Species (1995)

“Species” was an interesting movie that blended a strong cast of actors, scenes designed for nothing more than making the audience jump in their seats, and nude scenes featuring former model Natasha Henstridge. It also includes work designed by H.R Giger; he designed the Sil alien and the nightmare train. I feel that the main reason this movie was made was to showcase Natasha and Giger, although there is nothing wrong with that. Three sequels were made that include more of the same action and quest to fulfill one’s sexual urges.

In the early 80’s, the SETI satellite picked up a transmission from an alien source telling us how to create an endless source of fuel. Shortly after that, it received a transmission telling us how to splice a strand of alien DNA to a human’s. Several experiments are performed and with the one named Sil being the most successful. The government officials in charge of the project decide that she should be killed when they see that she has grown from an infant to a 12 year old girl in a matter of a few short months. While the technicians attempt to kill her with gas, she escapes from the scientific complex that she was created in and manages to get onto a train and disappear. A group of various experts is called in to hunt her down and kill her before it’s too late, not knowing what she might do to an unknowing population. As they begin their search, Sil creates a cocoon and transforms into a full sized adult, leaving the train once it arrives in Los Angeles. There, she begins to look for a potential mate to spawn with. Her first few attempts fail, with the crew finding the bodies shortly after she kills them. She realizes that she is being hunted to she fakes her own death. Believing that she is dead, the team goes to celebrate. She follows them to their hotel, and after being denied the chance to mate with the member of her choice, she tricks another one into having sex with her. As soon as she is impregnated, she kills the team member and is chased into the basement levels of the hotel by the others. The basement area isn’t what I would expect to find but it makes for the perfect setting for the final showdown of the elite team and Sil.

Favorite moment – proving how adaptable and durable she is, I like the scene where she is hit by a car, taken to a hospital, and heals herself as a doctor is examining her injury.