Species Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever
Men cannot resist her. Mankind may not survive her.
Two decades ago scientists sent a message to space... This... is the reply.
Our time is up
Be Intrigued. Be Seduced. Be Warned.
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. Government agent Xavier Fitch assembles a team of scientists and mercenaries to locate and destroy Sil before she manages to find a mate and breed.
| Michael Madsen | |
| Forest Whitaker | |
| Natasha Henstridge | |
| Ben Kingsley | |
| Alfred Molina | |
| Marg Helgenberger | |
| Whip Hubley | |
| Michelle Williams |
| Roger Donaldson |
5.50 out of 10 (14290 votes)
Visitor Reviews
"Lets just say I'm a freelance solution to some of our Governments problems." Enjoyable mix of horror, Sci-Fi & female toplessness...
posted on 16 Jun 2009Species starts at 'U.S. Government Laboratories Dugway, Utah' where a young girl named Sil (Michelle Williams) has been created by altering human DNA by Dr. Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) & his team who are using a blueprint in a message sent by extra-terrestrial life from outer space. The decision has been made to terminate the experiment, that means Sil has to be killed which is an idea she isn't keen on so breaks out of the lab & disappear into the darkness of the night. Sil manges to make it to Los Angeles by train having now reached adulthood (Natasha Henstridge) where she becomes intent on completing her life cycle by reproducing & having a baby. Fitch assembles a team to find & kill Sil, a professional hit-man called Preston Lennox (Michael Madsen), a molecular biologist named Dr. Laura Baker (Marg Helgenberger), Dan Smithson (Forest Whitaker) an empath & finally Dr. Stephen Arden (Alfred Molina). Together they trace Sil to Los Angeles where they must find & stop Sil before she mates & infects the human race with the strain of deadly alien DNA...Directed by Roger Donaldson I thought Species was a good solid horror Sci-Fi film. Why does the IMDb list Species main genre as drama? Horror is the last one it lists when it should be the first. The script by Dennis Feldman moves along at a fair pace although I must admit my interest started to wain towards the end & there are some gaping plot holes that annoyed me. For instance why is it so hard for Sil to have sex? I'd have thought having the looks of Natasha Henstridge would mean she could have sex morning, noon & night if she wanted! I don't know about Los Angeles but where I live we'd be queueing up round the block! Also when she knows that Fitch & his team are after her why does she deliberately seek them out, even after she has faked her own death? Why attract the attention of the only people on Earth who know who she is & want to kill her? On a positive note Species provides good entertainment & Natasha Henstridge naked, what more do you want? With an estimated budget of $35,000,000 director Donaldson does an OK job but fails to create much tension or atmosphere, Species looks & feels rather bland & forgettable throughout. A sequence when Lennox & Baker are trapped in a isolation chamber with some mutant alien DNA falls particularly flat & is distinctly ineffective. The special effects are a mixed bag, some of the CGI Sil alien effects at the end are poor by todays high standards although the special make-up & creature effects look better. The alien Sil was designed by H.R. Giger complete with exaggerated red nipples one of which shoots out & acts like a tentacle isn't exactly a million miles away from the look of the alien from Alien (1979) which Giger also designed. There is some violence & gore here as Sil leaves behind a steady supply of bodies, a ripped out spine, tentacles bursting through the back of peoples heads & a chopped off thumb. The acting is OK by all involved although Kingsley isn't given that much to do, Madsen makes for a likable hero. The sequel Species II (1998) came three years after this & in my humble opinion is better. Species is definitely worth watching although I think it plays a little longish at times & I doubt I'll be sitting through it again anytime soon.
