Check out the all-new INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS page at SET-JETTER.COM
If you haven't seen the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), stop what you're doing and and do it now! I was well aware that Sierra Madre was used for the main locale for Santa Mira, but on my latest trip I decided to seek out and visit the other spots used in the film. I don't usually manipulate my photos outside of some cropping, but used black-and-white versions of the current shots to give a better symmetry to compare locations as they look now.
One of the first locations used in the film is sadly no longer in existence, but I found this photo below I wanted to share to show how it looked at the time...
Okay, onto current stuff. Sierra Madre has been used heavily in many films, including Halloween III, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2, Better Off Dead, and more.
The exterior of the doctor's office has changed a bit. There is now a small building where there once was a small alley, but you can still see the smaller brick partitions....
Screenshots....
Screenshots...
And as the scene moves across the street, some storefronts have changed....
Screenshots....
An insert shot of the doctor's office window....
Screenshots....
I loved this location as it has changed very little. Here is Wilma's house...
Screenshots....
A look at the neighbor's house and the long street....
Screenshots....
Becky's house is no longer in existence, but some of the buildings seen across the street are still standing. Unfortunately a lot of trees now obscure them....
Screenshots....
Wilma's work also does not exist anymore, but you can see this building across the street....
Screenshots....
En route to the gas station, you can clearly see these two houses on the left....
Screenshots....
And here is where the gas station once stood...
Screenshots...
A long shot from up the street...
Screenshots...
The alley where they set the pods on fire...
Screenshots...
They round this corner onto Russell Avenue....
Screenshots....
Screenshots....
Like the other locations, the actual house is gone, but you can see the still standing houses across the street....
Screenshots....
Screenshots....
Now here is the only spot I'm unsure about. Sites list this alley as a location and while it could be, I couldn't really verify anything for sure....
Screenshots....
Back to Sierra Madre, here is Kersting Court....
Screenshots....
The storefronts on the court....
Screenshots....
A shot as they attempt to cross the street...
Screenshots....
The gas station is no longer here, but the building/cafe behind it still exists....
Screenshots....
This same area was used in promo photos.....
Screenshot....
They run up the street to escape. It's very obscured by foliage now....
Screenshots....
They run up this hill, which now has houses built into the embankment....
Screenshot....
Here is the bottom of the long steps to escape....
Screenshots....
Screenshot....
Rounding the bend to the upperhalf of the steps....
Screenshots....
Finally to the top!
They run across the street and over the cliff edge, but here is what it looks like now....
Screenshots...
Here they make their way to the Bronson Caves....
Screenshots....
More from inside the caves....
Screenshots....
As he starts to make his final escape, he runs down this steep hill....
.JPG)
Screenshots....
I love that these two trees still exist after all these years! Here is the spot where Kevin McCarthy runs to the freeway...
Screenshots....
And runs over to the bridge...
The bridge where Kevin beckons for help....
Screenshots....
"They're here already, you're next!!"
