Species: The Awakening

I didn't mind the original Species movie, I loved Gigers influence and it had a cast that enabled it to really stand out from other similar sci-fi movies at the time.

The second was passable affair and followed on nicely, but it already felt a bit like it was treading water.

The third starred the excellent Robert Knepper and though just about watchable really come across as a cash grab.

Alas with the fourth here the "Feel" of cash grab isn't a feeling anymore, it's very blatant. Straight to DVD nonsense with enough of a budget (Ish) to pull off the sfx but delivers very little else.

Starring veteran actor Ben Cross it's another erotic sci-fi outing that sadly brings little to the Species lore, delivers a rather underwhelming and rather rushed story and is decidedly average at its best.

Maybe Species should have stopped at the first movie, some films just don't need to become a franchise and this is a great example.

Should Species be rebooted? Absolutely not as the first movie delivered, want your Species fix go watch that.

The Good:

SFX are good for a straight to DVD sequel

The Bad:

"Alien" cutaways are a tad pointless

Brings nothing to the franchise

Feels rushed

I was expecting it to be a bit cheesy and low-budget-looking, but I wasn't expecting to be insulted.

This "film" has similar production values and acting caliber as you will find in an average daytime soap.

It's as if the crew of "Days of Our Lives" borrowed the studio's gear for a weekend and went and shot a "Sci-Fi/Thriller" because those are popular these days, so we should be able to make some cash with it.

It wasn't scary, wasn't thrilling, wasn't even sci-fi-y, just boring and predictable. No plot, bad lighting, laughable critters, wooden acting, no reason at all to force yourself to sit through a turd like this one.

The rave reviews here have to be from people associated with the production, or else who haven't actually seen the "film".

Avoid at all cost.

Being a fan of the "Species" films, especially loving Species II, I watched this with open arms. I did not think it worked. Partly because the storyline seemed so short-lived. The trailer did look a tad on the positive side though but that, is how trailers are designed. But this is nothing at all like the previous ones, except for the Alien DNA etc etc.

This has awful acting, one hell of a bad bad accent and an OK blond playing the Alien femme fatal, but not worth the 90 or so minutes that it ended up as. If the species films are ever going to work and be believable they need to be serious, with serious (good, well-known) actors. That alone would help the publicity! But no, they go for the opposite.

I even wished afterwards that I had been a director doing this film. Oh my god would I have made some CHANGES! Should have mixed the DNA with sense instead of aliens LOL

big no no no no no, cannot emphasize that enough.

And so we reach the fourth, and final part of a series that never deserved a first sequel, let alone three of them. The slim storyline was told in its entirely in the first movie, and the next three have just been poorly thought-out remakes, redos or continuations of the same situations. This one follows straight-to-video B-movie territory from beginning to end, bringing everything down to its lowest common denominator. There's a misguided but decent scientist hero – Ben Cross, looking embarrassed to be here, a pretty young and nubile actress, Helena Mattsson, whose acting skills are extremely limited, some monster suits and some very bad CGI effects.

The storyline kind of meanders from place to place without ever progressing. There's some experimental stuff in a laboratory, more scenes of the alien women on the prowl searching for a mate, and other aliens besides who kill people with their long CGI tongues. The script is very poor and the performances poorer, and there's no decent action or gore to speak of. Just nudity, and even that gets boring after a while, so I really do hope this is the last we'll see of the Species films

Species: The Awakening feels like a shadow of what the franchise once promised. While the original Species had its share of flaws, it at least offered an intriguing mix of sci-fi and horror. This fourth installment, unfortunately, lacks the creativity and tension that made the first film memorable.

The plot tries to introduce a new angle with a professor discovering her alien origins, but it quickly devolves into a predictable series of events. The story struggles to sustain interest, and the characters are thinly developed, leaving little room for emotional investment.

The special effects and makeup work, while passable for a straight-to-DVD release, can't compensate for the weak script and uninspired direction. The horror elements feel forced, and the sci-fi aspect, which could have been fascinating, is barely explored.

While the film deserves some credit for attempting to expand the Species lore, it's clear that the franchise has run out of steam by this point. Even the action sequences, which could have added some excitement, feel half-hearted and unoriginal.

Unless you're a die-hard fan of the Species series, this entry offers little to recommend. It's a lackluster effort that fails to recapture the intrigue and excitement of its predecessors. A missed opportunity to close the series on a high note.