After “Species” came out in 1995, a sequel titled, “Species II” was released in 1998. (same year The Faculty came out) It received negative reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Unlike its predecessor, the sequel bombed at the box office. Two TV sequels aired on The Syfy Channel. As of 2021, there’s no plans for another installment leaving the series buried.
The reason why I wanted to share my thoughts on Species II, is because I’ll be reviewing selective horror movies during October. One more thing, Electronic Arts (EA for short) is currently developing a remake of “Dead Space” intended to come out in late 2022.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. Species II is best described as elephant doo doo. Here’s some reasons why I hate it. Keep in mind folks, this review is a short one. Not a psychological horror thriller like the original “Jacob’s Ladder.” Just a stupid one and a half hour failed cash grab.
Clean & Messy Aspects
Clean: Michael Madsen & Natasha Henstridge reprise their roles and they both did a great job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact: Michael & Natasha admit the sequel is bad. There’s a reason why they didn’t wanna come back in the third and fourth TV movies.
Other Cast Members such as James Cromwell & the late Peter Boyle also did a great job for their respective performances.
Cinematography was shot carefully lacking Shaky Cam.
Practical Effects were heavily used creating brutal Death Scenes.
Fatal birth scenes pays homage to the chestburster from the “Alien” series cranked Up To Eleven.
The late H.R. Giger (Xenomorph designer) designed Eve’s alien form. Not bad at all. Much better than that butt ugly half-human, half-Xenomorph from that god awful clunker “Alien Resurrection.” To me “Alien 3” & Resurrection don’t exist.
“The X-Files” is mentioned. A movie titled, “Fight For The Future” came out in 1998.
Messy: Action Sequences are forgettable. I don’t remember a single one.
Remember the last scene from the first film with a rat biting one of Sil’s tentacles causing it to become infected? The plot point was dropped with no explanation. Closest thing we got for a mutated rat is Splinter from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
Computer Animation didn’t age well. They resemble a Nintendo 64 game.
Forest Whitaker’s character is never mentioned. He dodged a bullet for not partaking in a piece of crud sequel. Until he worked with John Travolta in the Razzie Winning film known as, “Battlefield Earth.”
Product Placement (Pee Pee for short) featuring brands such as Pepsi, Sprint, Reebok, Miller Lite, Mercedes-Benz, Chevrolet, Cheetos & Ford.
A spaceship has sponsor stickers on cylinders. In this movie, NASA became sellouts. Predates “Idiocracy” with numerous products plastered all over The White House led by Terry Crews.
Patrick’s alien form doesn’t seem scary at all. His movements are stiff like a puppet.
Eve’s alien form never got a chance to battle Patrick. Sil’s alien form in the last movie had good moments. Talk about a downgrade.
Patrick using women to reproduce multiple babies sounds a bit familiar to the plot of Roland Emmerich’s “Godzilla.” Unlike the former, the latter reproduces asexually. Seeing the alien children in cocoons gave me horrible flashbacks of Roland’s worst movie (if not the worst) of his career.
Eve’s lifeless body gives birth to an offspring. Don’t bother watching “Species III.” It’s a waste of time. “Bride Of Chucky” also featured a birth scene at the end. At least this one tried to make a love story between Chucky & Tiffany.
The Final Verdict: F, FOR FAKER!
Species II is horrendous piece of elephant doo doo not worth a watch. I’m relieved no fifth movie is in the works. It’s best the series should be buried for good. If you wanna watch a better movie about a human-hybrid, “Splice” is your one way ticket. If you’re eager for the upcoming Dead Space remake, play all three games.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 