It's a fine line between comedy and horror. Or is that just the line between clever and stupid? In a way of course these genres are similar and one each involves a series of setups and a payoffs whether the results are sudden shocks or unexpected laughs. In some cases these lines blur for better or worse. Explosions of violent mayhem may become ludicrous and sometimes intended jokes can cause existential dread. However there are films out there which blend the two seamlessly proving it's not always a bad thing. The real problems start when the outcome doesn't quite line up... or when the intentions of a serious science fiction plot is too unclear and the whole thing starts to feel more like a sitcom.
The pieces are all here but everything just seems off straight out of the gate. Instead of feeling like a suspense driven tale this is more like a romantic comedy or a soap opera about mismatched lab partners. At best it seems to be a rehash of The Fly II for some reason, which isn't exactly a great place to start. It doesn't just look like a sitcom thanks to a lot of bland lighting and 1990s costume design, but the whole thing has this odd comedy aura thanks to the acting. There are few intended jokes present but it all has a televisual quality that's often distracting. Maybe it's the way the cut price opening credits try and copy Alien but look more like Critters. Both are superior viewing choices.
For what it's worth the storyline is a fairly nuts and bolts creature feature, with sinister G-man Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) trying to create a human-alien hybrid from plans that have been transmitted to Earth by an unknown intelligence. Of course this doesn't go well and after the creature grows rapidly into a child of extraordinary power and he's forced to try and kill it. But the creature escapes the facility and quickly mutates to become the perfect likeness of an adult woman. Sil (Natasha Henstridge) has incredible strength and is a fast learner, which she soon uses to her advantage as she moves into the next phase of her life cycle - procreation.
In some ways this is an interesting look at the idea of biological weapons, cloning as well as the ethical treatment of laboratory subjects. In other ways this is a cheese and ham fest with a lot of silly characters who have names that seem to have fallen out of a comic book. But at least it has no pretence of being any more than the sum of these parts. Xavier is soon joined by smarmy mercenary Preston Lennox (Michael Madsen) and awkward anthropologist Stephen Arden (Alfred Molina) to cover the search mission from a scientific and a tactical perspective. Michael Madsen is phoning it in with a dry, stoic performance, but at least Alfred Molina seems to be having a good time.
They're also joined by biologist Laura Baker (Marg Helgenberger), and Dan Smithson (Forest Whitaker) who also seems to have walked in off a knock-off X-Men storyline. Laura is here to cover the lab work jargon and serve as a forced love interest, while Dan is here as the incredible Exposition Man. Where is Sil and what mood is she in? Dan can sense all of that and more with his all purpose story driving sixth sense. Does it fit with the tone or relate at all to the agency that created Sil? It sure doesn't. But since she's perfectly disguised I guess they needed someone to get things moving when the team reach a dead end... in some cases literally.
Sil herself is at least compelling despite the juvenile script about a killer babe in the mood for love. It's not exactly an efficient route for planetary invasion, but her scenes are still mostly entertaining. There's even a few fun moments of subterfuge as she evades capture using some pretty gruesome methods. Her true alien form is eventually revealed although the design work by H. R. Giger many years after Alien is only half successful. At times it's depicted using some low budget visual effects that aren't hidden in the shadows well enough, and in other scenes it just looks like an attempt at a sexy sea-food platter. It's all pointy shells and tentacles. Maybe this should just have stayed as a piece of art in two-dimensions.
Again this is a problem with the story when it ventures into that area between horror and comedy which probably wasn't intended, particularly during the final subterranean chase.The rest of the story just isn't interesting enough for it to keep things moving for just shy of an hour and fifty minutes, no thanks to Kingsley's questionable accent and the complete lack of real chemistry between Helgenberger and Madsen. With a more serious tone and a genuine attempt to ask questions about the dilemma of creating a new life form it could have worked... but it's a pretty big could. In the end it's not original enough and the execution is way too ropey to be taken seriously. But I guess that's this period in 1990s horror.
2/5
BONUS REVIEW
WISHMASTER (1997)
But wait there's more! Let's dump science fiction as horror and wade in the nebulous quagmire that is weird attempts to bring ancient mythology to the screen. Genies of course kind of made a big impact on popular culture in this decade thanks to a certain animated musical, but what about movies that seem to be made just for fun by renegade horror fans and special effects guys? Is it possible to make a whole film just out of wacky gore scenes and character actor cameos? The answer is yes. Perhaps this isn't always a story that makes sense or even maintains its own pacing outside the crazy Djinn sequences, but they tried pretty hard.
The Wishmaster (Andrew Divoff) is a villain in the traditional sense. If you consider sadistic scene stealing movie monsters from the 1980s a tradition at least. Scenery is chewed, statues are summoned, and whole skeletons are expelled right out of living people. They throw in the likes of Ted Raimi (who of course dies in a farcical set piece) and Buck Flower (who of course plays a homeless wino). There are all kinds of a fun moments thanks to an eclectic assortment of familiar faces. There are two Phantasm regulars, as well as Tony Todd and Robert Englund among others. It almost starts to feel like one of The Muppets movies with so many guest appearances.
It's a shame then that there are so many dull expository sequences involving antiques expert Alexandra (Tammy Lauren). After releasing the Djinn from a strange jewel she gains the power to see the future and has visions of his plan... to steal souls by granting wishes. Perhaps not the fastest route to world domination, and a lot of it doesn't really add up, but at least he's having fun. Still, the hero is a dud and a lot of her scenes are kind of meandering to say the least. But the rest of the story is so absurd and filled with strange wishes gone awry that it's easy to get back on board. It's done with panache and a sense of glee that covers for a lot of the bumpier moments during the ride.
3/5
