Blu-ray Review: SPECIES II

Underrated, ultra-gory sequel SPECIES II reviewed on Blu!

It’s astonishing that a movie as sleazy, exploitative and unapologetically trashy as director Peter (THE CHANGELING) Medak’s fluid-drenched sequel SPECIES II was released by a major studio like MGM. It’s even more curious as to how this thing received an ‘R’ rating. Especially considering it was released during the milquetoast 90’s, a time when studios slighted fantasy horror in favor of bloodless, pretty-boy/girl meta teen thrillers.

But SPECIES II is a bona fide freak show!

Roger Donaldson’s original 1995 romp SPECIES however, was not.

In fact, upon release, this writer remembers some critics comparing SPECIES to Tobe Hooper‘s LIFEFORCE, which made me want to see it. But outside of the fact that its lead humanoid alien (played by a very young and lovely Natasha Henstridge) doffs her duds every so often, comparisons to Hooper’s madcap erotic sci-fi meltdown were misguided.

SPECIES was and is a rather dull, a star-studded, typically 90’s high-gloss techno-thriller goosed with a bit of skin and a sublime (if underused) H.R. Giger-designed monster suit, that connected the dots in a very vanilla fashion and was neither sexy, scary or sordid enough to make much of an impact.

But the sequel…gadzooks! It makes LIFEFORCE look like DOWNTOWN ABBEY!

SPECIES II drags Henstridge back to the fold, though much like James Cameron did in TERMINATOR 2, her autonomous, horny mating-monster Sil is recast this time as a benevolent, heroic character, a new lab-grown hybrid named Eve, who lives in quarantine, guarded by the kindly Dr. Laura Baker (Marge Helgenberger, returning from the first film). Eve is a sweet, gentle creature and is purposely being kept away from males (everyone working in the lab is female) so as to curb any of her predecessors deadly procreative impulses.

Meanwhile, taking a page out of 1977’s THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN, heroic astronaut Patrick Ross (Justin Lazard) returns from a Mars expedition infected, unbeknownst to him, with alien DNA. When he returns to earth, he begins bedding a bevy of women, each time growing Giger-designed tentacles and wiggly bits in the thralls of orgasm, ejaculating into the women and causing them to get pregnant immediately; they swell and give birth within minutes, screaming while their bellies burst open and mature children emerge, bloody and bile soaked.

These sequences put the notorious video nasty XTRO to shame.

As Ross begins to comprehend his nature of his space-semen antics, he tries to commit suicide, blowing his own head off, which then – utilizing early but very effective CGI – grows back.

With the alien part of him now fully in control, Ross continues to shag his way to oblivion, spreading his seed and secretly growing his little hybrid-creature/kid family.

Meanwhile, the great Michael Madsen (who famously trashed this movie unfairly upon release) returns from the first film as Press Lennox (love that name) a tough, glib investigator sent to track Ross. Madsen is great here, like a cross between Harry Angel and Bernard Quatermass and it’s plenty fun to watch him race around, trying to stop yet another ET rapist from taking over the world while giving everyone the stink eye.

All the while Eve – hooked up to a battery of machines – is getting more and more hot and bothered, inexplicably psychically and chemically linked to Ross, squirming and shifting every time he has sex.

Could Eve be the Savior of mankind and stop Ross’ fertile rampage? Or is her own genetically modified womb-with-a-view a key component in an inevitable alien apocalypse?

Look, SPECIES II is just plain insane.

But it’s also stylish, fast paced and well-acted, with great supporting work and disarmingly amazing prosthetic special FX; it’s like THE X-FILES, except there’s one hell of a coke-fueled sex drive propelling it along. There’s actually more female nudity on display here than in SHOWGIRLS and there’s even a flash or two of Lazard’s lizard, which was, again, out of sync with the demands of a late 90’s R rating.

So what happened?

Was the late Jack Valenti and his pious posse hung-over when they screened this thing? Did someone pay someone off?  Whatever the case, it’s the rare case when the MPAA let their guard down and god bless them for it.

And while critics and audiences rejected the film (and, as we mentioned so did much of the cast!) in 1998, like many “out of control”  and misunderstood genre works, SPECIES II is, almost two decades later, ripe for a re-appreciation.

Scream Factory have done their part to make non-believers understand the gory glories of the film by jamming their slick Blu-ray release with oodles of amazing supplemental stuff. Chief among them is a great interview with the now 40 year old Henstridge, who looks arguably more beautiful now then she did in her youth. FX genius Steve Johnson also entertains with a look at his ample, chunky FX work, there’s a fun interview with writer Chris Brancato, piles of behind the scenes footage and, ported over from the previous DVD release, there’s a serious-minded commentary with Medak.

SPECIES II is a major work of expensive exploitation. I love it lots. So should you.