Screamers (1995 film)
| Screamers | |
|---|---|
|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christian Duguay |
| Produced by |
Franco Battista Tom Berry |
| Screenplay by |
Dan O'Bannon Miguel Tejada-Flores |
| Based on |
"Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick |
| Starring |
Peter Weller Roy Dupuis Jennifer Rubin |
| Narrated by | Henry Ramer |
| Music by | Normand Corbeil |
| Cinematography | Rodney Gibbons |
| Edited by | Yves Langlois |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country |
Canada United States Japan |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $5,711,695 |
Screamers is a 1995 dystopian science fiction film starring Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, and Jennifer Rubin, and directed by Christian Duguay. The screenplay, written by Dan O'Bannon with a rewrite by Miguel Tejada-Flores, is based on Philip K. Dick's short story "Second Variety",[1] and addresses themes commonly found in that author's work: societal conflict, confusion of reality and illusion, and machines turning upon their creators. Although critical reaction to the film was generally negative at the time of its release, it has gained a cult following. A sequel — Screamers: The Hunting — was released in 2009, to equally mixed reviews.
Plot
The year is 2078. The planet Sirius 6B, once a thriving mining hub, has been reduced to a toxic wasteland by a civil war between the Alliance, a resistance group composed of the colony's former mining and science personnel, and their employers, the New Economic Block (NEB). Five years into the war, Alliance scientists created and deployed Autonomous Mobile Swords (AMS) — artificially intelligent self-replicating machines that hunt down and kill NEB soldiers on their own. They are nicknamed "screamers" because of the high-pitched noise they emit as they attack. Screamers cannot distinguish friend from foe; they track targets by their heartbeats, so Alliance soldiers wear "tabs" which broadcast a signal canceling out the wearer's heartbeat and rendering them "invisible" to the machines.
Both armies are exhausted, poorly supplied, and undermanned. Consequently, a fragile stalemate is in effect. A message guaranteeing safe passage through NEB territory to discuss a peace treaty is recovered from a dead NEB soldier, killed by screamers as he approached the Alliance compound. As the Alliance's commanding officer, Joe Hendricksson (Weller), ponders this development, he receives word from Alliance Command on Earth that peace negotiations are underway with the NEB; but private Michael "Ace" Jefferson (Andrew Lauer), who has just crash-landed on a troop ship from Earth, tells Hendricksson that this is not true. Hendricksson is not surprised, as he has come to believe that neither side has any intention of negotiating. Commercial expediency, he reasons, will motivate both the company and the resistance group to simply abandon their armies on the ruined planet, as each pursues new ventures on other planets.
Hendricksson decides that the only realistic chance of survival for himself and his soldiers is to accept the NEB offer. He sets out for a meeting with the enemy commander, accompanied by Jefferson. While traveling through a destroyed city they come upon a war orphan, a young boy named David (Michael Caloz), clutching a teddy bear. Hendricksson wants to leave him behind and return later; but Jefferson, unwilling to abandon a defenseless civilian, persuades him to bring the boy along. The following night they are attacked by an improved "type 1" screamer that they have never before encountered. Hendricksson is alarmed that the Alliance tabs did not protect them from this AMS, and wonders if the screamers have somehow managed to liberate themselves from Alliance control.
As the group nears the NEB compound, two enemy soldiers, Becker (Dupuis) and Ross (Charles Powell), open fire on David, whose chest explodes in a shower of gears, bolts, and wires. The NEB soldiers explain to the astonished Alliance men that David was a new "type 3" screamer impersonating a human. Most of the NEB contingent has been wiped out by another "David" screamer that a patrol unwittingly brought into the base; Becker, Ross, and a black marketeer named Jessica (Rubin) are the only survivors.
The group heads to the NEB command center but finds only an empty building and large pools of blood. Locating the mainframe computer, Hendricksson learns that the NEB treaty message was just as false as the Alliance message he received from Earth. The group retreats to the NEB bunker, pursued by "Davids". The discovery of screamers indistinguishable from humans and immune to Alliance tabs leads to paranoia and distrust. Becker becomes convinced that Ross is a screamer and kills him, only to discover that he was human. The four survivors decide to return to the Alliance base, only to find that the "Davids" have gained entrance to that compound as well, with equally devastating results. As dozens of "Davids" pour out of the bunker's entrance, Hendricksson fires a micro-nuclear missile into the bunker, obliterating the screamers. Becker appears to have been seriously injured in the blast, prompting Jefferson to rush to his aid; but Becker's "cries" are a ruse — he is a "type 2" screamer, and he kills Jefferson. After Hendricksson destroys Becker, only he and Jessica remain.
Now quite paranoid, Hendricksson worries that Jessica could be a screamer as well. He slashes her hand, and is relieved to see blood dripping from the wound. They soon locate an emergency escape shuttle hidden in the mountains, but it can carry only one person. Hendricksson offers the shuttle to Jessica; but a second "Jessica" arrives, revealing that she is yet another form of screamer, even more human-like. Hendricksson resigns himself to death; but to his surprise the first Jessica shields him, then sacrifices herself in battle with the second Jessica — and with her last breath, professes her love for Hendricksson. As the shuttle lifts off for the journey to Earth, Hendricksson reflects on how rapidly the machines are evolving emotions, survival instincts, and other human-like qualities. He removes his wristband and tosses it onto the control console, knocking over the teddy bear that was carried by the first "David" he encountered. As the screen fades to black, the bear slowly begins to move on its own.
