One of the NEB soldiers kills his partner after drinking Scotch and incorrectly guessing that his partner was one of the advanced screamers.Jessica shows up with Scotch for her people and for Joe and Ace.
Chuck and Joe reminisce about the old days when they drank beer at a bar.As always you should read through the category listings before allowing your children to see this one. The creatures are mechanical and the humans are defending themselves from certain death, but the visuals of young boys being killed might be disturbing to many people. Of note, however, are the scenes where the screamers, in their young boy appearance, are shot and torched by the humans. Profanity is heavy, and there's a quick glimpse of nude women in a virtual reality helmet. There are many scenes where the screamers (in their various forms) come after the humans and both sides often meet violent ends. OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The biggest issue of concern with this film is its nightmare producing ability, especially for younger children. C'mon! Don't waste your time with this mess. Do they worry about the deep, bloody gash? Nah, they just decide to embrace and kiss right there. The height of absurdity occurs after Joe has sliced opened Jessica's hand to see if she's human or not. To make it worse, the plot meanders and the scary scenes are lifted directly from the above-mentioned movies.
While, yes, this is based on a Phillip Dick short story (author of stories from which "Blade Runner" and "Total Recall" were based), the acting stinks and the effects are cheesy. OUR TAKE: 1 out of 10 If you mix "Alien(s)," "Tremors," and "Children of the damned" together, throw out any originality and/or quality, you'll get this movie. None of the characters, including PETER WELLER's, are developed enough to be considered as good role models as their only behavior of note is to survive.WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For sci-fi violence and terror, some language and a brief moment of nudity. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they like sci-fi movies they will, but other than that, there are no draws for kids. As the humans try to make peace, they must contend with the ever evolving screamers that are determined to kill each and every last one human.
Joe decides to make his own truce with the NEB and sets off for their headquarters where he meets Jessica (JENNIFER RUBIN), a NEB black marketer. As the story begins, Joe Hendrickson (PETER WELLER), one of the former miners, has discovered that the Alliance has abandoned Sirius 6B after a newcomer, Ace (ANDY LAUER), crash lands on the planet. Unfortunately, the screamers evolved into smart equipment that adapt to better their killing ability, including impersonating human appearance. To retaliate, the Alliance created "screamers" autonomous mechanical creatures whose goal was to kill NEB foot soldiers. The owners of the mines, the NEB corporation, declared war on the Alliance (of mine workers and scientists who took it upon themselves to shut down the operation) and nuked most of their cities. PLOT: It's the year 2078 and the planet Sirius 6B has been ravaged by war over the mining of barynium, a new power source that unfortunately released deadly levels of radiation. QUICK TAKE: Survivors on a war torn planet must contend with mechanical creatures that burrow under the Earth in search of human prey.