Sunday 8 January 2012

Species

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:1995
Country of origin:USA
Director:Roger Donaldson
Genre:Sci-fi monster / sex schlocker
Starring:Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Forest Whitaker
Rating:2/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114508/
Tagline:For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever
Favourite line:None worth mentioning

I remember going to the cinema in 1995 - can’t remember what to watch - and seeing a trailer for what looked like a thrilling sci-fi horror tale, somewhat similar in feel to the Alien series, though set on Earth.
Man alive, I was excited.
Well, for one reason or another I never got round to seeing it.
Until now.
And what a disappointment.
Falling somewhere between a daft sci-fi monster flick, very much in the B movie category and one of those Christingly awful sex thrillers in the mould of, say, Basic Instinct or Body of Evidence.

The plot:
A team of scientists, headed by Ben Kingsley’s rather exotically monikered Xavier Fitch have in their possession a young girl, sealed in a secure unit, the product of a fusion between alien and human DNA. The alien DNA was sent to Earth by sources unknown in response to the SETI project's signals into deep space. She’s a hybrid and both the military types and the scientists are wary of her powers. Inevitably, she breaks out and, within hours, has transformed from the young girl into a beautiful young woman (Henstridge) who has only one goal: copulate with a human male to produce offspring.

Ridiculous, no?
And repetitive.
Really fucking repetitive.
After the initial break out, the rest of the movie comprises the hybrid's attempts to lure a suitable male and a specially assembled team (the empath, the scientist, the hitman) hunting her down, culminating in a really lame showdown in some cave or other.
The main issue here, besides the tedious plotting, is the flatness of the direction with a spectacular lack of flair on show. Scenes that should be tense or exciting are instead rendered turgid and lifeless, making the mind wander, images of stabbing out your own eyes with a pair of scissors replacing those displayed on the screen. It’s not without its merits, though, with some decent ‘monster moments’ and a nice line in tentacle-themed deaths.
Still bored me though.
Not great.
I won’t be bothering with any of the three (yes, count ‘em: three) sequels

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