Now available on DVD
Cast:
Gina Holden as Bronte
Greg Bryk as Sexton
Tim Rozon as Madden
Lance Henriksen as Orsow
Directed by Sheldon Wilson
Review:
Given that sequels have become the norm, over time we are less and less surprised by them. From a business standpoint they make sense and horror fans (sometimes reluctantly) realize they are part of the game. So when everything from Boogeyman to Pulse to Wrong Turn gets a sequel or two, you simply shrug and go about your day.
Every once in a while, however, a sequel comes along that boggles the mind. Such is the case with Sony Home Entertainment’s Screamers: The Hunting, a follow up to 1996’s Screamers. That movie made a measly $5.7 million at the box office. The general feeling about it from genre fans seems to be one of indifference, and that is assuming most genre fans have heard of it in the first place.
Whatever the reason for its existence, it is a quintessential low-budget sequel. Movies like this are made for late night viewing, when demands are low. There is almost something charming about its no frills presentation and lack of pretension. It will never be mistaken for a quality film but it will fit the bill when nothing much is on and you crave some carnage.
The story picks up 13 years after the first one. Sirius 6B was ravaged by a civil war ultimately won by scientists following their creation of screamers, who went on to destroy everything in sight. For 13 years there has been no communication with the planet. Until now. A distress call has been picked up and our ragtag group is going there on a search and rescue mission. As if the possibility of crossing paths with screamers isn’t bad enough, an enormous solar meteor storm is six days away. They need to get in and get out quickly.
It doesn’t take long for the rescue team to encounter humans and screamers. Somehow the latter is evolving. They have taken on different forms and are deadlier than ever. Who exactly are these people and how have they survived amongst the screamers this long? There is a chance Lance Henriksen knows the answer. Fulfilling a contractual obligation to appear in at least 50% of direct-to-DVD horror movies annually, Henriksen shows up for 10 minutes, but he puts them to good use.
The formula here is simple. Humans are no match for screamers and they are on their territory. The screamers are going to slaughter them, and that they do. Writer Miguel Tejada-Flores (co-writer of Screamers>) and director Sheldon Wilson (Kaw) cram in an almost absurd amount of gore. Metal is shoved through heads and torsos and heads are severed. It is a bloodbath. While the CGI is spotty and obvious, the practical effects are solid. The updated screamers are also appropriately menacing.
Sure the plotting is routine, the acting stiff, the writing languid and the production values cheap. There isn’t really anything here you haven’t seen before and sequels like this are a dime a dozen. But when your expectations are low and you want nothing more than a little bloody, brainless entertainment, Screamers: The Hunting gets the job done. Every time tedium threatens, another hapless victim has a homicidal machine tear through their chest. Thankfully this happens frequently enough to get viewers through the 90 or so minutes of screen time with relative ease.
