort of cheesy appeal, but this one is the best, in my opinion.

But I keep wondering when did Kibner turn? At the book party, he is smiling and chuckling, and outside he even throws Jeff Goldblum against a wall to make a point about human reactions, then he laughs and tells Sutherland to take Brooke Adams home.

If Kibner was already a pod-person, how could he fake all those emotions? And if he could, why didn't the other pod people - like the dentist boyfriend -fake their emotions too? If they had, they would be nearly impossible to detect.

Or am I wrong and did Kibner turn later in the movie? If so, when do you all think he turned?

Thanks!

[–] greg-233 10 years ago

After telling Matthew to take Elizabeth home, I think Kibner went home himself, went to sleep and was turned then.

The next time we see Kibner is at the mudbaths, where he's wearing a slight change of clothes. He had supposedly been "woken up" when Matthew phoned him, but it seems fairly obvious it was the duplicate version of Kibner who had answered the call.

[–] enigmawriter-1 9 years ago

You could also say that because he was a therapist, his transferred consciousness helped him create "emotions" to fool the regulars. At the party, he was so eager to say that the wife was wrong and the husband was right. He didn't even the wife and Elizabeth explain why. He didn't want to hear any word of it. He felt like the head honcho since he was brighter than the Pods at the bookstore.

But, it could go either way.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxSq60x_38

[–] Naughty-God 9 years ago

I think it was the real Kibner. Wasn't he written as some kind of omnipotent self-help guru? It's kind of ironic considering that all of the people at his book party are dronish sheep seeking a shepherd anyways so what does it matter if they turned into PODs. LOL

My biggest contention about who is or isn't a pod is Matthew himself at the very end. There just seems to be an inkling of human curiosity exhibited by his character walking into Elizabeth's office to stare at her, even if it is emotionless, it looks like he's forcing it as he's adapted to his new environs. I'd also argue that he learned how to squeal like a POD so it's not impossible to think that he turned on Nancy on purpose at the very end. She was too emotional and useless anyways AND it would vindicate Matthew's fakery in the eyes of his fellow PODs as he's brought in another 'fresh one' to turn over.

[–] Binkconn 9 years ago

I think Jeffrey looks at Elizabeth momentarily at the end because the clone realizes there was a connection with her before the transference - pays her a kind of visit at the lab as Jeffrey would have before - just as the married couples in the movie who became clones maintained their relationships as before. The real Matthew probably would have shushed Nancy and told her to come with him to make plans - that pig squeal is way too hard to imitate.

[–] Cult_of_Kibner 9 years ago

Matthew is definitely a pod at the end. Anything it does that can be interpreted as human emotion is misdirection. It's just listlessly going through the motions of the real Matthew's life, and that includes gravitating toward Elizabeth.

[–] Cult_of_Kibner 9 years ago

I'd say he's the real Kibner at the book signing. He's a pod by the time he shows up at the Bellicecs' place though.