Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Species (1995) - Hokey fun in Donaldson's erotic alien actioner

8/20/2022

Species (1995) - Hokey fun in Donaldson's erotic alien actioner

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A great tag-line, which starts over the freaky alien fetus image and ends underneath the title, resounds on this poster for Roger Donaldson's Species

DNA from an alien organism is combined with human DNA, and a very attractive blond alien monster, - who will do anything for sex, - results! Naturally she must be killed!

Species is written by Dennis Feldman (The Golden Child (1986)) and directed by Australian master filmmaker Roger Donaldson (Sleeping Dogs (1977)).

The film revolves around an exceedingly silly Hollywood-nurtured plot, but unfortunately the comical opportunities inherent in it are far from explored enough. Generally Feldman instead has taken his own wacky idea a bit too seriously here.

A standardized score and clichés are to be found, - but also entertainment value, secured with Michael Madsen's (The Hateful Eight (2015)) badass hitman character with all kinds of cool lines, such as; "Let's go, motherfucker!" Species also has special effects that are at times frightening and at other times hilarious.

Related posts:

Roger Donaldson: 2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Recruit (2003) - Farrell and other factors buoy Donaldson's uninspired CIA thriller

2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Thirteen Days (2000) - Electrifying Cuban Missile Crisis thriller
Cocktail (1988) - Cruise an iconic stand-out in Donaldson's masterful drama

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 113.3 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.23 times its cost)

[Species was released 7 July (North America) and runs 108 minutes. Natasha Henstridge (The Christmas Switch (2014)) was paid 100k $ for her performance. Shooting took place from August - November 1994 in Puerto Rico, Utah and in California, including in Los Angeles. Creature design artist H.R. Giger paid 100k $ of his own money to shoot the 'nightmare train' sequence, which would otherwise have been cut to lower costs. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Apollo 13, to a 17.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#4-#5), grossing 60 mil. $ (53 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Sequel Species II was released in 1998, and 2 TV movie sequels followed, none by Donaldson, who returned with Dante's Peak (1997). Henstridge returned in Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996); Madsen in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995). Species is rotten at 43 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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