Screamers MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 Content: -2 1/2

In the year 2078, on the mining planet Sirius 6B, a ten-year old war over mining rights may be coming to an end. Commander Joe Hendricksson (Peter Weller) and an eager young rookie (Andy Lauer) set out from their fortified bunker for a peace meeting with the enemy. They must cross the now barren planet and get past defenses that they themselves have invented. The defense is called Screamers, named for the high-pitched whine that little underground sawing machines emit right before they literally cut you in pieces. These machines patrol the whole planet, making sure that no enemy forces can attack. Hendricksson has a device that supposedly keeps the machines from attacking him but they quickly discover that the machines have modified themselves and are now out for anyone's blood. Not only do the Screamers disregard the protection devices but they have evolved in design as well, and Hendricksson discovers that there are now Screamers that can take human form. From here, the plot really is cut into pieces and the predictability of the machines' killing spree is outdone only by the predictability of the movie. Don't waste a spare breath on SCREAMERS.

The slogan for the movie ALIEN was "In space, no one can hear you scream." Too bad the same does not apply to the soundtrack of this movie. Crudities and obscenities abound with over 28 obscenities and 25 profanities. The opening scene shows a man getting his arm, then his leg, then his head cut off by the Screamers and the violence continues from there. Several fights occur and in one a man is killed with a stab to the chest, and in another a man is squeezed so hard that blood comes out of his mouth. Hendricksson finally escapes the planet but only after he battles several of the machine bad guys himself. One scene shows the aftermath of a Screamers' slaughter with the cafeteria floor, tables and walls drenched with blood. The gory violence and offensive language overshadow the fact that SCREAMERS has no sexual intercourse and no drug abuse. One brief glimpse of female frontal nudity is shown on TV, however. The only screams you may hear coming from this movie theater are the screams of those patrons who wasted their money on such a vulgar and unrewarding movie.

Preview Reviewer: Greg Wilson
Distributor: Triumph Releasing, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230