Screamers

• Cat.no: CDR 94135
• Cert: 18
• Running time: 104 minutes
• Year: 1995
• Pressing: 1999
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 28 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
• Languages: English, German, French (all DD 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, German, French, Dutch, Hindi, Hungarian
• Widescreen: 1.77:1 (16:9)
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 5
• Price: £19.99
• Extras : Scene index, Filmographies, Theatrical Trailer

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Director:

Christian Duguay

(Adrift, The Assignment, Live Wire, Scanners 2 & 3)

Producers:

Screenplay:

(based upon the short story “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick)

Music:

Normand Corbeil

Cast:

Joseph Hendricksson: Peter Weller (Leviathan, Mighty Aphrodite, Robocop 1 & 2, Shakedown, Sunset Grill)
Jessica: Jennifer Rubin (The Crush, The Doors, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Plump Fiction, Red Scorpion 2, Road Kill)
Ace: Andrew Lauer (Born on the Fourth of July, The Doors, For The Boys, Necessary Roughness)
Becker: Roy Dupuis (Being at Home with Claude, Jesus of Montreal, Out in the Open)

Screamersis the name given to a small blade-wielding robot devised by Joseph Hendricksson(Peter Weller) and his team of scientists to help them protect theiroutpost and win the ten-year war on distant mining planet Sirius 6B against theNew Economic Block. Problems arise after the Screamers develop to the pointwhere they’re able to replicate and improve upon themselves, such that theycan give the appearance of a human in order to kill off their creators.

When Hendricksson receives the news that his government will not help anyoneto return to Earth from the planet, thus washing their hands of the whole war,he takes matters into his own hands and takes Ace Jefferson (Andrew Lauer)with him to make peace with the enemy and destroy the Screamers once and forall.

Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the author of Blade Runner,under the title of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ?”, it’s not themost complex story ever written for a film as you may have guessed but it’scertainly an interesting watch and plays like an extended episode of RedDwarf with more subtle one-liners from time to time instead of theover-the-top humour from the sci-fi soap. Add to this no major stars – onewonders why Peter Weller didn’t capitalise on the success of Robocop,a small amount of love interest from Jennifer Rubin and an $11 millionbudget and you have a film that won’t change your life but is well worth a look.

The picture quality is very good in the main although there is a slight amountof grain from time to time. The film is presented close to its originalwidescreen ratio of 1.85:1, as it is in 1.77:1 (16:9). It is enhanced for 16:9widescreen televisions – thus allowing for 33% higher resolution – and theaverage bitrate is a fine 5.13 Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 7Mb/s.

The sound is excellent – and in Dolby Digital 5.1 in three languages – witha good score from Normand Corbeil and plenty of explosions and gunfireto put your speakers to good use, not to mention the Screamers themselves whoseblades make a sound like a dentist’s drill which is terrifying enough on itsown.

Upon selecting the “Start Movie” option, you’ll first see a “Sony PicturesDVD Center” logo, followed by the Dolby Digital helicopter demo, the copyrightlogo and then the film itself.

This is the first time this film has been given a widescreen released in theUK – previously only appearing in an unmatted fullscreen form on both videoand PAL Laserdisc – and looking good in anamorphic widescreen at that. As Isaid earlier, the film itself is worth a watch, but it may be best to rent thisDVD first before you buy as it may not attract too many repeat viewings.

FILM : ***½PICTURE QUALITY: ****SOUND QUALITY: *****EXTRAS: **——————————-OVERALL: ***½

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.