Deadly Species (2002 Video) User Reviews

Deadly Species: Bland creature feature

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 7 May 2018]

Okay so a research team go out into the Everglades to find a thought extinct tribe of people but run afoul of monsters. Not exactly original stuff.

This heavy b-movie flick keeps the monster to a minimum and thats a shame, this wasn't done for budget reasons as no CGI was used and it was for the purposes of "Effect" then they failed miserably.

With an instantly forgettable cast, recycled plot and a monster that looks like Rawhead Rex (1986) except nude! Deadly Species isn't going to win any awards for....well.....anything but is harmless enough.

It comes under the category of dumb fun, or at least dumb bit of fun.

Cliched, boring in places and never really gets going you can do worse but I can rattle off 100+ movies with similiar plots that deserve your attention more.

The Good:

Cheesy but decent monster

The Bad:

Literally nothing you haven't seen before

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Rawhead Rex has really let himself go

Someone really should have showed that girl how to hold the rifle

A long last tribe in the......Everglades?

[sccerguy2 · 3/10 · 3 November 2006]

So there's this professor right..and he loses his grant for whatever "research" he's doing. Then, magically this random guy that hangs out with gross naked chicks calls him and says I'll give you 30,000 to go hunting for some long lost tribe with me. So this professor rounds up some students to go with him and they drive about 10 feet off the side of the road to go looking for this tribe....and seriously it was like 10 feet off the side of the road...in the everglades.....a long lost tribe....10 feet off the side of the road in the everglades. Makes you wonder how they got lost. So on their little conquest they run into some big rubber monster....and seriously, that's what it looked like. It was awesome special effects. So the guy that gave the professor the grant really came up to get this "deadly species" but didn't tell the professor that, so the rest of the movie there is a lot of fighting between characters and a lot of hunting for this rubber monster. Blah blah blah...pretty much everyone dies and they find their special tribe. This movie was pretty bad....if it wasn't for the hot chick that decides to bathe naked in the creek I would have scored it even lower. So if you want to see some boobs (there's at least 3 sets of boobs) then go ahead and rent this one. I bought it, but mostly because I'm in Iraq with absolutely nothing to do and nothing better to spend my money on.

Low budget and supposed to be gross?

[AAChaoshand · 2/10 · 3 November 2006]

What another disaster... This movie is about a group of people in college that want to find an old Indian tribe that was thought to be extinct 150 years ago. A professor and some of his students give up their summer vacation (yeah right screw that) to go hunting for this tribe in the Everglades. Originally they couldn't go because they didn't have the money but some random guy that has naked women everywhere in his estate calls and says hey I got money lets go. The catch is, he isn't in it for the educational value but hes trying to find out why his own people never came back because they supposedly had a magical cure for anything, more of an immortality elixer. Anyway, they manage to make it there with a whole 5 minutes...some expedition...hows that cost 30 grand? Anyway, they manage to find out that some creature is making his way about smoking off all but a select few in the end. This is more of a movie for someone who wants to see nudity from the chest up even though the women were not exactly good looking. We will let you watch the movie to see how it runs! But don't waste your money buying it, just go download it somewhere if you can or watch it at someone elses house.

Deadly Boring

[smegger68 · 1/10 · 29 April 2004]

I don't know where to begin with this movie, it was that bad. The story? Scientists looking for lost tribes in Florida(!) stumble across unscary big toothed monsters in the Everglades. Monsters munch scientists assistants. Bad guys get their come-uppance. Good guy scientists get away. ZZZzzz.

With a premise as poor as that it would take some great performances to lift the plot. Predictably enough, you don't get any. The leads were so wooden I had trouble telling them from the trees at times. The support cast fade into ambiguity almost immediatly.

The direction was stilted and amateurish. Gratuitous topless scenes were added for the Lord only knows what reason. The monsters simply ended up looking like guys in rubber suits with halloween masks on - you'd more likely laugh than run if you saw one for real.

Quite honestly, the scariest thing about this movie is that someone paid good money to have it made at all.

Avoid like the plague.

WoW

[TaniaMagna1984 · 1/10 · 21 August 2005]

that is all I can say. WOW. What a horrible excuse for a movie. I truly wish there was once good thing I could say... well, maybe there is...the poster's kinda cool. The overall concept of the story might have worked, had they found someone to actually write it. Horrible script, full of clichés, horrible photography (half the movie is out of focus), terrible location (have these people ever been to the everglades?) and to top it all... to top it all... hahaha... were did they find those actors? The lead (the doctor) was HORRIBLE! along with everyone else. The only half decent performance was by the financier and his bodyguard.

Avoid this; Feels too long at <90 minutes

[B_D · 23 June 2004]

I rented this today assuming it would fall into the "so bad that it's good" category (a personal favorite of mine). After having watched it, I can tell you that it doesn't fall anywhere near it; Deadly Species is just bad.

After laughing at the amateurish acting gets old, the movie loses what little bit of entertainment value it may have once held. The plodding pace, predictable twists, and lack of anything in particular happening most of the time will leave you yawning as you wait for Deadly Species to finally, mercifully end. After a lame pseudo-cliffhanger finale which seems tacked on at the last moment, you'll scarcely believe that it was a mere 88 minutes.

The bottom line is that whether you're watching this because you want to see something worthwhile or whether you're looking for some B-grade trash to have a good laugh at, Deadly Species will disappoint.

