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Or when B-movies, that don't realize they are one, attack!!!
I was a year out of high school when Species was originally released. In the years since originally watching it, all I could remember of the movie was that Model-turned-actress Natasha Henstridge definitely knew how to make a splash. And I’m not into blondes. Thanks to director Roger Donaldson (Dante’s Peak, The Bank Job), those drop dead gorgeous looks of hers went literal when she was cast as a human-alien hybrid ready to mate her way to the tippy top of the food chain.
The science fiction film, released around the same time as Powder, Johnny Mnemonic, and 12 Monkeys, was rather successful. Sure, there was a noticeable drought of originality in those late-1990s offerings, but the film still registered. Besides, not many films were dealing with female sexuality. In spite of its genre goofiness, the film remains a solid thriller of popcorn thrills.
It spawned – heh, heh, he said “spawned” - one theatrical sequel (Species II), as well as two direct-to-video sequels (Species III and Species: The Awakening), all of which have previously been released by Scream Factory. It was only a matter of time before the company got around to giving this one, the originator to the rest of that fleshy silliness, the deluxe treatment.
But there was always a bit more to the film than just an often-naked Henstridge running from one dude to the next while evading capture. Namely, there was Swiss artist H. R. Giger, who had previously designed the Alien creatures for that franchise. He was back in the science fiction genre with this creature design. Inspired by Donaldson’s impression of Giger’s compendium Necronomicon, SIL – the human-alien hybrid at the center of the thriller – would be his creation.
And Scream’s Collector’s Edition, complete with a stunning new transfer, reminded me of that fact with a nice bevvy of crisp details in SIL’s translucent design. With gory special effects and plenty of nudity, Species is a kickass B-movie…even if it doesn’t want to be…or think it is one.
Written by Dennis Feldman (The Golden Child), the film stars Ben Kingsley as Xavier Fitch and he, after SIL (who is played by Michelle Williams as a young girl) escapes, is on a mission to stop the deadly tick-tock of her biological clock. He gets a team together – composed of actors Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker, and Marg Helgenberger – and they must track her down before she produces enough offspring to wipe out all of man(un)kind.
Donaldson can put together some pretty damn good thrillers. They usually star Kevin Costner, though. Here, he takes an initially corny script – it is a B-movie after all – and assembles a movie that aims for the stars, complete with a cast that tries to sell some hokey dialogue. Species has its moments. It still works, even if it slight material. And provides a certain amount of cheesy entertainment. It is also – as I have never met anyone who had NO REACTION to the movie whether it is good or bad – proves to be a good conversation piece. I mean, Forest Whitaker’s empath character is reason enough to giggle and/or groan.
Species gets one final HD makeover with this release from Scream Factory. It is well worth the upgrade, genre fans, your eyes will thank you for it.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R for sci-fi violence, strong sexuality and some language.
Runtime: 108 mins
Director: Roger Donaldson
Writer: Dennis Feldman
Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley
Genre: Thriller | Sci-fi
Tagline: For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Criminologist says there's no evidence of semen in the hot tub water."
Theatrical Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Official Site:
Release Date: July 7, 1995
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: July 11, 2017
Synopsis: When a beautiful human-alien hybrid (Henstridge) escapes from observation, scientist Xavier Fitch (Kingsley) dispatches a crew of experts to find her before she is able to fulfill her horrific purpose: to mate with unsuspecting men and produce offspring that could destroy mankind. As her deadly biological clock ticks rapidly, Fitch and his team are hurled into a desperate battle in which the fate of humanity itself hangs in the balance!
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - July 11, 2017
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
With a new 4K scan of the original interpositive, Scream Factory’s new release of Species is a must for ANYONE who digs genre offerings. Scream Factory presents the film on 1080p with a clean transfer that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The film is dominated with reds, blues, and greens that absolutely burst with color. It’s a dark film, for sure, but the costumes are detailed and the simple backgrounds burst with new details and a nice level of clarity. The new transfer gives us a supple look at SIL’s design and her claws are crisp and detailed, as well. Black levels are solid and skin tones are natural. Shadows are defined and the film has a new depth previously unseen. Audio wise, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo soundtrack is clear and the dialogue is never lost or hard to hear.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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There are two commentaries now included with the release. The first audio commentary is with Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen and director Roger Donaldson. The second one features director Roger Donaldson, make-up effects creator Steve Johnson, visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund and producer Frank Mancuso Jr.
Special Features:
Scream Factory has outdone themselves with the supplemental goodies included here. We get good NEW details about the design and the movie. The information included is spread across two discs.
DISC ONE
- NEW 4K scan of the interpositive
- Audio Commentary with Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen and director Roger Donaldson
- Audio Commentary with director Roger Donaldson, make-up effects creator Steve Johnson, visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund and producer Frank Mancuso Jr.
DISC TWO
- NEW Afterbirth: The Evolution of SPECIES featuring interviews with director Roger Donaldson, cinematographer Andzej Bartkowiak, production designer John Muto, composer Christopher Young, creature designer Steve Johnson, chrysalis supervisor Billy Bryan and "Sil" creature supervisor Norman Cabrera
- From Sil To Eve – an interview with actress Natasha Henstridge
- Engineering Life
- HR Giger At Work
- The Making Of Species: The Origin, The Concept, The Discovery
- Designing A Hybrid
- Theatrical Trailer
- Alternate Ending
- Photo Galleries
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[tab title="Trailer"]
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[tab title="Art"]
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