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Review: Jack Foley
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: The Making of Species; Species Design
by H.R. Giger; Audio commentary with Natasha Henstridge, Michael
Madsen and director Roger Donaldson; Audio commentary with Roger
Donaldson, producer Frank Mancuso Jr., special effects exec Richard
Edlund and Sil creature creator Steve Johnson; 'Designing A Hybrid'
featurette; Species 3 Set Invasion; Alternative ending.
SOFT porn meets the alien genre in this guilty pleasure from
director, Roger Donaldson, which made a name for former model-turned-actress,
Natasha Henstridge.
She stars as Sil, an attractive, seductive, intelligent extra
terrestrial, who could spell doom for the entire human race if
her sexual appetite is realised.
Sil is a human/alien hybrid, you see, who escapes from a secret
testing facility determined to find a perfect partner to breed
with.
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Yet, on her trail, are Sir Ben Kingsley's
no-nonsense scientist, Xavier Fitch, Michael Madsen's laidback
government assassin, Forest Whitaker's 'empath', Alfred Molina's
biologist and Marg Helgenberger's anthropologist.
Tracing their prey to Los Angeles, the crew bids to set the
perfect trap, before Sil can fulfil her destiny.
In truth, Species probably boasts a far better cast than its
schlocky premise deserves - especially since some of the breeding
sequences belong in the sort of soft-focus Channel 5 Friday night
slots that horny males have come to know and love.
And especially since Donaldson wastes very few opportunities
for seeing Henstridge disrobe (never a bad thing!).
But whether it warrants a special edition is ever more debatable.
That it has is no bad thing, I suppose, given that the extras
on offer veer from the informative (an interview with Sil's alien
creator, HR Giger, of original Alien
fame), through the comic (Michael Madsen's commentary), to the
downright absurd (Sir Ben taking things a little too seriously).
And the film itself is ideal for braindead Friday/Saturday night
viewing, with a beer and popcorn to hand.
It's that sort of adult fun - stupid, but fun, and like I said
before, a very guilty pleasure.
Just take care to avoid the sequel - which sucked!
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