Review of Species (1995) by Chandra R — 24 Nov 2009

(from The Watermark 07/12/95).

SPECIES TURNS TO FECES: It astounds me how some of the best pieces of cinema can fizzle out and disappoint. In Species, aliens communicate a special DNA sequence to Earth that the government decides to use in a biological experiment. A part human/part alien/part spokesmodel hybrid named Sil (Natasha Henstridge) is the result, and - surprise - she escapes from her high-security petrie dish, and is loose in the world-at-large. Her goal is to reproduce and outpopulate the human race. She has no problem meeting guys; not only is she super-strong and super-smart, but she?s a drop-dead-gorgeous-buxom-Barbie-Doll of a beauty to boot. The conductor of the experiment (Ben Kingsley) quickly assembles a panel of experts who must find and capture Sil before she mates.

Screenwriter Dennis Feldman (who wrote one of my favorite movies, Dead Again) does very well at juggling many elements: revealing Sil?s alien talents, letting us watch her ?learn? everyday human tasks, making the science of it all seem plausible, and developing all of the characters. His writing, however, seems to be strongly focused on the capabilities for sex and violence within such a plot. Director Roger Donaldson goes one step further by showing us every drop of blood and every inch of Sil?s bare breasts at every opportunity. Seeing such a striking beauty on the screen, my first thought (aside from ?bitch?) was that her acting talent would be next to nothing. I was pleasantly surprised to find her performance well matched to the material: not much dialogue, but a definite goal underplayed in every move she makes. (OK, and her boobs are perfect.).

The film unfortunately takes a Sil-ly (pun intended) turn toward the end. The final confrontation with Sil is too drawn out and anti-climactic, and where they could have left us with a false sense of closure, they add a non-sequitur twist that is supposed to be cute and funny, but isn?t. (The movie was already set up for a sequel anyway, with there being two other frozen prototypes stashed away somewhere that somebody could accidentally defrost.) For those who enjoy sci-fi, Species looks as though it might be the new Alien. Instead, it?s just the latest StarGate.

POST-REVIEW 11/24/09: Dennis Feldman did not write Dead Again, he was one of the producers. The screenwriter for Dead Again (still one of my favorite movies) was Scott Frank.