There was only one H.R. Giger (1940-2014) – and his creepily sexual creature-design work will never be confused with anyone else’s – but there was more than one Giger movie franchise. “Alien” is far and away the best known, but Giger also designed Sil for “Species” (1995).
This was mildly exciting at the time. “Alien 3” (1992) had a fake-out trailer where it seemed the xenomorphs would come to Earth. (That wouldn’t happen on screen till 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator.”) “Alien Resurrection” would explore alien-human hybrids in a creepy way, but that wouldn’t come out till 1997.
(Strangely hot) stranger in a strange land
Director Roger Donaldson’s “Species” didn’t just tide Giger fans over, it’s good enough to still be talked about 30 years later. Granted, it is one of those movies where it’s weird to call it good, per se, but it’s certainly fun.
“Species” (1995)
Director: Roger Donaldson
Writer: Dennis Feldman
Stars: Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley
The story is standard weekend-matinee stuff about secret government scientists discovering alien DNA and splicing it with human DNA to see what happens. Naturally, it leads to a horrific monster and possibly the end of the human race.
The weaknesses of Dennis Feldman’s screenplay would seem to be dialog and basic logistics. The team is always a step behind the escaped hybrid, Sil (Natasha Henstridge), as they track her through Los Angeles. They don’t know exactly what she looks like, but they’ve figured out she is aiming to mate and reproduce. One of the hilarious lines, mere minutes after the crime scene has been secured: “The criminologist says there’s no evidence of semen in the hot tub water.”
But at other times, Feldman rises to Arnold-in-“Terminator” level of one-liners. The foreign entity learning human customs on the fly here is Sil, a smoking hot woman. She asks a hotel clerk: “Where can I find a man?” Bizarrely, the clerk doesn’t hesitate to point her to the club next door. Who says everyone in L.A. is self-centered? Another funny deadpan line: Sil – in a flat American accent (despite Henstridge being Canadian) – tells a bargoer “I’m foreign.”
The cast is too good for this material, and while Michael Madsen sleepwalks as the “hunter” among the investigators (not necessarily the wrong choice), they tremendously elevate the script. Forest Whitaker has the most thankless role as the “empath.” He can supernaturally sense people’s feelings with precision, which also allows him to track their behavior, goals and movements.
Invasively enjoyable
It’s absurdly convenient, but I rolled with it, possibly because the leader of this tracking group is Ben Kingsley. You gotta respect any group headed up by Ben Kingsley. Also in the cast are Michelle Williams (as the 12-year-old iteration of Sil), Alfred Molina and Marg Helgenberger. Although the script forces it, the bonds and banter in this group hunting Sil become enjoyable.
Earning the “And introducing …” badge is Henstridge in one of the great model-turned-actress performances, up there with Milla Jovovich in “The Fifth Element” two years later. As a teen male with teen male friends in 1995, word-of-mouth was such that Henstridge was the only actor I knew was in this movie. Granted, it’s because of a couple attributes other than her acting. (That said, Williams and Henstridge do make Sil relatively sympathetic as far as sexual-nightmare alien monsters go.)
Not so realistic are the special effects when Sil switches from human form to alien form. Does it hurt the entertainment value of “Species” all that much? Not really, but “Alien” is in part a classic because that creature looks so real, despite being a man in a suit. Sil is sometimes a woman in a suit, but not nearly enough of the time.
Particularly in the grand finale, she’s CGI. Through no fault of Giger – or honestly, the computer effects crew working with new tech – most of these shots simply don’t look real. Today, it’s a head-scratcher whether “Species” was a summer blockbuster or a cheap B-movie. Weirdly, it was both ($35 million budget, $113 million haul), landing in that awkward transitional time for special effects. (During this era, George Lucas was holding off on making the prequels till the tech was good enough.)
If released today or if it had no stars in the cast, “Species” – which spawned three sequels from 1998-2007 – would not be noticed at all due to its cheap effects and clunky screenplay. Some cosmic blend of Giger and Henstridge – of weird nightmare sexual imagery and a traditionally sexy gal — got it noticed. While it would be wrong to say it holds up well, it holds up as well as it did in 1995.