Author's Note - Cannibals

After watching "Pandorum", I became inspired to work on cannibals as my next theme. I'm neither a fan nor do I have any interest in movies involving tribal cannibalism but that doesn't mean that there are enough other fun choices to watch. A common theme in cannibal films is that of family or at the very least, a sense of brotherhood. The shared experience of a taboo like cannibalism might be why it’s a family affair. Granted, there a plenty of movies (and real life examples) of cannibalism being performed by individuals, but they are typically called serial killers and that’s an entirely different sub-genre. 

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.

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

"Ghost of Mars" is an odd movie; some may say its horrible but I just call it odd. It has classic John Carpenter qualities all through it including his use of crazy looking angry mobs, a rocking guitar heavy soundtrack (that doesn't work), and actors that people know. The movie stars Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge. It actually includes a relativity unknown Jason Stratham as well.

A squad of interstellar police officers go to Mars to transport the criminal mastermind Desolation Williams. Everything goes to hell straight away when they arrive to find the colony empty. All of the teraformers all missing and when they are found, they all appear possessed....because they are by the past spirits of Martians. The police and Desolation team up and try to escape. Most live, some die.

Pandorum (2009)

“Pandorum” is a science fiction heavy film that has enough horror type elements to fall into both categories. It’s a bleak film that revolves around a member of the flight crew trying to restart the reactor before it goes offline and trying to stay alive and avoid a mob of cannibals that are running rampant throughout the ship. The crew member meets five other survivors and has deal with them each in their own way. The film is solid enough and is similar and yet different enough than the movie “Sunshine”, where both center on the psychological effects of long distance space travel.

Favorite moment – When the three survivors kill their first cannibal.

Pitch Black (2000)

"Pitch Black" was one if the best horror movies I've ever seen in the theater. I knew very little about it beforehand, I went in opening night with a few friends, and the theater was sold out with energized and excited people. And every one left pumped. Awesome monsters, a great and simple story, and a breakout movie making moment for Vin Disel. 

A transport ship in deep space enters an unidetified asteroid field and is badly damaged, being sucked into the gravity pull of a nearby planet. The captain is killed so two other flight crew members hustle to save the ship and themselves. The woman who takes the controls has no choice but to begin purging extra weight...including sections of passengers. She jettisons two sections and is about to release the third when they finally crash land on the planet. The remaining survivors thank her, not knowing that she killed the others and was seconds away from killing them. 

She's an ethical villain and so is the cop/bounty hunter and his "cargo", the dangerous criminal Riddick. Their petty differences quickly lessen in importance when the survivors learn that they are stuck in a planet with a very mean, very vicious creature that comes out only in the dark. And the planet is about to become a very dark place once its multiple suns set. 

Favorite moment - I love how quickly Claudia Blacks character is eaten alive as one of the first victims.

Critters (1986)

“Critters” was a movie I enjoyed watching as a kid and I’m a little sad that it didn’t hold up as well as I thought it might when I saw it recently. Even back then I knew the bounty hunters were cheesy looking so I’m not concerned about them. What struck me is the fact that only two people died and that it wasn’t that violent. I’m not sure why I thought it was but I was wrong. Oh well! It’s still a decent movie and it far better than any of its sequels. It’s just your basic story about killer aliens escaping from a prison planet and going to Earth where they begin feeding and terrorizing a farm family. They eat, they grow, lay eggs, and shoot little poison quills from their backs. And they roll around and swear. What more do you need?

Event Horizon (1997)

“Event Horizon” is one of the ultimate outer space themed horror movies because it utilizes several elements that could only be found in that kind of environment. At its core it’s a simply search and rescue storyline, much like the movie “Ghost Ship”; little ship finds big ship which happens to be the find of a lifetime, little ship is destroyed and crew is forced to try to survive on big ship…and usually fail. And the Event Horizon is a REALLY BIG SHIP. But instead of the Bermuda Triangle or what not, the ship the Event Horizon is lost while trying to perform a death defying feat of physics and ends up going to Hell. With this story happening in space, the idea that the crew is literally weeks away from help really sinks in and if they fail, they die. And to prove this point, a few crew members nearly die in space related accidents. Critics and fans have both described “Event Horizon” as being very similar to “Hell Raiser”; if this is true or not can be debated. But as Sam Neil’s character eerily claims, “Where we’re going…we won’t need eyes to see!”

The Event Horizon was lost in one of the worst space tragedies in history; on its maiden voyage, the ship suddenly disappeared without a trace when it neared the planet Neptune. Seven years later it mysteriously appears and the search and rescue team of the Lewis and Clark is sent out to check for survivors and to find out what happened. Joining Capt. Miller and his crew is Dr. Weir, the designer of the Event Horizon as well as person who developed the experimental gravity drive engine. This massive device was meant to fold space and make travel from one point in space to another practically instantaneous. Once the crew of the Lewis and Clark arrive, they find evidence that a gruesome massacre had taken place on board the Event Horizon and that there isn’t a single survivor. Soon several of the crew members begin to have hallucinations based on their personal fears. Weird accidents occur, Dr. Weir becomes obsessed with his ship and ultimately possessed by the evil that emits from the gravity drive and the ship itself. The crew discovers only too late that the Event Horizon has been to Hell and back and is determined to go back with them as her crew.

Favorite moment – I really like when Capt. Miller is telling his story about his greatest fear and regret in leaving a crew member behind during a past rescue attempt. The crew member was burned to death in a room with zero gravity, and the way that Miller described the fire was poetic. Seeing the visual later in the movie does not do his story justice but it was a decent attempt.