Review of Species (1995) by Hamed S — 09 Oct 2009

A fresh, inventive, and socially engaging SciFi film.

Don't disregard this movie because of the nudity (or, to put it another way, don't just ogle Ms. henstridge and ignore what a good film this is). Anyone who has checked out the great artist HR Giger will know that his work is rooted largely in the darker side of matters sexual or reproductive: more power to him and his artistic involvement in film.

Unlike most horror films, our likable gang of misfits, gathered to deal with the half-alien doomed to reproduce hostile offspring, survive almost to the very end. Therefore one can enjoy the interaction of these odd characters throughout.

Henstridge (also Michelle Williams as the younger Sil) gives an excellent, dignified, and believable performance as a creature grown rapidly in a lab with no moral compass. She portrays a powerful female character, illustrating and deconstructing fundamental human reproductive drives and social assumptions glossed over in our daily lives. Check out the scene where she is gruesomely 'born' as an adult from a suspended pod - gutsy, breathtaking, and highly original.

In a refreshing break with gender roles, Sil is not passive or pleasant during the 'sex' scenes, but rather matter of fact, even when dispatching her troublesome partners. In keeping with the 1990s politics that influenced so many good female-lead films, like the Long Kiss Goodnight or Contact, Species foregrounds ideas connected with female emancipation (in a sex-positive way).

Christopher Young's score is pretty good also, featuring a spooky marimba leitmotiv that contrasts effectively with the more standard western elements.

Ben Kingsley is an actor perhaps associated with more cultured fare such as Ghandi, but his appearance here - putting on an American accent - contributes to the general sense of quirkiness and originality.

Some critiques of Species declare it to have failed as a horror film because it's not horrifying enough... Such matters of genre are beneath all good films: best to discard expectations and take the film on its own terms.

The ending is somewhat predictable; once Sil has acheived pregnancy the film slips into a banal search and destroy mode. This is the least interesting aspect of the proceedings, but only a tiny part of an otherwise creative and fun SciFi film that introduces a strong and exciting acting talent in Ms. Henstridge. Give this person solid roles in more films (thankyou, mr. Carpenter)!