An Okay Movie!
posted on 08 Apr 2009Believe it or not but I was pressurized to see the movie by my peers because of Natasha Henstridge. I was told that her role in the movie was amazing. And I being that straight thinking guy, I had come thinking that she might have done some tough role in a nice way and I soon realized why my peers had admired her. They admired her for her body and nothing else. For you see, there is nothing in Natasha's character that makes you identify with her or sympathize with her. And thanks to the concept of the movie, nor does the movie make you feel like sleeping with her unless of course you are foolish enough.The plot of the movie is loose. You have an alien who is a girl child. She explodes through the time line growing up really fast. Soon, she is old enough to copulate and reproduce. And there is a bunch of guys who want to make sure she does not reproduce for the simple reason that you do not want the earth to be full of alien kids. Now, in all her desperation to copulate you get to see Natasha's character with bare minimum clothing. And just you are getting in the mood she turns into her alien form and then does something that leaves a bloody mess. It takes away the whole mood. So, in the end neither do you have the scope to appreciate the depth of a character and neither do you have the will to dream about spending a good time with her! The movie could have gone in a different direction. Instead of a mindless struggle of the character to have sex and a mindless chase of the agents to catch her and prevent her from doing so, the movie could have shown some kind of a struggle between the human side and the alien side. After all, the girl was shown to be an end product of some kind of a symbiotic combination of the human and the alien DNA. Or the movie could have made the sensual part more sensual and the movie would have had a cult following among some. At the same time, I must confess that the movie is a one time watch. But there is nothing in the movie that will make you go back and see it again.
YUK
posted on 21 Nov 2008Hmmm.... Loads a sex, loads a gore, dumb storyline!But really, I honestly wasn't expecting a good story, and I got exactly what I expected!Fortunately watched it on TV free, and was glad I didnt fork out $7 bucks to watch this trash on video.Although, silly me, I expected to see cool CGI, and what did I get instead? A really dumb, computer generated s***e that looked as if it had been put together by third former ingrates! As for the story, I cant remember how it went now, I was that bored by the end....Watch it if you will... YOU WERE WARNED!!
ugh
posted on 18 Nov 2008How does dialogue this terrible get into the movies these days? Are there actually people who'd put their names to a script this bad? Are they proud of what they've done?Species had an excellent premise, albeit one which heavily borrows from the classics in the genre (ie. The Hidden, all three Alien movies). Natasha Henstridge is a beautiful young model/actress and plays her part well (thankfully, having little of this terrible dialogue to spew). The special effects are well done, especially the transformation scenes from human to creature.The rest of the casting should have put Species over the top, with Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina. All have done so much better work than is on display in this film. I guess they were all picking up a paycheck and trying hard not to break up laughing at issuing this slop. Forest Whitaker's character was particularly embarrassing and poorly written.Strangely, I came away from the movie with some interest in seeing more of Henstridge's work. And the actress who plays the younger version of Sil does a nice job (again, zero dialogue to gut her performance).
GREAT!!!
posted on 10 Oct 2008I admit though it is not the perfect movie to watch, I bet everyone is drooling to watch the show as it concentrated mostly on sex. It is normal to get attracted by it, especially with the nice figure of Natasha Henstidge. But, we also have to admit that Natasha is really seductive as she is wanted by everyone. With her beautiful face, how could anyone say this movie is not attractive.
Great action, impartial acting...
posted on 28 Sep 2008I own this movie on DVD, but don't have a player. I have already seen this movie, and suffice to say, it is divine. I'm a die-hard fan of science fiction, and this was a bright new spin on the whole idea. Natasha Henstridge is wonderful as the elusive Sil, a creation that's half human, half alien. Hats off to H.R. Giger, who designed the alien Sil. A wicked movie with great action, impartial acting in the supporting cast, and excellent focus on the lead.
Natascha Henstridge naked, but otherwise the worst movie ever made.
posted on 19 Sep 2008This movie does everything wrong. Terrible, corny dialogue, which results in terrible performances by actors trying to keep straight faces, a nauseating cast of supporting characters, Forest Whittaker's psychic (who sees the alien has abandoned her car and predicts "she walked"; sees two people chatting intimately at a bar and predicts "they like each other," and is the last to realise that the alien wants to have a baby), Michael Madsen doing his pretensious sunglasses-wearing, brow-furrowing, i-used-to-be-in-Reservoir-Dogs aren't-i-a-toughguy thing, Ben Kingsley with a strange hybrid accent doing an impression of Patrick Stewart and Alfred Molina and that chick from CSI looking young and old respectively, yet both still quite annoying.This movie doesn't even have the appeal of fun bad movies - it takes itself by far too seriously for the rubbish it is: an evil government agency man (mad scientist) injects a beautiful girl's DNA with Alien DNA and it escapes and starts killing people for no good reason. Michelle Williams from Dick and TV's Dawson's Creek is one of the only two highlights, the other being the beautiful body of goddess Natascha Henstridge (who seems happy to partake in many "let's take our clothes off for no good reason" scenes, always a sign of a quality production).So yeah, the really only appeal of this movie is if you want to see Natasha Henstridge naked. Granted this appeal is a fairly incredible one, and there is quite a bit of it to be seen, but the corny dialogue, posing and posturing instead of acting, and sex and violence exploitation style of filmmaking might make the rest of this movie (those few parts that don't involve Natascha Henstridge naked) a bit hard to put up with.
