Doctor Hill arrives at his practice with police officers. He meets the lead character Miles who needs to be restrained by two policemen. Miles insists that he is not insane. Character performance – Presence of police officers show that they believe Miles is dangerous. Mise-en-scene – Miles is rough and dirty, suggesting that something has happened.
Miles begins to explain the reason for his state, flashback begins a few days before present time. Miles returns home from a medical convention where he meets sally who fills him on what he’s missed. Character performance – Sally explains that patients have been waiting for weeks to see Miles; shows he is a well trusted doctor. She also says that he has a lot of people waiting, suggesting that something out of the ordinary is going on.
A boy, Jimmy runs in front of Miles’ car, his mother says he doesn’t want to go to school. When Miles returns to his car, he is told by sally that the boy’s mother had tried to see him earlier. - Character performance, Jimmy’s panic suggests that he is afraid of more than just school.
Becky goes to see Miles; she tells him that her cousin Wilma thinks that her uncle is an impostor.
Jimmy is brought in to see Miles, he is distraught. Jimmy insists that his mother is not his mother. - It is more obvious to the audience that something is going on than it is to the characters. Example of Dramatic irony.
Miles runs into Danny and Ed, they tell miles of a dozen patients just like jimmy and Wilma. They say a mass hysteria has spread all over town. - Danny and Ed do not seem worried, at this point not even professionals no what’s happening. Makes further us of dramatic irony.
Miles gets a call from Jack Belicec; he visits his home where he finds a dead body. Miles immediately suspects something strange is going on, suggesting that he had not ignored signs earlier on in the movie which he appeared to shrug off.
Jack’s wife realises that the body they had discovered earlier had changed into a complete replica of Jack.
Miles finds another dead body in the basement of Becky’s home.
Danny goes to jack’s to look at the body but it has vanished. He tries to rationalise the events.
Wilma approaches jack and tells him she’ll no longer need to see a psychiatrist. - The way Wilma’s character delivers the line makes it obvious that she is not better.
Miles discovers pods and more replicas in a greenhouse.
Miles and Becky are trapped in miles’ office. They sedate the captors and escape into the city where they try to fit in.
Becky accidentally draws attention and they are chased out of town by the pod people. They hide in a mine shaft.
Becky falls asleep and becomes a pod person, miles flees alone. He makes it to the next town where the movie cuts to the present day.
The police do not believe Miles’ story, but paramedics come in explaining that they had seen the pods.
