Virus (1999)

After outrunning a typhoon at sea, a strong-willed tugboat navigator and her crew discover a high-tech alien life form that's taken control of a Russian research vessel and aims to destroy on a massive scale.

Director:

John Bruno

Writers:

Chuck Pfarrer (creator: Dark Horse Comic Book series: "Virus"), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay)

Stars:

Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Kit Foster
William Baldwin	...	Steve Baker
Donald Sutherland	...	Captain Robert Everton
Joanna Pacula	...	Nadia
Marshall Bell	...	J.W. Woods Jr.
Sherman Augustus	...	Richie
Cliff Curtis	...	Hiko
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Squeaky
Yuri Chervotkin	...	Colonel Kominski
Keith Flippen	...	Captain Lonya Rostov
Olga Rzhepetskaya-Retchin	...	Female Cosmonaut
Levani	...	Captain Alexi
David Eggby	...	Norfolk Captain

Storyline

When a typhoon cripples their boat, the crew sails into the eye of the storm, where they discover a high-tech Russian communications and research vessel adrift. Only one Russian crew member is still alive, raving about "intelligent lightning." They soon discover that an alien life form has taken over the ship's computers and is churning out mechanical warriors. With their own boat destroyed, the crew must battle the creature as the ship reenters the storm.

---

Plot Keywords:

dark horse comics | based on comic | russian | ship | storm | 

---

Taglines:

Humankind is history.

---

Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jamie Lee Curtis has admitted to hating this film, calling it "the worst movie ever made". She added that she lobbied hard to have the director fired and replaced by Steve Miner, who she had made Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) with. However, he wasn't available, as he was working on Dawson's Creek (1998)).

---

Goofs

The discovery of someone on board the Russian ship should have changed the tug captain's reward expectation. An abandoned ship would be worth 10% of its value as salvage (as described in the movie). A ship with even one person from the original crew on board would not be abandoned. The rescuing crew would only be eligible for a finder's fee or the towing fees to take it back to port. Moreover, even if there was nobody on board, salvaging or towing a foreign navy ship is illegal, so the crew could not have possibly expected a reward.

---

Quotes

Goliath Machine: Checkmate.

---

Alternate Versions

The DVD contains three deleted scenes:

• a discussion between Foster and Richie, in which Richie says he doesn't like Foster aboard a ship, which is followed by a discussion of Hiko's tattoos. Then Hiko tells Baker about his ancestors and his greatest fear.
• an extended version of the scene where Foster and Baker flee using the rocket motors.
• the original entrance of Everton into the Antenna Control room, which was changed in the theatrical release because the studio felt that adding computer generated robotic legs would cost too much and because the test audiences didn't like the line "It's me: Bob."

---

Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

User Reviews

Compilation of other genre movies

Don't take this movie too seriously, and Virus is actually an enjoyable romp, that pays homage, excuse me, rips off many venerable movies from the same and similar genres.

It starts of as an X-Files episode, turns into The Perfect Storm, Sutherland is clearly inspired by mad Quint in Jaws, then the movie becomes Johnny 2.0 meets Robocop and Alien II.

The drawbacks are of course obvious - the Life Form behaves more like a space moron, than a higher form of intelligence. If it was the latter, it would simply have the entire crew set port in Australia and have taken it from there. Instead, the "humans are viruses" approach simply brings it down. Bummer. Billions of miles of space travel, and it gets bested by the motley crew of a tugboat with a demented skipper.

Anyway, 21 years after Halloween, Jamie Lee still looks delectable with a perfect figure. The rest of the crew are funny and charming, in a forgettable way. Sutherland puts in the best acting he has in years, which isn't saying too much as he has been phoning his performances in since JFK.

Anyway, this movie is low on originality, but if you like the genres above, it is a pretty nice diversion.

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA UK Germany Japan France

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Virus

Filming Locations:

Newport News, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,013,640, 18 January 1999

Gross USA:

$14,036,005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,657,854

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutual Film Company, Universal Pictures, Dark Horse Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1