Screamers (1995)

Another highly entertaining sci-fi film based on a Philip K. Dick short story which I have subsequently read; and I agree with other reviewers that the movie is true to the story for the most part.

Have yet to view a movie based on a Dick story that wasn't enjoyable, e.g., Blade Runner, Minority Report. If you liked either of those movies,you will enjoy this movie for its intelligent entertainment.

Weller's character Hendricksson is fairly straight forward as a disenchanted commander believing that his command has been abandoned and that their battles on this outpost planet have been made irrelevant by the higher authorities. Consequently, Hendricksson sets out to bring a truce proposal to the enemy forces.

But technology gone awry rears its ugly head in the form of self-manufacturing killing devices known as the screamers named for their high pitched sound just before they slice and dice humans.

Fmovies: A well made, gritty science fiction movie, it could be lost among hundreds of other similar movies, but it has several strong points to keep it near the top. For one, the writing and directing is very solid, and it manages for the most part to avoid many sci-fi cliches, though not all of them. It does a good job of keeping you in suspense, and the landscape and look of the movie will appeal to sci-fi fans.

If you're looking for a masterpiece, this isn't it. But if you're looking for good old fashioned post-apoc, gritty future in space sci-fi, with good suspense and special effects, then this is the movie for you. Thoroughly enjoyable, and a good ending.

Screamers is like one of those made-for-HBO science fiction programmers from the mid 90s, except that there's some brighter things going for it. One of these is that it's based on a short story by one of the hallmark authors of science fiction, Philip K Dick, and another is that the script mostly got work done (and seems most noticeable) by Dan O'Bannon, writer behind Alien and Return of the Living Dead. There's more weight in levels of irony, not always the uproarious variety but more nuanced and violent, more in putting some good twists to the clichés that are taken for granted in stories set in desolate futuristic environments (the discovery of a cute abandoned child, the devilish nature of the 'screamers' themselves and how their more advanced counterparts work, the personalities of the crew that Peter Weller's character discovers at the base, and how each member soon dies/gets killed off). This might also be attributable to O'Bannon, who tackled this in his previous successes in films, but to say who is totally responsible for what can only be said for those who've read Dick's story Second Variety, which I have not. However it should be said, if only on some level of understanding from reading past works of his, it feels like it has a level of faith to the source, albeit changing locations and certain details in the situations, by being approximately cynical to the characters.

The only problem then comes in with it being directed, more or less, as a standard slightly-higher-in-quality made for TV movie. It's by no means a sci-fi channel movie of the week, however Screamers might have fared a little better with its challenging and darkly funny bits without director Christian Duguay, who is professional enough to make it watchable on such a low budget (low for how it looks anyway), but doesn't give certain scenes enough juice to really fly past where it stays at being average. The cast too is a little more of the regular variety, with isn't totally a bad thing; by having character actors, B-level character actors (if that), it helps add to the levels of slight subversion in this story they're in about technology gone to the dogs on a snow planet in 2078. I liked seeing actors cast to type, like Andrew Lauer as the 'kid' who's got enough experience as a soldier but is still pretty naive in other ways; Roy Dupis in a sublimely duplicitous role; Jennifer Rubin as the token tough girl. Even Weller has his right place in the framework, not too cocky a hero but with enough confidence to carry a picture without the Robocop gear. I even enjoyed some of the action set-pieces, with one especially involving a whole field of Davids (the little robot boy).

There's also a slight issue that has to be contended which is too many 'gotcha' addendums to the climax. It's not enough that one character suddenly appears as another cyborg, but that there's another, and then another...and then finally one last wink in the final shot (which actually does work as a creepy last bit), and it's detracting from what is attempting to be a little more substantial. It's only when the hints of things not staying all happy-in-the-end do the director and actors really hit good ground. Screamers has more than its share of moments, and it will continue to be an underrated find by sci-fi fans as the years go by. That it's nowhere near the best of Dick's adaptations- and not the worst- is understandable. 6.5/10

Screamers fmovies. Obviously most people didn't think this movie to be much anything special, although I tend to disagree. I thought this movie was probably one of the best sci-fi films in years that I've seen. Peter Weller (best known as RoboCop) is also a very under-rated actor who deserves some good roles these days. The only problem with this movie was the very poorly done special fx. I'm sure if this movie would have been given a bigger budget it would have done better in theaters.

Based on a Phillip K. Dick story (the writer of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," which was the background for "Blade Runner") this movie delivers, but suffers because of the apparently tight budget. Some scenes in here reminded me of the original "Star Trek" episodes, where the production crew had to become quite inventive to get effects on an almost non-existing budget.

So movies low on money have to rely on their scripts and on good actors, and "Screamers" has them both. The story and its subplots could serve for three movies and especially Peter Weller showed a superb performance here. Generally there are some weaknesses, but they can be forgiven, if you allow yourself to get into the story.

If you have enough of FX loaded movies that cover their thin plot with a multitude of explosions, then give it a try.

In the future the mining planet Sirius 6B has become a war zone with two warring factions. The ground is patrolled by underground robots called Screamers who target anyone not wearing identifying marks. One side receives a plea for peace negotiations after 10 years of war and discover from a lost soldier that the war has been forgotten on earth. The two sides have been left to die on Sirius 6B while another way is started on another planet. Commander Hendricksson (Weller) sets out with the lost soldier Jefferson (Lauer) to contact the other side and declare peace. However what they find will spell the end of their war one way or another.

This is based on a Phillip K. Dick story and has all the intelligence you would expect from a sci-fi from him - this is not a gory horror movie. This is an intelligent story about the creation of the Screamers and their "evolution". It also has a cynical edge lended by the way that the soldiers have been deserted by their leaders and continue to be tricked into fighting while the leaders get on with their business.

Weller is excellent as the world weary commander who finds his life sold out from under him. The supporting cast are OK with their stereotyped characters but the real stars are the Screamers who start out by small things with saw-blades and gradually take other forms. The child versions of Screamers are particularly creepy and perhaps a little disturbing.

However this is not as terrifying as it should be, nor is it as intelligent as it starts out being. The whole issue behind the different screamers is not explained and towards the end they just keep popping up without reason! It also has one of those "watch out for the sequel" style endings - although in fairness it isn't quite as bad as that. The special effects are a bit ropey but do the job - after all this is a very low budget movie.

The whole thing is not as good as it could have been but is certainly head and shoulders above a lot of low budget sci-fi thrillers.