Screamers (1995)

(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:

stop motion | matte painting | miniature model | shakespearean quotation | 2070s | 

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Taglines:

The Last Scream You Hear Will Be Your Own.

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Genres:

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:

26 January 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Claw

Filming Locations:

Joliette, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

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

Gross USA:

$5,781,885

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels) DTS-Stereo DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The strange chessboard in the opening scene is the "Game of Ur," a game from ancient Mesopotamia. The game is still played in Iraq to this day.

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Goofs

In the shot with the two celestial objects in the sky, they are in different phases: 1 a little more than half, 1 a little less than a quarter. Given that they are illuminated by the same source, they ought to be in the same phase.

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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

Not bad considering the budget

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.