Cast
- Peter Weller as Colonel Joseph A. Hendricksson
- Jennifer Rubin as Jessica Hansen
- Andrew Lauer as Ace Jefferson
- Ron White as Chuck Elbarak
- Charles Powell as Ross
- Roy Dupuis as Becker
- Michael Caloz as David
- Liliana Komorowska as Landowska
- Jason Cavalier as Leone
- Leni Parker as Corporal McDonald
- Bruce Boa as Secretary Green
Release
It premiered at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 1995. It was released in the United States on January 26, 1996.
Screamer types
Autonomous Mobile Swords are machines created by The Alliance to defend themselves against the NEB. Nicknamed "Screamers" for the incredibly loud, metallic squeal they emit before an attack.
Throughout the film, several types are introduced:
- Type 1: These were the original screamers built by The Alliance. They embed themselves in the sand and ambush unsuspecting soldiers, slicing through limbs and torsos with a circular saw.
- Type 1 Revised: A sleeker design than the original. They are vaguely lizard-shaped, with small legs, and they can hack into computer terminals. Armed with a head mounted buzzsaw blade.
- Type 2: A grown man, acting as a wounded soldier crying for help. Not apparently armed, they do have a great deal of strength. One claims that it cut its current face off of the former wearer. This model possesses advanced reasoning skills and can interact with humans. However, they have a lower IQ and repeat phrases because of their limited vocabulary.
- Type 3: A small boy holding a teddy bear. Acts as an orphan and pleads "can I come with you?", allowing the unit to be taken inside defended and fortified targets. Their mouths can expand and contain razor-like teeth and they have buzz saw blades embedded in their hands.
Other types that were not identified in the film are:
- The teddy bear: Usually part of the Type 3 disguise.
- A grown woman: The most advanced model, capable of bleeding, crying, laughing and sexual intercourse. This model, similar to the Type 2 soldier model, possesses advanced reasoning and sentience, as indicated in "Jessica" defending Hendricksson from another unit. The unit professed its love for him and refused to board the shuttle, afraid of what its programming would force her to do if she ever reached Earth. This character's "emotions" and actions stand in complete opposite to its counterpart in the original story, Second Variety.
- Becker: Although acting as a Type 2 screamer, he was easily able to interact with humans, which this type is supposed to have difficulty with. His type and identification tag appeared to be written in the screamers' own language.
Production
Screamers was filmed in a quarry in Quebec, in Montreal's Olympic Stadium, as well as Joliette. It was filmed on 35 mm film with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
Reception
Critical response
Screamers earned negative reviews from critics and has a 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 30 reviews.[2]
James Berardinelli gave the film a positive review, awarding it a rating of three stars (out of four). Berardinelli said that the film "oozes atmosphere" and "underlines an important truth: you don't need a big budget or big-name stars to make this sort of motion picture succeed."[3] Joe Bob Briggs also reacted positively, calling Screamers "a pretty dang decent [movie]" and saying, "I loved it. ... Three and a half stars."[4]
Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), remarking that it was "made with a certain imagination and intelligence," "the dialogue is often effective," and "what makes the film somewhat intriguing is its Blade Runner-like ambiguity: who is, and who isn't, a human being."[5]
Time Out New York Film Guide criticized director Christian Duguay's "flashy, aimless direction", saying that the movie "lacks the intelligence to follow through its grim premise", but added that the film "does offer many ... guilty pleasures" and "the design and effects teams have lent scale and impact to the futuristic locations and sets."[6]
The Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film Review gave Screamers three stars out of four, calling it a "two-thirds excellent and intelligent science-fiction film" that "builds towards a climax that never arrives ... After an impressive build-up, the film blows its third act and falls into cliches."[7] Popcorn Pictures gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing: "Screamers isn't terrible. The scenes inside the refinery are creepy enough with them stalking and being stalked by the Screamers. But the intro and finale are terrible ways to start and end a film respectively. There was a good film waiting to come out here, it's a shame only half of it did."[8]
Rob Blackwelder of SplicedWire said, "Screamers is inundated with movie clichés, stock characters, stolen premises and scenes that just don't make sense."[9] Beyond Hollywood wrote, "One of the biggest problems with Screamers is the near absence of a likeable character, or at least someone who we actually give a damn about escaping those slice-and-dice robots. ... There's no doubt Screamers could have been a lot better than it is. The whole sequence at the refinery is the best of the movie, managing to elicit both a couple of scare scenes and a lot of creepiness. The rest, unfortunately, doesn't live up to that middle section."[10]
Box office
The film earned about $5.7 million in the United States and Canada,[11] on a $20 million budget. It was moderately popular in France, Japan, and the Netherlands. Worldwide box office was approximately $7 million.
