Movie

Species (1995)

This sci-fi thriller is best described as a high-budget B-movie. The opening credits scream Syfy channel, but the creature designs by H.R. Giger (better known for the Alien franchise) elevate this to an above-average romp.

The plot: a manhunt for an escaped alien/human hybrid. Scientists thought engineering a female guinea pig would make her “more docile and controllable” (their words). Nobody seems to have told them that women are the deadlier sex, and watching a few femme fatale movies beforehand might have suggested a rethink.

After things go wrong (shocker!) and the hybrid escapes, project lead Xavier Finch (Ben Kingsley) hires a team of specialists to track her. This includes a psychic empath (Forest Whitaker), a biologist (Marg Helgenberger), a social studies expert (Alfred Molina), and – naturally – a covert ops military guy (Michael Madsen).

Sil isn’t content to remain the prey, however. After the escaped child transforms into an adult, she searches for a male mate. And given that just one hybrid leaves a trail of dead bodies and destruction, that wouldn’t be good.

Villainess

Sil (Natasha Henstridge)

Species was Henstridge’s first film role, and it’s no coincidence the actress is a stunning beauty and appears in many topless scenes. For the early sequences in the research lab and the initial manhunt, Michelle Williams plays the child Sil. Even in this form, the alien hybrid is dangerous, capable of high speed and killing a much larger male. Then Sil grows up, and her real mission begins.

Los Angeles is the hunting ground and – as the culture specialist points out – an ideal location for Sil to blend in. She’s very particular about her mating habits, and violently rejects her first choice when she senses he’s a diabetic. The hybrid has more luck with the second man, whom she lures into a hot tub for passionate interspecies sex. Unfortunately for Sil and the companion who’s promptly drowned, the tracker team arrives before he impregnates her.

Sil can change between human and alien forms, seemingly at will. There are some decent creature effects as the hunted woman becomes a green-skinned predator. The best part of the movie is when she goes on the offensive and becomes the huntress. Deciding the military man would be a suitable mate, she fakes her own death. The humans are too quick to believe their quarry is dead (don’t they watch these films?), especially since the hybrid has proven elusive and dangerous.

After changing her appearance, Sil continues her hunt. She’s adept at infiltration, and even converses with the biologist in a restroom. Her third attempt at sex, with the social expert, is successful. The pregnant hybrid eliminates her mate and escapes underground with the trackers in close pursuit.

The ending sequence is unimpressive. Sil stays in creature form throughout and doesn’t carry the same threat the disguised woman did. In a thankfully brief sequence, Sil gives birth and the heroes burn her disgusting offspring alive. The enraged mother is harder to kill, but the confrontation is weak. It turns into a Michael Madsen show, with the other characters reduced to inactive supporting roles.

Species spawned several poorly regarded sequels, though the original received some acclaim. Henstridge signed up for a trilogy, but only appears briefly in Species III.

Honourable Mention: Aliens

Aliens (1986) – Alien Queen (N/A)

Okay, so it’s debatable whether a creature can truly be a villainess. But this iconic antagonist, and the epic confrontation with the one-woman army Ellen Ripley, deserve an honourable mention.

The standout segment is the iconic battle, which goes on for several minutes. Like a video game final boss, the creature is a bullet sponge. She (it?) shrugs off entire magazines of ammo that would shred her minions in seconds. Explosive rounds merely prompt the Queen to abandon her lower body and chase the heroine to a spacecraft.

Even 35 years after release, the creature effects stand up to modern viewing. They didn’t use CGI, which can date quickly. Ripley in a mechanical versus the Queen’s second form is no less exciting. While the creature is predictably jettisoned through an airlock, the death scene with the defeated monster floating through space is satisfying.