Species (1995) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Roger Donaldson
Producers: Frank Mancuso Jr., Dennis Feldman
Writers: Dennis Feldman
Date Released: July 7, 1995
Cast:
Natasha Henstridge as Sil
Michelle Williams as Young Sil
Ben Kingsley as Xavier Fitch
Michael Madsen as Preston “Press” Lennox
Alfred Molina as Dr. Stephen Arden
Forest Whitaker as Dan Smithson
Marg Helgenberger as Dr. Laura Baker
Rating = 3.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about an extraterrestrial genetic experiment gone wrong. Scientists were able to receive a message from outer space about genetic secrets but as it turns out, the alien species was not making friends with Earth. A group of experts were called in to help the government team leading the experiment to capture the escaped girl growing at an incredible rate. By the time they were very close to capturing the hybrid creature in the guise of an attractive woman, it was already in its mating stage. The risk is high because they don’t want the alien to reproduce and take over the world. It is up to the group of experts to use their skills to search and destroy the violent alien-human hybrid.
Gore Factor
This movie is more on suspense action but did not disappoint in terms of blood and gore. The most memorable ones include Michelle Williams as the young alien transforming into a cocoon inside the train. The throbbing face and hands and the tentacles gave a visual on what is to come. Another one was when the pregnant alien was giving birth in the cave, and the alien head exploding from the gunshot. Of course, all the deaths were bloody and gruesome coming from an alien murderer.
The Grave Review
The best part of this movie was the casting. The four experts together with Ben Kingsley made a great team. But then again, it was Forest Whitaker’s role who seemed to be the most important one in the movie, not to mention the non-scientific among them.
The suspense and action almost took over the horror aspect of this alien movie. Thanks to the brutal deaths, there were significant blood and gore to make it terrifying. The alien character played by Michelle Williams and Natasha Henstridge was so good despite the lack of proper dialogues.
In terms of story, it was a bit annoying that the team of experts were always a step behind the alien creature. The number of times that they were outrun by the alien was too many, to the point that the entire movie revolved around the chasing. It was also obvious that they rely too much on the empath to search for the creature and not so much on the scientists.
In addition to that, the only cringe-worthy part of the movie was the poor CGI effects during the cave scenes. The full alien visuals were not made from prosthetics but poorly animated images which made the entire suspenseful sequence a bit disappointing.
The ending was mindboggling because of the rat’s mutation after eating the alien tentacle. It becomes a case of mutation instead of alien invasion.
Overall, this movie is recommended for those who are into aliens and extraterrestrial horror.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Species (1995) three and a half graves out of five graves.
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