Planète hurlante (1995)
"Screamers" (original title)

(SIRIUS 6B, Year 2078) On a distant mining planet ravaged by a decade of war, scientists have created the perfect weapon: a blade-wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as... See full summary »

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers:

Philip K. Dick (short story "Second Variety"), Dan O'Bannon (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Weller	...	Joe Hendricksson
Roy Dupuis	...	Becker
Jennifer Rubin	...	Jessica Hanson
Andrew Lauer	...	Ace Jefferson (as Andy Lauer)
Charles Edwin Powell	...	Ross (as Charles Powell)
Ron White	...	Chuck Elbarak
Michael Caloz	...	David
Liliana Komorowska	...	Landowska
Jason Cavalier	...	Leone
Leni Parker	...	Cpl. McDonald
Sylvain Massé	...	N.E.B. Soldier
Bruce Boa	...	Secretary Green
Tom Berry	...	Technician
Henry Ramer	...	Screamers Crawl Narration (voice)

Storyline

(SIRIUS 6B, Year 2078) On a distant mining planet ravaged by a decade of war, scientists have created the perfect weapon: a blade-wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as Screamers designed for one purpose only -- to hunt down and destroy all enemy life forms But man's greatest weapon has continued to evolve without any human guidance, and now it has devised a new mission: to obliterate all life. Col. Hendricksson (Peter Weller) is commander of a handful of Alliance soldiers still alive on Sirius 6B. Betrayed by his own political leaders and disgusted by the atrocities of this never-ending war, Hendricksson decides he must negotiate a separate peace with the New Economic Bloc's decimated forces. But to do so, he will have to cross a treacherous wasteland where the deadliest threat comes from the very weapons he helped to create.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | child shot through the heart | child bombed | child shot in the leg | child shot in the head | 

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Taglines:

The silence of space is about to be shattered.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi violence and terror, some language and a brief moment of nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures

Country:

Canada USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1996 (France)

Also Known As:

Planète hurlante

Filming Locations:

Joliette, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

JPY 25,895,600 (Japan) (29 November 1996)

Gross:

JPY 48,688,300 (Japan) (13 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allegro Films, Fries Film Group, Fuji Eight Company Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early versions of the screenplay were titled "Claw" in reference to the villainous robots, which are called "claws" in the original Philip K. Dick short story "Second Variety" instead of "screamers."

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Goofs

(at around 47 mins) Just after the boy is shot, Becker says, "Who would shoot a snot-nosed boy with a hard luck story?" and there is a vehicle moving in the background, high up on a ridge, from right to left between Becker's and Ross's heads.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Screamers Crawl Narration: [voice over narration] For the last fifty years, the new economic block, the 'N.E.B.' Corporation, has controlled mining operations throughout the known solar systems.

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Connections

References Pinocchio (1940)

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Soundtracks

Naya
Music by Jerry Devilliers
Lyrics by Dwight Druick
Vocals by Loulou Hughes

User Reviews

A very, very good movie

Screamers impressed the heck out of me. Reviews I'd read of it called it a "slasher" movie and said that it was highly derivative of other movies, such as Aliens and Blade Runner.

In fact, I found it to be highly imaginative and original, very much in the spirit of the Philip K. Dick story that inspired it, pondering the ultimate meanings of humanity, war and technology. The scenery and story surrounding the film were both intriguing: despite the film's low budget, the director did an excellent job of constructing the devastated planet. Peter Weller and Jennifer Rubin turned in excellent performances, and the supporting cast was also quite good. Finally, every scene is shot with a real urgency to it; particularly well done are the nightmarish confrontation 2/3 of the way through the movie and the poignant and shattering ending. In short, this is a very very good movie and well worth renting. It will stay with you for quite a while.

Before signing off, I should say something about construing one science fiction movie as a ripoff of others. Screamers had elements of its plot which can be found in other films (ie men and machines, monsters) but it blends them seamlessly into its own original story. The mere presence of identifiable elements from other films has given people ground to criticize this movie as unoriginal. By their standards, I don't think it would be possible at all to make new movies or novels or anything. These surface similarities will always be there. One can argue that the Matrix is merely an update of Socrates' cave allegory. In conclusion: ignore the critics and see Screamers!!