Awards
| Year | Group | Award | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Genie Awards | Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design | Perri | Nominated |
| Best Achievement in Music - Original Score | Normand Corbeil | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Ron White | Nominated |
Differences between Screamers and "Second Variety"
The film is based on the short story "Second Variety", by Philip K. Dick. While the basic ecophagy premise is preserved, several important differences between film and source story make the film less pessimistic:
- In Screamers the war is fought on a distant planet between economic adversaries over a natural resource. In "Second Variety" the war is fought on Earth; the Cold War has degenerated to open, all-out conflict between the United Nations and the Soviet Union.
- Screamers occurs on the planet Sirius 6B, one of many colonies, and the only planet where the screamers were launched. The screamers do not threaten humanity, only the troops stationed on Sirius 6B. "Second Variety" occurs on Earth, in the presumed aftermath of a nuclear war, in what "used to be France", and the very existence of the human race is in doubt. There are increasingly rare, irradiated human survivors hiding on Earth, but the bulk of humanity survives in a military base on the Moon.
- In Second Variety the plot revolves around the identification of a claw robot, the second of three varieties. Tasso (renamed Jessica in the film) convinces Hendricks that the second variety is a Soviet soldier named Klaus; but Tasso herself is the robot, a fact that Hendricks does not discover until it is too late, as his own death is imminent.
- In Screamers, the "Jessica" screamer betrays her own kind and helps Col. Hendricksson to survive and escape. In "Second Variety" the "Tasso" claw wins Hendricks's confidence and convinces him to send her to the Moon aboard the rocket cruiser. Too late — after the ship departs — Hendricks realizes that Tasso is the mysterious "second variety" of claw, and not only will she not be returning with help, but he has unwittingly given the claws access to the Moon base; he has doomed not only himself, but all of humanity.
Release dates
Screamers had the following release dates:
- 1995 Toronto International Film Festival — September 8, 1995
- Theatrical releases:
- USA — January 26, 1996
- Spain — April 25, 1996
- Australia — May 2, 1996
- Portugal — May 24, 1996
- Poland — June 28, 1996
- UK — June 28, 1996
- France — July 10, 1996
- Hungary — July 18, 1996
- Germany — July 25, 1996
- Netherlands — August 1, 1996
- Japan — November 30, 1996
- DVD — July 29, 1998
Sequel
Screamers: The Hunting, directed by Sheldon Wilson and starring Gina Holden, Stephen Amell, Jana Pallaske, and Lance Henriksen, was released straight to DVD in 2009.[12][13]
The sequel is set several years after the events of the original film. Hendricksson died when he deliberately allowed his escape shuttle to burn up in the atmosphere during reentry to Earth. The official determination is that he committed suicide due to post-traumatic stress; but it is strongly implied that he actually did it to prevent the "teddy bear" screamer on board from reaching Earth. Meanwhile, an SOS signal arrives from Sirius 6B. A contingent of seven soldiers, including Hendricksson's daughter Victoria Bronte (Holden), is dispatched to the war torn mining planet to investigate. The film features all of the screamers from the original film, as well as a sleeker, longer, and more serpentine screamer with cutting mandibles for a mouth.
As with Screamers, critical reaction to Screamers: The Hunting was mixed. David Johnson of DVD Verdict wrote that "the visual effects were surprisingly effective" and "[p]ractical effects impress as well", but added, "Unfortunately ... the script defaults to a clichéd finale, and a predictable—though well-executed—final twist ending." He concluded, "I had a pretty decent time with [Screamers: The Hunting] ... [I]f you're hankering for a serving of effective sci-fi B-movie shenanigans, you could do a lot worse."[14] Scott Foy of Dread Central wrote, "They've basically recycled the first film but dumbed it and dulled it down considerably, doing away with the paranoia and sense of desolation that gave the original some spark in favor of logic gaps and tedious predictability. ... The best that can be said ... is that most of the production values and make-up effects are top notch for a direct-to-DVD production. Too bad they didn't put as much work into crafting the screenplay."[15]
References
- ↑ "Ring in the New Year with 10 Futuristic Horror Films".
- ↑ Rotten Tomatoes. "Screamers".
- ↑ Review by James Berardinelli, ReelViews, 1996
- ↑ Screamers review Joe Bob Briggs, joebobbriggs.com
- ↑ Review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, January 26, 1996
- ↑ Time Out Film Guide Review, Time Out, 1996
- ↑ Screamers review The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
- ↑ Screamers review Popcorn Pictures
- ↑ Review by Rob Blackwelder, SplicedWire, 1996
- ↑ Screamers review Beyond Hollywood, March 9, 2003
- ↑ "Screamers". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ↑ "Screamers 2", The Movie Blog, 2007
- ↑ Exclusive: Lance Henriksen Talks Screamers 2, Near Dark Redux & More!, Dread Central, 2009
- ↑ Screamers: The Hunting review David Johnson, DVD Verdict, February 20th, 2009
- ↑ Screamers: The Hunting review Scott Foy, Dread Central
External links
- Screamers at the Internet Movie Database
- Screamers: The Hunting at the Internet Movie Database
- Screamers at AllMovie
- Screamers at Box Office Mojo
- Screamers at Rotten Tomatoes
- Good Bad Flicks review
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