Not a great movie, but a great-looking alien!!
posted on 29 Aug 2008SPOILERS - I couldn't pass up seeing "Species" so I rented the DVD. With Ben Kingsley as Xavier Fitch, Alfred Molina as Dr. Stephen Arden, and Forest Whitaker as Dan Smithson, the guy who can "feel" things, the cast is first-rate. Aliens send a code for DNA splicing which results in a quick-growing species which is bound to reproduce. After lots of chases and near-misses, she/it is apparently cornered in a cave and burned to oblivion. However, since there were sequels, we know the species's DNA must have survived. As the film ends, we see a rat with a glint in it's eye, then a long tongue reaches out to zap some food. We know the "species" survives.The main attraction in this film is the beautiful Canadian Natasha Henstridge, who at 20 was in her first film. Her character's ("Sil") mission is to be impregnated, and she quickly learns that taking off her top is a good way to start. Henstridge is a true "trophy" girl, looks great with her top off, and looks far more mature than her age. I noticed the same thing with her in "The Whole Nine Yards." She was a perfect choice for the role, however I could never quite get used to this beautiful woman turning into an ugly, evil monster that could devour a man. On second thought, real women do that with regularity, so I guess it wasn't such a stretch after all! I rate it "6" of 10, primarily for "Sil".
Sensual,erotic science-fiction thriller. Great viewing.
posted on 21 Jun 2008The main attraction of this film is Natasha Henstridge. In parts it reminded me of Aliens, at least the bursting of alien lifeforms out of human bodies and the cocoon.The main disappointment with the plot was that the scientists tracking her were so knowledgeable about her movements-just a few minutes late. I think more hysteria could have been built up if her whereabouts were unknown.That aside I loved the mating scenes with at least a topless Henstridge there for all to see. I would like to be the 'victim' of an aggressive sexual female like that with a strong urge to mate.The ending left the way open for a sequel.
Movie bad, Natasha Henstridge good!
posted on 16 Apr 2008Alright, when I go to my movie and i want to watch a movie that has several nude scenes which have a very VERY hot woman in them, namely Natasha Henstridge, I pull out Species. The movie itself as in plot, acting and such... isn't so great. But if you judge the quality of a movie by how hot the women in nude scenes are... Species is for you!
'Species' is pure garbage
posted on 10 Apr 2008I have only seen this Species. i have not seen the 1998 sequel yet, but i honestly don't plan on it. This movie was pure garbage and it made absolutly no sense. I usually enjoy sci-fi action movies but this wasn't even good. It was like gore and porn. Here are the good parts and flaws of SpeciesGood -NothingFlaws -Bad acting -Bad plot -Bad EffectsI give this film a rightfully deserved 0\10Species is rated R for: sci-fi violence and gore, sex and lots of nudity
Natasha Henstridge... oo la la
posted on 13 Oct 2007Ben Kingsley heads a team who tampers with DNA and creates a superhuman girl who escapes and turns into adult Natasha Henstridge, nicknamed Sil. All Sil wants to do is mate to produce an offspring. A team of Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker and Marg Helgenberger go after Sil. Sil leaves a path of death as she flees.Species is an interesting though gruesome movie. It moves along quickly and is better than average for a movie of its type. The movie isn't suitable for young children because of the nudity, simulated sex, and gruesome deaths.Very watchable sci-fi/horror film.
