Screamers (1995)
Christian Duguay's debut feature film is a hugely enjoyable science fiction action horror film loosely based on Phillip K. Dick's story Second Variety. Peter Weller stars as the classical music loving leader of a small band of renegades at war on a distant planet. In conflict with an army of soldiers from the New Economic Block in regard to mining rights on the planet. In order to protect themselves Weller's scientists developed small attack robots known as Screamers (The noise they make when they hunt) which inhabit the mining areas.
Unknown to Weller the robots are developing themselves via AI and are no longer simply sand dwelling robots which decapitate their enemies but have gained the power to copy the form of any living being in order to destroy them, this includes Weller and his crew.
Although seemingly fairly complex Screamers is a thrilling sci-fi film at heart. It's well enough scripted, acted and directed to engage from the off and manages to rise above any of it's perceived flaws. The opening half hour is genuinely thrilling stuff as the Screamers go on the attack zooming through the sand with devastating effect.
A film undeserving of it's box office failure.
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