The first movie was a fun guilty pleasure. Species II is just plain guilty of being a bad film all around. The writing is poor and the acting was at best phoned-in, though Natasha Henstridge at least seemed to give it her all and she might be the only reason it’s even watchable.
Species II
(1998)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror, Science Fiction
Shout Factory | R – 93 min. – $29.99 | March 8, 2016
Date Published: 03/15/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 2.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: When countless women suffer gruesome deaths while bearing half-alien offspring, scientist Laura Baker (MARG HELGENBERGER) and hired assassin Press Lennox (MICHAEL MADSEN) use Eve (NATASHA HENSTRIDGE), a more tempered alien clone to find Ross and his virulent brood. But they underestimate Eve’s maternal drive, and before long she escapes to mate with Ross in order to create a pure, unstoppable race that could spell doom for mankind. As time is running out, the ultimate battle takes place in a chilling climax that puts Darwin’s theory to the ultimate test… only the strongest species will survive. Quick Hit Review: |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
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This release comes with a reversible cover with custom made artwork; personally I prefer the poster art. Audio Commentary with Director Peter Medak From Sil to Eve (16:21; HD) is a new interview with actress/star Natasha Henstridge as she talks about her career, working on both Species movies (and even a bit on the third film). Creature Creations (28:48; HD) – Interviews with creature & special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson, suipervising cosmetic designer Leonard MacDonald, transformation supervisor Joel Harlow, and chrysalis effects supervisor William Bryan are featured here discussing their work on the sequel. Alien Evolutions (19:00; HD) is an interview with Chris Brancato. Special Effects Outtakes & Behind the Scenes Footage (13:32; HD) – These are merely some extra footage. Species II: Eve of Destruction (11:53; SD) is a vintage making-of featurette cut together with that trailer voice. Uncut Footage Not Shown in Theaters (8:02; SD) is footage cut down probably to avoid an NC-17 rating. Also included are the Theatrical Trailer (2:15; HD), Still Gallery and Special Makeup Effects Gallery. |
VIDEO – 3.7/5 |
| Shout, via their Scream Factory line, releases Species II onto Blu-ray presented in its original theatrical 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a nice but flawed 1080p high-definition transfer. Although the transfer does have brilliant colors and detail does look good, I did notice some minor instances of aliasing that presumably have to do with how the film was shot and preserved. That said, it’s still a nice looking HD picture. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is fairly robust providing for crisp and clear dialogue levels throughout while the bulk of the depth is courtesy of the over-the-top sci-fi/action sequences especially during the finale. The LFE channel does kick in every so often giving some additional depth to the lossless track. Also available is a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that, based on my sampling, also sounds pretty damn good. |
OVERALL – 2.5/5 |
| Overall, the first movie was a fun guilty pleasure. Species II is just plain guilty of being a bad film all around. The writing is poor and the acting was at best phoned-in, though Natasha Henstridge at least seemed to give it her all and she might be the only reason it’s even watchable. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers good video and audio transfers and a fair amount of bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.