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The first time
I saw “Species”, it had just
opened in theatres. Let’s see, that
would have been around 1995. I was pretty
excited about seeing a new sci-fi flick
at the time, in part because I knew that
the creature design had come from H.R. Giger
(whose work was also so prominently featured
in the “Alien” series). I was
also intrigued by the casting, which included
the likes of Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker,
(the ultra-cool) Michael Madsen and Marg
Helgenberger. Even better, I understood
that the visual effects were being helmed
by Academy Award Winner, Richard Edlund.
How could it be bad?
The drive home in the car after seeing the
movie was interminable. I was disappointed…
terribly disappointed. It’s not that
the movie was bad; it just wasn’t
what I expected. It started out pretty good.
The premise involved the Earth’s scientists
having received a signal from space that
carried a genetic code. The code allowed
us to genetically engineer a human-alien
hybrid.
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The experiment, for the most part turns out to
be a success. But, as in the case in most sci-fi
movies involving scientific experiments there
is always that unknown factor. The one that dictates
something must always….ALWAYS… go
horribly wrong.
We meet Sil, the product of the experiment, when
she is still a young girl. Unaware of her talents
and strength, the security just isn’t strong
enough to hold her. She escapes and soon begins
to change. Before you know it, she has matured
into full grown woman, still unsure of who or…
what she is. Hot on her trail is a team of scientists,
led by an expert tracker. Though she is still
unsure of who she is, she is still driven by her
instincts and her desire to mate. Trouble is,
there are far too many men ready and willing to
help her out.
The first half of the movie really got me going.
The story was pretty straightforward, and at times,
intense. There was the added bonus if seeing Sil
(Natasha Henstridge) devoid of clothing for most
of the movie. For a lot of actresses, this wouldn’t
really help sell the movie, but Henstridge is
strikingly beautiful both in face and form and
its hard to keep your eyes off of her. Even the
special effects were pretty good, with lots of
blood and gore.
Where the film lost me was in the last 30 minutes
or so. It seemed to lose some of its creativity
and became more of a ‘chase’ movie,
and I noticed the dialogue getting sillier and
sillier. Then what started out as good special
effects were replaced by lots of CGI. There was
a great ‘alien’ suit designed for
Sil, but we rarely got to see any of it. Anytime
the scenes called for action shots, the real actor
was replaced by an animated version. This might
not have been so bad, but even though to looked
like the alien, it didn’t match the moves
or the texture. I realize “Species”
was made while these types of digital effects
were still toddlers, but even today, very few
effects house can create a fully digital creature
that looks ‘real.’
Recently I re-watched “Species” as
well as the first sequel, and found a bit of a
new respect for the original, if not the follow-up.
This time around I better understood the direction
“Species” was going, so in spite of
my nitpicking over the special effects, I enjoyed
it a bit more. “Species 2”, on the
other hand, was still a bit of a mess and I can’t
find it within myself to recommend it.
The films, regardless of their shortcomings, were
still very popular (which in part may have been
as much for all the gratuitous nudity as much
as anything else) and they have now spawned a
third, straight to video outing, “Species
3.” This time around however, Natasha Henstridge’s
‘Eve’ (from “Species 2”)
is only around for a small portion of the film,
and we find ourselves following her offspring,
Sara and her attempts to… mate. Sara is
played quite convincingly by newcomer Sunny Mabrey,
who has more than a passing resemblance to Henstridge.
She appears to have most of her mother’s
abilities and physical attributes (the latter
of which we get a really intimate look at in this
unrated version).
She is being tracked by a college professor (Robert
Knepper) and his student (Robin Dunne), who wants
to unlock all of her secrets. What they, and the
audience, don’t know is that the secrets
being kept reach far beyond just that of this
one hybrid alien. The storyline actually gets
a little bit deeper than that of the first sequel,
and that is one of the film’s strengths.
The pacing is a bit slow, but the plot is as coherent
as it is interesting.
Where the film is only so involving, fans of the
horror genre will be pleased at the number of
special effects used throughout the film. Again,
if you watch the Unrated Version, you’ll
get to see some extremely gross and disturbing
sequences, which make for a perfect match with
‘pizza night’ at home.
MGM’s DVD release delivers a clear image
and strong soundtrack, as well as a fair number
of special features. You’ll find a commentary
track by director Brad Turner, writer Ben Ripley
and actor Robin Dunne, as well as five separate
featurettes about the making of the film.
Directed by: Brad Turner
Starring: Sunny Mabrey, Robert Knepper, Robin
Dunne, Natasha Henstridge
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director Brad Turner,
Writer Ben Ripley and Actor Robin Dunne, 5 Featurettes
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 12/7/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Website
We'll give Species 3 a C.
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