Species MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -3 1/2

This pornographic, horror movie starts with government agent's attempting to kill a teenage girl in a gas chamber. She is the menacing product of a government experiment in which DNA cells from an outer space alien source were injected into a human ovum. But the girl escapes and rapidly grows into a hideous monster. Somehow, she is "reborn" as an attractive woman (Natasha Henstridge) who goes searching for a man to mate with and reproduce herself. She does seduce three men, then murders them, as well as a few women, with a long tentacle she projects from her mouth. All the while, the government agents, headed by Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley), are desperately trying to track her down and destroy her. The action comes to a bloody climax in a violent confrontation between the agents and the woman who has changed into a hideous, shrieking monster. It's possible that young adults will be attracted to this gruesome horror movie, just because it will thrill and excite them. At the same time, some lines in SPECIES are so corny they are laughable.

SPECIES is filled with both bloody murders and explicit sex scenes. The woman monster kills at least five persons in shocking scenes where she projects a long tentacle into the mouths, necks or other parts of the victims' bodies. Then, the camera shows the bloody aftermath of her attacks. She has sexual encounters with three men, one of which is explicit with prolonged breast nudity. Other sex scenes with breast nudity are included. Also, in a sexual affair between a government agent and his girlfriend, unconventional sex is implied. This is accompanied by a number of obscenities and profanities shouted in crisis situations. It's difficult to identify any redeeming values in this film, although the government agents are diligent in their pursuit of the monster. But when they are not battling the monster, they're involved in sexual affairs. SPECIES is clearly designed to appeal to viewers' prurient interests. Hollywood has again scraped the bottom of the barrel with this one.

Preview Reviewer: John Evans
Distributor: MGM/UA Distribution Co., 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025