Species

"For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever."

1995 1h 48m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

42%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 1,944🥫42%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★5.9IMDB · 90,276

Science FictionHorrorAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.

“For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever.”

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Cast

Natasha Henstridge
Sil
Ben Kingsley
Xavier Fitch
Michael Madsen
Preston Lennox
Marg Helgenberger
Dr. Laura Baker
Alfred Molina
Dr. Stephen Arden
Forest Whitaker
Dan Smithson, Empath
Michelle Williams
Young Sil
Jordan Lund
Aide

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roger Donaldson
Writers: Grant Shaffer, Dennis Feldman, Ricardo F. Delgado
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Species Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

305+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roger Donaldson, shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Conrad Buff IV shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Natasha Henstridge and Ben Kingsley and Michael Madsen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roger Donaldson directs. Andrzej Bartkowiak behind the camera. Christopher Young scores. Conrad Buff IV cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Species Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4305+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Roger Donaldson, shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Conrad Buff IV shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Natasha Henstridge and Ben Kingsley and Michael Madsen carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever.".
10IMDB entry: tt0114508 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 22 themes, including "genetics", "telepathy", "paranoia", "dna".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Original score: Christopher Young
Editing: Conrad Buff IV
Production design: John Muto
Costume design: Joe I. Tompkins
Makeup / hair: Kenny Myers
VFX supervisor: Richard Edlund
Sound: Bob Edwards
Stunt coordinator: Max Kleven
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $113,400,000
Return: 324% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Species (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 5.9/10 · 90,276 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 wins & 8 nominations total

Part of

Species Collection

Species is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson and written by Dennis Feldman. It stars Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker and Marg Helgenberger. The first sequel to Species, Species II was released theatrically in April 1998. Madsen and Helgenberger reprised their roles. The second sequel, Species III followed in 2004. It premiered on Sci-Fi Channel on November 27, 2004. Henstridge cameos at the beginning of the film. A fourth film, Species: The Awakening was filmed in 2007, following the schedule of Species III of Sci-Fi Channel premiere and subsequent DVD release. None of the actors from the original film returned in this sequel.

Also by

Roger Donaldson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-10-18
★ 7/10
Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. This was a hit movie at the time, and other than the Xenos design, I'd say it is still a pretty good movie. The "anti-Jaws" approach of showing the monster off is really cool as the premise is largely how detailed and dangerous the xenos is, but the approach removes a lot of the suspense in the hunting and subterfuge, almost humanizing her as "hunted by the evil government entity". While it would be a much different, and arguably better, movie to do something more like "The Thing", that she only has one human mask sorts of outs her, making it more like a spy movie, and I think they did really well with that in mind. It just lacks the level of nuance and hidden information that spy and thriller movies tend to have. It's much closer to "Aliens" than "Alien".
Wuchak2021-04-26
★ 8/10
Wiping out the "galactic weed" Released in 1995, "Species" chronicles events after SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) receives a transmission from outer space detailing alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. This gives birth to Sil, a girl (Michele Williams) who escapes and rapidly grows into a statuesque blonde (Natasha Henstridge). Government agent Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) assembles a team to locate and destroy Sil before she finds a mate and breeds. The team includes a tough mercenary (Michael Madsen), an anthropologist (Alfred Molina), a molecular biologist (Marg Helgenberger) and an empath (Forest Whitaker). I developed a bad attitude toward "Species" for years due to Roger Ebert's scathing review, but changed my mind upon giving it an openminded viewing. This is a top-of-the-line sci-fi/adventure/horror flick. People look down on it because of the nudity and mild sex scenes, which prompts them to disdain it as exploitive and trashy. While Natasha Henstridge is a good-lookin' woman, she doesn't do anything for me (she's not my type) so I was able to totally overlook this element and focus on the film's other attributes. For one, the score by Christopher Young is excellent. Secondly, the A-list cast is a highlight and their characters are increasingly fleshed-out in the story. Lastly, while people understandably write-off the movie as a Grade B plot with Grade A production, there's more here than meets the eye. For instance, Sil is the innocent pawn of the extraterrestrials who sent the DNA. Another example is the excellent character of Dan (Whitaker) whom whiners complain about as "always pointing out the obvious" when the movie shows over and over that he DOES know things the others don't and they ignore him to their own peril. Dan is necessary so that the team knows what direction the creature takes on repeated occasions; without Dan we'd see them pursue one boring dead-end after another. While snobby film critics love to hate "Species" it's a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi adventure with an interesting moral and a great cast of characters. If you like films like "Alien," "Aliens," "Terminator," "Terminator 2" and "Predator" you'll probably appreciate it. It may not be as good as "Aliens," "Terminator" and "Terminator 2," but it's on par with "Alien" (and marginally better IMHO) and superior to "Predator." Then again, it depends on what you want in a sci-fi blockbuster. As far as I'm concerned, "Species" delivers the goods. The film runs 108 minutes and was shot in the areas of Los Angeles and Brigham City, Utah. GRADE: A- SPOILER ALERT (Don't read further unless you've seen the movie) The theory is postulated by the mercenary and biologist that the alien DNA was sent as a biological weapon, a "weed killer" from outer space to wipe out the galactic weed of earth or, more accurately, the human race that inhabits it. It's a fascinating concept and the film compellingly realizes it.
CinemaSerf2023-05-21
★ 5/10
Clearly, these scientists had not heeded Jeff Goldblum in "Jurassic Park" (1993) when he warned about stopping to think that just because we can do something, it doesn't mean that we should. If they had, then perhaps we could have avoided the mayhem and brutality caused when they create "Sil" (Natasha Henstridge). She is the product of alien and human DNA and can morph between a beautiful woman and a savage killer in the blink of an eye. Of course she escapes from the high security facility that couldn't keep a cow out, and is soon on the search for a man. Not any particular man, just one who can help her make a baby - and believe me, that's not a good plan! The scientists - led by "Lennox" (a rather charmless Michael Madson) and "Baker" (Marg Helgenberger) are on her trail but can they stop her before she finds a willing partner? To be fair, the visual effects - very "Terminator" (1984) style - are actually quite effective but the acting, especially from the always hammy Ben Kingsley, and the scripting are very bottom drawer. There's some imagination with the look of the film, but the delivery is pedestrian across the board before an ending that has an inevitability to it that I found a bit predictable. Not terrible, but a real missed opportunity that had it been cast better and just spent a little more time on the a more substantial story, could have created a better sense of menace and even a little (dark) humour.