Species

Dennis Feldman's 'Species' is a severely underrated science fiction film from the 90s. The film touches on many themes, including the meaning of life, human desires, specifically procreation, human interaction, kindness/empathy, selfishness, fear, manipulation, intuition, following orders. It does so in a way that is mostly sublime enough that it comes across as genuine. For example there is a fairly believable romance buried in there underneath layers of alien slime. The dialog is mostly well written and to the point, the actors are great and there's lots of attention to detail. Combine that with some great and grotesque visuals, courtesy of the late Hans Ruedi Giger and some Cronenbergian body horror and you're in for a fascinating ride through Los Angeles.

The dialog doesn't always work, like when they're trying to track her down and are quickly jumping to conclusions about things that the audience already knows. Scenes vary in quality, some feel a bit rushed. While the effects are mostly excellent there are some subpar ones, too.

Overall I highly recommend it if you can get something out of sci-fi horror.

Using information received from an extra-terrestrial radio transmission, scientists on earth are able to reconstruct alien DNA and then inject it into a human egg in accordance with the instructions from their source. The scientists are then shocked by the rapid rate of growth from the humanoid creature and fearing that they may have rushed too quickly into this experiment decide to destroy the young female before it can mature. Unfortunately, she escapes and within just a matter of days has attained full adulthood. It is at this point that the scientists realize that they have created a true monster with little concern about destroying anyone who gets in her way. They also discover that she wants to mate. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that Natasha Henstridge was perfectly cast as the beautiful but psychopathic creature named "Sil". I also liked the performance of Forest Whitaker (who played the empath by the name of "Dan Smithson") and Marg Helgenberger (as the micro-biologist named "Dr. Laura Baker"). In any case, I thought this was a pretty good Sci-Fi/Horror film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Is 'Species' a groundbreaking, visionary SF movie? No, of course not. Is it silly, trashy, but FUN b-grade exploitation SF in the tradition of Tobe Hooper's 'Lifeforce'? You bet! It isn't quite as entertaining as 'Lifeforce', the original naked space chick movie, but it's a still pretty good way to waste an hour and a half of your life. Why it gets slammed so much is beyond me. Maybe people just don't have a sense of humour. The opening of the movie is terrific. In a lab we see a cold scientist (Ben Kingsley) overseeing the murder of a young girl (Michelle Williams), imprisoned in a glass case. Only she escapes by showing some super human strength. She is immediately pursued by dozens of soldiers, but manages to elude them. We then learn she is in fact a genetic experiment, a mixing of extraterrestrial and human DNA. Kingsley heads up a task force consisting of Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger and Forest Whitaker, each a specialist in a different field. Pretty soon our alien fugitive mutates into a gorgeous blonde (Natasha Henstridge), who spends most of her time topless. Kingsley and company face a race against time, they must capture the horny alien girl before she screws guys to death(?) or something... Who knows. Henstridge is great to look at and the above average cast give it their best shot with the lame dialogue and cliched scenes. Whitaker's empath character quickly irritates with his constant stating the bleedin' obvious, but I always get a kick out of watching Madsen, here in stereotypical tough guy mode. 'Species' is big dumb fun.

"Species" has a hopelessly derivative premise that makes it a completely unnecessary view for anyone who has ever seen "Alien" or "The Predator" (or their sequels), but it does have some things going for it. To be short and specific: Natasha Henstridge is dreamily, extraordinarily beautiful; the rest of the cast is distinguished, with a very cool Michael Madsen stealing the show; the special effects are convincingly yucky; and the pacing is fast and unrelenting, with the "search-and-destroy" team being always only one step behind the pursued alien "monster". A forgettable film, but not nearly as bad as many reviews have suggested. (**)

Some scientists working for the government tamper with a DNA sequence they got from a message from outer space. The subject turns into a little girl with amazing superhuman powers. She escapes and turns into a beautiful woman (Natasha Herstridge) who wants to mate and produce others like her. A team led by a head scientist (Ben Kingsley!) try to track her down.

OK--it's kind of silly but this moves quickly and is well-done. There are many excellent, if gruesome, special effects and the SIL creature at the end is truly astounding. The script is good (considering) and it actually makes sense...if you don't think about it too much.

Acting varies--Kingsley is TERRIBLE in his role. Michael Madsen is pretty good as part of the team as are Marg Helgenberger and (especially) Forest Whitaker. Herstridge is certainly beautiful but can't act--but the role doesn't call for acting.

I'm giving it an 8. It's no classic but it moves quickly and I was never bored.