Species (1995)
March 15, 2020 6:04 AM - Subscribe
imdb: In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.
A relatively high-production-value b-movie, _Species_ features the significant-role-in-real-budget-thing debuts of Michelle Williams and Natasha Henstridge, and has a variety of Real Actors in it. Lots of production design from HR Giger, so dicks_dickseverywhere.jpg .
This movie contains one of the greatest moments in cinema history.
[post on Species 2, with appropriate warnings, to follow]
A relatively high-production-value b-movie, _Species_ features the significant-role-in-real-budget-thing debuts of Michelle Williams and Natasha Henstridge, and has a variety of Real Actors in it. Lots of production design from HR Giger, so dicks_dickseverywhere.jpg .
This movie contains one of the greatest moments in cinema history.
[post on Species 2, with appropriate warnings, to follow]
Sil's hallucinatory dreams are maybe the Giger-iest things to make it into mass-market cinema?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:08 AM on March 15, 2020
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:08 AM on March 15, 2020
I really don't remember the dream sequence, because it's been a while and what I mostly remember is a) Natasha Henstridge in general, b) the part where she's sticking her tongue through the guy's head, and c) a lot of good actors phoning it in in a paycheck movie. It's tough to out-Giger the Alien franchise, but Sil shifting between human and not-human is pretty impressive.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2020
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2020
Species can currently be streamed in the US on Amazon Prime Video.
posted by Monochrome at 9:10 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Monochrome at 9:10 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I *think* this is the one where Sil has nightmares about trains that look like knifepenises? I may be mentally substituting other random Gigerisms in, of course; in that context knifepenises are kinda obvious. And I may be mixing up stuff from the execrable 2.
With Henstridge, it's interesting when someone hired presumably overwhelmingly because she's such an exaggerated version of a hot woman just starts acting fairly well right away.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:41 PM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
With Henstridge, it's interesting when someone hired presumably overwhelmingly because she's such an exaggerated version of a hot woman just starts acting fairly well right away.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:41 PM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think this was possibly the second R-rated movie I saw in a theater? The first being Under Siege.
If you're a horny 13 year-old boy, this is great, but watching this with my extremely skeevy (see: taking a 13 year-old to see Species) father was less great.
If you're anybody but a horny 13 year-old boy... well, the nicest thing I can say is that the performances are much better than the material.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:20 PM on March 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you're a horny 13 year-old boy, this is great, but watching this with my extremely skeevy (see: taking a 13 year-old to see Species) father was less great.
If you're anybody but a horny 13 year-old boy... well, the nicest thing I can say is that the performances are much better than the material.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:20 PM on March 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
The Relic was much, much better.
Like the original Stargate movie, the first two acts hum along as decent B-movie science fiction. The third act drops the ball with all kinds of stupid. But dammit, now I'm tempted to rewatch it.
posted by Ber at 5:46 AM on March 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
Like the original Stargate movie, the first two acts hum along as decent B-movie science fiction. The third act drops the ball with all kinds of stupid. But dammit, now I'm tempted to rewatch it.
posted by Ber at 5:46 AM on March 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
One of the more interesting aspects of this film has only a tangential relationship to the movie. Author Benjamin Radford suggests that the film and its marketing materials influenced the creation of the legend of the chupacabra.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:21 AM on March 16, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:21 AM on March 16, 2020 [3 favorites]
I remember thinking that parts of the film were significantly better than they had to be. Sil's plight is *terrifying*, and the movie seemed to actually give a damn about that.
posted by Mr. Excellent at 9:48 AM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Excellent at 9:48 AM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yah, Species -- just the first one not the sequels -- reminds me of a Paul WS Anderson movie in this is DEF UH NUT LY a b-movie, but one that gives a damn in most of the right places.
It looks better than the minimum requirements (but not as good as an actual PWSA movie), the acting is notably better than required for a who's-spam-next movie -- Ben Kingsley phoning it in is still better than you need for this kind of crap -- and plot elements are often better than they have to be.
But on the other hand, "Something bad happened here." Thanks, Forest, I wouldn't've guessed that.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:38 AM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
It looks better than the minimum requirements (but not as good as an actual PWSA movie), the acting is notably better than required for a who's-spam-next movie -- Ben Kingsley phoning it in is still better than you need for this kind of crap -- and plot elements are often better than they have to be.
But on the other hand, "Something bad happened here." Thanks, Forest, I wouldn't've guessed that.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:38 AM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
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Forest Whitaker, who is psychic, walks into a train roomette to find an alien goo pod stuck to the wall, a dead railroad employee on the ground, and liberal splatterings of goo ev-er-y-where. At which point he uses his psychic powers to remark that
"Something bad happened here."
Because he's psychic, see?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:06 AM on March 15, 2020 [4 favorites]