When will you people learn alien/human hybrids are a bad idea?
posted on 01 Oct 2007Okay. Sil was amazing, courtesy of H.R. Giger's designing, other than that this movie reminded me of a bad X-files episode. Not very original but there was lots of blood, nudity and gore to substitute for the lack of a plot-line.
Just another unoriginal "Alien" ripoff
posted on 04 Apr 2007"Species" is a long, lame science fiction film that is short on imagination. It wastes the good talents of Ben Kingsley ("Gandhi"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"), Forest Whitaker ("Bird"), and Natasha Henstridge. Kingsley is a scientist whose experiment goes awry and must assemble a small group to track down Henstridge who is out to mate and reproduce. Even the special effects are repulsive. My evaluation: *1/2 out of ****.
Sexy B-movie thriller, great fun!
posted on 26 Mar 2007Species is like a meeting between an amateur low budget film, and a big budget horror movie. On the one hand; the film has a great cast and is professionally produced, but on the other - the special effects wouldn't have looked out of place in an eighties film, and the plot concentrates mostly on its sleazy and often silly by-products. That being said, however, the movie is lots of fun; and overall I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the best horror films of the nineties. The film takes obvious influence from a range of similar films, such as Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce and Jack Sholder's 'The Hidden', but it brings all of it's elements together well and somehow manages to feel fresh and inventive. The plot is pure hokum, but it works well; as alien-human crossover 'Sil' escapes from a testing lab with a team of professionals, comprising a psychic, an action hero, a woman etc, on her tail. Sil's ultimate goal is to reproduce, and to complete that aim she must find a man. So basically, what we have here is a sexy, horny, naked chick being chased around before she can have sex with someone. Sounds good to me...I'm not quite sure how director Roger Donaldson managed it, but he's managed to get quite a few names to appear in his film; and most of them do well with their roles. Despite the fact that she probably isn't really, Natasha Henstridge looks clean and pure in the lead role; and this both ensures that she looks the part, and the film is great in that it carries off the juxtaposition of having a sweet-looking virginal woman act like a prostitute. Ben Kingsley is the biggest cast surprise, as the former Ghandi actor looks slightly out of place in a B-movie like this. Michael Madsen is absolutely great in his typecast action hero role and the cast is completed by a memorable performance from Alfred Molina, and a rather annoying one from Forest Whitaker. Marg Helgenberger fails to make much of an impression as Madsen's love interest. The two plots that run concurrently are played out well, and climax nicely. The special effects are key in a film like this, and even though they're cheap throughout - they do look fairly realistic. It's not until we get to the end and the director decides to spoil it with some abysmal CGI that the effects become a problem. But even so, Species takes its plot well and isn't too serious, and I've got to rate this as a really fun flick overall.
Terrible
posted on 28 Jan 2007I won't say much else to describe this but I deserve it for watching a modern Hollywood flick. Two good things, I saw her naked, really only half way, great body, and I got this crap free. Everything else was terrible. Biggest zero was Madsen but Gandhi was close second. Why he delivered first line like Gandhi and second line like some trailer hick and the rest I wouldn't know. But I'm sure his check didn't bother him. Ben, I won't be buying Gandhi after this mess, and was planning to. You garner much disrespect from me...I don't care how a man needs to make his living but do it adequately please. You didn't but at least you made Gandhi. Madsen, I don't what he ever did but I know his cocky ass has been around cause Americans love cockiness...On that remark you just know any kind of gayness could kick his butt. The cocky ones are always the first to go, and have the smallest peckers. I can be as straight as I want. When you make 5 million(theoretically) for THAT(this movie metaphor with bugger from Scarface who was going on 60 minutes)and don't deserve it, well, I can write anything I want, as long as it's accurate. Lost an hour of my life to this rubbish including this write-up, I can't imagine when I'll bust out this DVD again. I guess when I want to see her naked again?
