Ok, you’re probably thinking “what the fuck is this? Where’s
Species
1, asshole?” Well I did initially
watch
Species in order to include it
in this round of sexy thrillers (admittedly it’s more of a sexy action/horror
kind of thing), but it wasn’t how I remembered.
Nobody gives a shit about
Species
anymore but way back it was a hot item and had a reputation of being every
little boy’s dream come true (lots of nudity, alien shit, killing, etc.). Now while Natasha Henstridge’s bare boobies
do get a bunch of screen time there’s only one sex scene and the whole vibe is
too far removed from a traditional sexy thriller for me to want to include it
here. Overall it’s just not that great
of a movie. The casting is really wacky though
(Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker, Alfred Molina, Michael Madsen) but that’s the
most interesting thing about it.
Luckily I remembered the sequel being equally sexy, if not
sexier. And you know what? I like this one better. I cared more about the characters this time
around. I can’t really tell you why
though. Maybe it’s because the threat
feels more imminent. The plot involves
black alien goo infecting a space crew on Mars.
When they get back to Earth they have this insatiable appetite for sex
which will instantly produce an alien baby.
Patrick (Justin Lazard (Universal
Soldier: The Return)) is the space crew chief and becomes the main villain. He also makes little alien babies left, right
and center. That’s why the stakes are
raised this time, because there’re more murdering and baby making so things
feel more like they’re going to hell.
Part 2 is much more imaginative too. The scene where an alien babe bursts out of
the stomach of a woman while Patrick is having sex with another chick is a
highlight. Also, the end battle with the
bigger and badder male version of the alien (as opposed to the female kind in
part 1) is pretty tremendous. It’s all
practical effects and the design is fuckin’ awesome. Man does this thing look menacing and like it
would completely tear you to shreds in a second. I honestly don’t know what they were thinking
with having an all CGI alien for the finale in Species. It looked like
total shit. Amazingly three years later
they scaled back the CGI (which was only ramping up since about 1993) and made
one kick ass animatronic/puppet.
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| Species |
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| Species II |
In an early version of the script there was probably a big
fight sequence with the alien babies in their full adult form. That seems like a gimmie to me so I’m sure
because of budget restraints and expectations it was cut (Species was a hit but a moderate one, nothing like Batman Forever or Apollo 13 which were also released in 1995 (bet you never thought Apollo 13 would come up in a piece about
Species II)). Also, the final fight could’ve been longer
and with Eve (Henstridge) involved more.
She gets sidelined as soon as blows are exchanged and remains
there. But I will definitely say that
the people who made this clearly didn’t try to let a limited budget get them
down.
Of course it’s contrived that they brought back Natasha
Henstridge but they actually use her to great effect. You see if the male and female aliens mate
then they’ll make an unstoppable offspring so the threat is legit. Yea I know it’s lame that they turned
Henstridge good for most of the movie but at the same time it was cool that
she’s weak to the male alien’s musk.
Once Patrick shows up she just has to fuck him even though she knows it
could lead to the end of the human race.
That’s passable and maybe even good writing in my opinion.
Look, I know how this sounds but I had a fuckin’ blast
watching this film. It’s definitely a
stretch to put the sexy thriller label on this but it does have a fair amount
of both sex and thrills. More so than
the first. The only problem is that you
should watch the first one in order to better understand and appreciate the
sequel. But I don’t see that as so much
of a problem and more of a solution, a solution to your unfamiliarity with the Species series. Give it a chance guys.
Sex Scenes: Two. One
is that incredible double up gruesome birth scene and the other is your average
type deal without an alien busting its way through some poor woman’s stomach.
After Sex Scenes: Officially only one but I don’t think I’ve
seen a movie with so much implied sex in it.
I mean every one of those alien kids that Patrick accumulates in his
barn (there must be like twenty by the end) and every female corpse you see means
that sex happened. That’s a ton of
fucking (and dying a horrible death) my friends.
Strange Cameos: The always enjoyable James Cromwell (L.A. Confidential, Babe, Eraser) plays Patrick’s
father. He’s especially good at playing
an asshole, which he does here.
George Dzundza is another always enjoyable guy to watch. He plays hardass military brass in this which suits him perfectly. You might recognize him as Nick's partner, Gus, in Basic Instinct but he's been in a bunch of stuff like Dangerous Minds and The Deer Hunter.
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| That scar and fucked up eye is a really nice touch |
Famed comedian, author, actor and conspiracy theorist Richard
Belzer (Homicide: Life on the Street, The
Wrong Guys) has a brief cameo as the fucking President of the United
States.
Peter Boyle (Young
Frankenstein, Everybody Loves Raymond) has a small but important part as a
scientist that knew all along about the alien DNA/sludge on Mars. But those other scientists (and the
government) got tired of hearing about it so they threw him in a mental institution. Nice work fellas.
