Species

“Species” was released in 1995. (same year Crimson Tide came out) It received mixed reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Regardless of divisive reactions, the film made enough money at the box office. A theatrical sequel titled, “Species II” came out in 1998. Unfortunately, it was a clunker. Two TV films aired in The Sci-Fi Channel burying the series with no further plans to make another one.

As I’ve mentioned on my previous reviews related to Halloween Month, I’ll be selecting horror movies during October. One more thing, Electronic Arts (EA for short) is currently developing a “Dead Space” remake intended to be released in late 2022.

This review contains SPOILERS. If you’re curious to see Species, read at your own risk.

Clean & Messy Qualities

Clean: Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley & Natasha Henstridge all did a good job for their respective performances.

The late H.R. Giger designed Sil’s alien form. Her appearance is based on H.R.’s Xenomoprh from the “Alien” series. He also constructed Sil’s nightmares. At least Sil’s alien form isn’t butt ugly like the half-human, half-Xenomorph hybrid from that god awful “Alien: Resurrection.” To me, “Alien 3” and the aforementioned stinker don’t exist.

The movie is influenced by Alien and “John Carpenter’s The Thing.”

Practical Effects were heavily involved creating brutal kills, pyrotechnics and a Sil suit for stunt performers.

Cinematography didn’t succumb to Shaky Cam. Dutch Angles we’re used effectively to build up tension.

Set Pieces were manually built by set decorators.

My favorite scene is Sil faking her death via blowing up a car with gasoline.

Sil’s rapidly aging and painful transformation into a woman is a metaphor for puberty. If you’re a female, you’ll probably understand what it means experiencing changes in your body.

Due to her pure alien instinct, Sil’s goal is to have multiple babies. The more she gives birth, the more chaos ensues. The Kardashians/Jenners in a nutshell.

The only reason why you’re watching Species is in fact, a reason to see Natasha nude. I never had the hots for her. I’m into Scarlet Johansson, Hunter Schafer, Natalie Portman, Rosario Dawson, Michelle Rodriguez & Iggy Azalea. If Sil were real, I can resist her seduction.

Michael Madsen mentioned Species is one of his favorite movies he’s work on. He didn’t like working on the sequel.

A young Michelle Williams (not from Destiny’s Child) makes her big screen debut. She later played Anne Weying in “Venom” and its sequel “Let There Be Carnage.” Michelle admits she hated working on Species, because she was bullied at a young age. It’s not her fault, she was in Species. Sometimes, we all gotta start somewhere before the real Call To Adventure changes your life forever.

The moral of this story is, never go out with a stranger immediately, or else it’ll lead to unfortunate consequences.

I’m gonna give this movie credit for influencing “Splice” and the Dead Space video games.

Messy: Computer Animation didn’t age well. Let’s face it, this was back when C.G.I. was slowly growing like a fetus. Sil in C.G.I. resembles a Nintendo 64 game.

The facility where Sil is experimented, lacks heavily armed security. A secret government can’t be this incompetent. In real life, a military base storing secrets would never ignore security protocols. Where are the turrets, soldiers armed with mini-guns, rocket launchers or electric fence? Pre-Daniel Craig’s James Bond’ villains are more smarter than these morons. Who’s in charge of security Billy from “The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy?”

H.R. said he didn’t like The Ending, because it was a rip-off of T-1000’s demise from one of my Top 12 Favorite Movies “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.” H.R.’s original ending was supposed the have The Military opening fire on Sil. As a result of budget constraints, the original ending was scrapped in favor of ripping of a masterpiece.

Product Placement (Pee Pee for short) featuring brands such as Hi-C and Ford. I’ll let this con slide, because I couldn’t find any other brand to shove down my throat.

The final scene with a rat eating Sil’s remains mutates. Sadly, Species II never picked up the rat’s whereabouts. The only mutated rat we got is Splinter from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

The Final Verdict: C, FOR CLUNKER!

From my point of view, Species is a disappointment. Some parts were good, but some were just to plain stupid and lacks common sense. If you wanna watch a legit movie involving human/alien hybrid, I recommend Splice. If you’re gearing up for the upcoming Dead Space remake, replay all three games.