Sexy Almost Evil.
posted on 20 Dec 2006I remembered when this movie was first advertised in South Africa in 1995 when I was 8 years old. And the advertisements made me so scared that I thought if I went to the toilet, a tentacle would grab me and pull me down! Anyways, this was a Sci-Fi story about a half alien, half girl who was 12 years of age named 72100 or Sil (Michelle Williams). She was created in a lab in Utah, USA and she only grew up within a month. And soon, her creator Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) decided to gas her. Suddenly, she broke out of her glass container while she was being gassed and she ran. Phew! That girl was super strong and fit! Sil has these continuous dreams about being run over by some monster train and mating. And then, she would wake up and she was in trouble. For example, when she woke up after dreaming about being attacked by the monster train and some train hobo. She saw the train hobo (Scott McKenna) who was going to rape her. And she grabbed him by the neck, threw him across the room, he landed upside down and his neck snapped.When she got off the train the next day, she slipped onto another one and when she got on. She broke open a cupboard which had money in it and she took it and some food from the kitchen. You should've seen how she ate a banana. She first bites off the skin and then she ate the fruit which was inside.And on that night, Sil ate so much she spun into a cocoon. And soon, when the Female Conductor (Esther Scott) came to check on Sil. The Female Conductor went into the bathroom and saw a giant, pumping cocoon. And she was attack and Sil came out of the cocoon. She was fully grown. She was about 23 years of age.Not so soon, Fitch organizes a group in order to catch Sil. The group members were: Dr. Stephen Arden (Alfred Molina), Preston Lennox (Michael Madsen), Dan Smithson (Forest Whitaker) and Dr.Laura Baker (Marg Helgenberger). And at the same time, Sil was getting off the train in Los Angeles, California. She was very beautiful. And she also took off the Female Conductor's credit card in order to survive.At a night club, Sil sure did get destructive due to seeing a man's wife with the man she loved and she killed the woman off when she went to the toilet. She later bumped into another guy at the nightclub called Robby (Anthony Guidera). She then went off with Robby to his house. And when she kissed him, her tongue shot out of his head! And she drove off in Robby's car while the gang were still checking out the place and the cops too. It seems Sil was keen on mating.After an accident, Sil went home with the guy who took her to the hospital named John Carey (Whip Hubley). And that evening, Sil drowned John in the jacuzzi when she sensed the people who were looking for her were at the front door.. And soon, the gang and the cops discovered the body.After the incident, Sil shot into a woman's car (Marliese Schneider) and she said she needed her help. At the woman's house, Sil tied up the woman to her bed. Sil then cut her thumb off and it grew back. The woman was so freaked out! Later, Sil set up a trap with tubs of petrol which led down the hill and with a power plant which was at the bottom of a hill. That evening, Sil got outside the nightclub, the cops and the gang followed her into the hills followed by the helicopters. Sil drove down the hill, she shot out of the car and she left the woman who she captured in the car. The woman died in a collision went the car hit the power plant. It was quite a sight to see with all those tubs of petrol exploding trying to destroy those helicopters! And from here, the gang, Fitch and the cops thought Sil was dead. Well, she wasn't.Soon, Sil reappeared with dyed hair. And she surprises Stephen when he entered his room. She then slept with him. While Dan was sleeping, he woke up and sensed that Sil was still alive. And then, Stephen was killed by Sil (Frank Welker). And the gang woke up and when they went into Stephen's room, they found him dead! And Sil headed for the sewer. WOW! She sure was fast moving! And she killed Fitch in a almost a split second! Sil hid away and she gave birth to her baby (Kurtis Burow). It was very interesting way of giving birth. The baby came out of Sil's stomach and she was still alive! And when Dan saw Sil's baby. It was a boy! But it was ONE NASTY BABY!!!! It shot out it's tongue and it ate a rat! And THEN!!!! It grew into a huge monster! And Dan killed it with a blow torch. And Preston threw Sil into a fire of flames and then he blew her head off! And to end the review, there was one COOL scene when a rat ate a tentacle of Sil's and then, its tongue shot out and it ate a rat which scoured around close by. HECTIC! This was a very well produced movie for a 90s film. And you should check out the effects on DVD!!! They are amazing!!
Cheap Erotic Science Fiction
posted on 19 Jun 2009Amazing how such talented actors (Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley ) participated this movie . A moronic script , coupled with a desperate attempt to emphasize the "humanity" of the alien , through sentences as bad as " I don't know why I'm here , do you ?" ... This is still ten times better than the sequel , so you can imagine how bad that one is .