- Christian Duguay's Screamers presents a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "Second Variety." The story, which has been so influential that it will sound familiar even if you haven't read it, is simply that two warring factions find themselves accidentally trapped in a larger battle with the evolving killing machines that one side deployed in the war. The early versions of the machines, called screamers for immediately obvious reasons, look like deranged circular saws. An intermediate model resembles a mechanical rat. The later varieties look a lot like you and me.
- Most of the film is spent following Commander Joe Hendrickson (Peter Weller) as he treks across the ruined surface of planet Sirius 6B in response to a peace offering from the opposition. With him is a green recruit named Jefferson (Andrew Lauer), whose crash-landing on the planet delivered the first clues that Hendrickson and his lieutenant (Ron White) had been systematically deceived. As Hendrickson and Jefferson travel, they meet an abandoned boy (Michael Caloz), some opposing forces (Charles Powell, Roy Dupuis), and a hard-bitten woman (Jennifer Rubin). Would it surprise you to learn that at least some of these characters are actually screamers?
- While Screamers suffers from being made during the mid-90s CGI nadir, its practical and stop-motion effects are surprisingly decent, as is the dilapidated power plant-style scenery. I also imagine that the first revelation of a human-model screamer would have been pretty shocking to somebody who hadn't read the short story. For that matter, the ending was shocking to somebody who had read the short story since it deviates significantly in detail, if not in tone. Although Weller does his best to elevate the material, none of the acting is great, and the dialogue ranges from corny to inappropriately Shakespearean. Probably best watched late at night when you can chuckle through its bad choices and enjoy the good ones.
- This was the last film featuring Bruce Boa, who played General Rieekan in The Empire Strikes Back
