SPECIES
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1995 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Why throw so much acting and
expensive special effects at a project with such a
weak and poorly thought-out screenplay? A shape-
changing were-alien stalks singles clubs for mating
stock while a team of drafted civilians tries to
track her down. It has violence, a lot of sex,
nudity, and little to think about afterwards.
Rating: -1 (-4 to +4)
Two years ago Ben Kingsley played in what is arguably one of the best films ever made. It is hard to imagine the same actor now taking a role as an amoral scientist who helps to create what turns out to be a shape-changing were-alien who cruises singles bars in Los Angeles. And he is not the only good actor in the film, SPECIES also features Forest Whitaker and Alfred Molina. That is a lot of acting talent marshalled to film a really disappointing script from Dennis Feldman which borrows from a lot of other sources but more than a little from the TV play and book A FOR ANDROMEDA by Fred Hoyle. Feldman's screenplays--notably GOLDEN CHILD--usually start with good concepts, but he does not know what to do with them.
Since the 1970s we have been broadcasting into space signals about ourselves including some rudimentary information about our biological makeup. That much is based on fact, though the information we give about DNA is as true of a garden slug as it is of a human, so it is not a lot of information about ourselves. This film says that we have been sending a biological blueprint of humans and have been receiving similar messages back for two years including a biological blueprint for an alien race. (That limits the source to the Centauri system, Barnard's Star, Wolf 359, HD95735, Sirius, UV Ceti, and Ross 154, incidentally.) The government has had Dr. Xavier Fitch (played by Kingsley) build the DNA specified in the message and combine it with human DNA. The scientific absurdities then come thick and fast. The resulting creature is neither non-viable nor even a crossbreed, but rather a shape-shifter that can appear to be either a beautiful woman or one of several ugly alien forms. The timing is not right for the twenty-ish were-alien to have matured so we are told that she developed in a mere six months (reminiscent of the film EMBRYO). The six months were enough to bring her to the apparent age of a teenager. Then she goes on an eating binge and spins a cocoon only to emerge an adult. (Incidentally, even the binge does not seem sufficient to provide the mass needed to build the cocoon.) The resulting adult (former model Natasha Henstridge) seems to be both beautiful and an incredibly quick study at learning how to fit into our society. It is never clear how Sil, as she is called--first as "the Sil" and then just as "Sil"--knows all she does about our society, but she seems to have absorbed the knowledge someplace. Meanwhile a task force of private citizens is drafted by the government to track down the were-alien. The team includes some sort of exterminator (Michael Madsen) whom the government has used before for top secret missions. And also included is a psychic empath--as if the government has a ready stock on call. So much is left unexplained that while some films call for a sequel or a prequel, this one could handily use an inquel.
Director Roger Donaldson has spiced up the film with more than its share of action and thrills, but all too often the action takes the form of a chase like any film with a more human quarry. Or the action might be someone being skewered through the walls of a restroom. Then to add a thrill or two there are false jump scenes thrown in. I will not spoil even the false jumps, but one involves a ridiculously unrealistic piece of animal behavior.
Kingsley and Whitaker are each too professional to turn in performances that are not good, but Donaldson must not have been a very demanding director and nobody else is particularly noticeable. Oddly this includes Alfredo Molina who probably would have done more with his role had it been possible. The script fails to develop the characters much at all beyond throwing in a little romance among a lot of sex and nudity.
While the design of the alien creature is by H. R. Giger, the surreal artist who is best known as the designer of the creature in ALIEN, most looks at the alien creature take place in dreamlike sequences. Toward the end we actually see it, but it is a disappointment.
While this film could have been an effective exploration of two species in conflict, too often the script takes an easy and familiar path rather than explore new science fictional territory. The absurdities might have been acceptable with more originality, but what this film offers is just not what I am looking for in a science fiction film. I give this one -1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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