Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

crypt_of_lovecraft An entertaining science fiction thriller that doesn't deserve the incredibly low rating it's been given on this site. While the film is obviously low budget direct-to-video fare and not a lavish Hollywood production, the special effects are about as good as anything you'll see on made for TV movies or any number of Sy Fy network productions. The film itself is fast paced, the acting is decent and the alien monsters look pretty good (all things considered). Veteran character actor Charles Napier (First Blood) stars as a small town sheriff. The other actors are for the most part unknown but competent in their roles. Worth seeking out if you're a fan of the genre.

Red-Barracuda Alien Species is a very cheap knock-off that was clearly surfing the wave caused by the massive blockbuster hit Independence Day (1996). This one was also released the same year as that one so that gives you an idea how fast it must have been devised, filmed and distributed. The speed of production shows, as this is a very shoddy and cheap effort, whose title also alluded to the previous year's sci-fi hit Species (1995). Well, it cannot be accused of not covering its bases that is one thing for sure. I quite enjoy rip-off films though so this was, if anything a slight plus point for this one and, in truth, Independence Day was a monumental load of gash and this minuscule budget movie was no more painful to watch. Just horrible in a different way.Huge alien space-crafts arrive in our orbit and attack immediately. Various human survivors wind up taking refuge in a cave which turns out to be the base of these extra-terrestrials. Lots of alien-invader based stuff happens off the back of this, including explosions and cow theft.Despite the budget, this one actually stars Charles Napier in an admittedly uninteresting role but it was still good to see him here nevertheless. It also sports some effects of the giant spaceships that were half-way decent. But in all other regards this is bargain basement stuff to the max. Its soundtrack was so tinny and awful it is hard for me to believe that this could have sounded remotely acceptable back in 1996. Sadly, this music is pretty relentlessly played throughout the movie as well. Its director is Peter Maris who I was already aware of on account of his debut movie being the sleazy thriller Delirium (1979) which made the infamous British video nasty list back in the early 80's. It was a good film though, quite significantly better than this one that is for sure. This one is also notable for ending on a very strange and ambiguous bit of dialogue that frankly posed more questions than it did any answers but, really, that's the least of this movies problems.

blairman-3 This movie is bad. And not "so bad that it's good". It's just plain bad. What a terribly hacky piece of crap! Charles Napier is the top-billed actor. For the combined three minutes we see of him in this film, I suppose he's good.Bad acting, bad writing, cheesy special effects. I can't believe this was made as recent as 1996. It's like one of those really bad sci-fi flicks from the 1960s.I got this movie on a DVD set called "Nightmare Worlds" for $17.00. There are 50 movies on this set but, for some reason, I still feel I paid too much for this one movie.As far as acting goes, the best of the cast was Marc Robinson, who plays the hero Towers. At least he has some kind of realistic expression, but he really wasn't given the best material to work with.I'm not one to tear apart movies. As a matter of fact, it's just not what I do. But I feel I must advise people to not even waste a speck of your time on this.I don't mind low-budget sci-fi movies, but it has to be done with lower expectations. The filmmakers here were trying to make an "Independence Day" ripoff on a D-movie budget. The aliens all have phony-looking costumes that wouldn't scare six-year-olds. More human-looking aliens would have worked better.The fact that they have to mention "X-Files" to make this seem relevant is insulting to viewers.There were also too many characters that the movie didn't need. Why did we need the woman "scientist" with Max at the beginning? She didn't do anything. The same with the granddaughter of Dr. Chambers. What the heck was her importance. For that matter, what did Carol do? She was supposed to be the assistant to Dr. Chambers. I didn't see her assist.The character of the prisoner that got killed was put in just for that, and nothing else. Towers was the only important prisoner.I can see having two policemen driving the prison bus, but Barnes was annoying. All the time. That didn't serve the story, it just makes you nervous.The fact that the military was not even mentioned until near the end is silly. We never see military.This is a prime example of a movie that tried to do too much with too little. And so much doesn't make sense and isn't given reason!I give this a 1 because they won't let me give a 0.

mstomaso This movie is summed up by the most intelligent line uttered by one of its principal characters..."I feel like I am in a bad episode of The X-Files" ...Alien Species is a schlocky formulaic alien invasion film with decent special effects, a lot of mediocre action and decent acting, which is so poorly shot, and so uninspiringly written, that it reaches new lows. And don't get me started on the hideous sound track! This film could easily be lost among many of the early Sci-Fi Channel fiascoes. There are a number of CGI shots involving space ships, an impossibly globe-like earth and urban explosions straight out of Missile Command (complete with disappearing flame and temporary damage).Before I waste what little energy this film's review warrants I'll let you in on the plot. Aliens are invading the earth for no particular reason and everybody on earth is so freaked out and terrified that there is no military response and general panic and desperation predominate. A couple of prisoners are being transported to jail and a flying saucer knocks them off the road, after they pick up a few stranded victims of an automobile accident (including a famous astronomer and UFO expert of course!). One of the criminals turns out to be an innocent man and easily the worst actor in the film, but fortunately he doesn't speak until about half-way through (the X-Files comment being one of his first multi-word lines). Anyway, you get the picture.As usual, I handed this a 2 because its harmless - since I reserve single star ratings for bigger productions which pose serious mental health risks such as "Tin Cup" and "Runaway Bride". My advice - enjoy this if you're like me and have to see every bad sci fi film ever made. Otherwise, don't waste your time.