Though it was released in 1956, Invasion of the Body Snatchers still lends itself well to societal analysis. Academics and horror fans alike have watched the movie over and over, searching for any overarching themes or messages.

One of the film’s stars, Kevin McCarthy, admitted that he did feel there was an underlying message about society in the undercurrent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

“It seemed to me that the film was about conformity,” McCarthy said during an interview with the Asbury Park Press. “If you don’t conform, then there’s something wrong with you. That was my feeling. Any big advertising campaign got people to do the same thing, and people wore the same clothes…It seemed to me that it was an attack on conforming. If you’re a non-conformist, you’re kind of a scary person. We were not thinking or talking about McCarthyism at that time.”

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McCarthy welcomes any and all analysis of the film. “What you see in the painting may be altogether different from what the artist saw,” said McCarthy. “But nonetheless, that’s your privilege. And that’s his hope: that you will derive something there which he helps to suggest.”