Everglades boredom.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 4/10 · 17 January 2012]

The plot of "Deadly Species" is fairly simple:an expedition to Everglades in search of a lost native tribe The Calusa turns out to be really a search for the mythical fountain of youth.The expedition consists of two university professors,a bunch of nubile students and a photographer as well as the backer who insists he goes along with his muscled security man.Soon some of them start to die killed by mysterious creatures hidden in the Everglades.Surprisingly dull and badly-acted monster movie which lacks gore and scares.The scenery is quite lush and atmospheric plus there are some shots of naked boobs.The climax is hysterical and pretty stupid.Don't waste your time with "Deadly Species".4 tribes out of 10.

Deadly Chattings in the Everglades

[Vomitron_G · 2/10 · 7 March 2011]

Now, this most definitely is some sort of "Predator" rip-off. Only, it should have been called "Deadly Chattings (in the Everglades)". Because all the characters in this movie do, is bore you to death by talking and walking around in some jungle. It lasts more than 45 minutes before we finally see a good look at the Predator-like creature. I must admit, this movie at least was better made than the hilariously abominable "Unseen Evil 2 (aka Alien 3000)" and "Alien 51". It even looked a little bit better (more bland & polished) and the cast more or less tried to act this time. The story at least tried to be a bit more serious (though still extremely clichéd and tedious). In the first 10 minutes we already see not one, but two different pairs of naked breasts. And even though the first 80 minutes are pretty much a waste of time, the conclusion during the last 5 minutes was amusing and the best part of the whole movie. The creature-suit and make-up was decent, even though its facial expression looked as dumb as your average Neanderthal. There, at least I did my best to give you some positives about this film.

Somehow, it's not The Worst. But that's not saying a lot.

[I_Ailurophile · 2/10 · 3 January 2022]

To say that 'Deadly species' struggles with authenticity is a critical understatement. The actor in the major role of the wealthy "big game hunter" looks and acts like a junior computer technology major at a state college who was begrudgingly convinced to participate in the class project of some friends. While his is the most dire portrayal, he is crudely joined in that ham-handedness by all others on hand. The outfits of the expeditionary team are assembled with at best a partial sense of attentiveness and realism. Why, in kindness I'll assume that most aspects of the feature were deeply constrained by a low budget - there's nothing here that doesn't suffer from a terrible lack of genuineness: wardrobe, props, makeup, production design, camerawork and editing, sound design, acting; I assume even the screenplay was chopped into mincemeat by the limited resources available to realize the concept.

I will generously assume that everyone contributing to the feature did what they could with what they had to work with, including not least of all the FX crew behind the creature design. Moreover, in fairness, it seems that literally everyone involved have few if any additional credits to their name, or that this is generally a film very early in their careers. (As a minor example - probably the most recognizable name of all in attendance, this is only the second listed credit of Amber Midthunder, who was then only 5 years old at the time and has less than a bit part.) Still - I can operate on all the presuppositions I like, yet that does not fundamentally change the fact that 'Deadly species' is a bit of a chore to watch.

I've never seen nudity this plainly gratuitous. Dialogue is contrived beyond all belief, and characters are so thin they're little more than set pieces. Scene writing is as unbothered (and sometimes downright unintelligent) as Daniel Springen's direction (including guidance of his cast), and the overall narrative as it presents is perhaps best described as functional. Jon Greathouse's score sounds like a collection of rough sketches that were never developed further, and effects including blood and gore break suspension of disbelief. Meanwhile, the actors' delivery, expressions, body language, and basic movement and actions in each scene feel forced and unnatural on the most basic level. Can their inadequacy be chalked up simply to a lack of ability? To the utmost fruitlessness of the material, and the direction? Both?

True, I can't say I expected anything different. And 'Deadly species' certainly doesn't pretend to be anything it's not - it works, as well as it could, on its level. Unfortunately, that level requires astounding magnanimity as a viewer to refrain from holding it in utter contempt. Though I may be disappointed, I'd be keen on reading a history of this production - just how, exactly, did it come into being? Even the best ideas herein are rendered with incredible gracelessness - and there are not many good ideas in the first place. Amazingly, there are still worse movies out there (and I've definitely seen some of them), but that doesn't say much. Frankly, there's no real reason to watch this, except perhaps for extreme curiosity or desperate boredom - and even at that, your time would be better spent doing something else.

Slick, effective horror flick

[mlevans · 8/10 · 7 August 2003]

Deadly Species brings some less-than-acclaimed movies to mind. Congo, The Bog Creatures and Jurassic Park III all share some plot elements. Fortunately, Deadly Species succeeds in bringing home a polished, fulfilling horror flick, where the others-to varying degrees-failed.

SPOILERS HEREIN

DS features Pete Penuel as Dr. Brinson Thomas, a noted archaeologist. His wife and fellow professor, Marta (Allison Adams) are turned down for a grant to fund an archaeological dig in the Everglades. Shortly thereafter, however, one of his university's leading donors, millionaire Wilson Friels (Brian Minyard) offers to fund a very similar expedition. The only catch is that he and his loyal assistant (who must go unnamed since IMDb for some reason lists only about half the cast!) are going with them.

Of course, like in JP3, he has a secret motive for going. He had previously sent an expedition there, in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth and a Calusa ‘Gate to Hell' he has read about in ancient Spanish journals. (The Calusa was an ancient Native American tribe that Brinson Thomas has spent his career researching. Most think it has been extinct since mid-19th century; Dr. Thomas is convinced otherwise.) Like in Congo, Friels suspects something grizzly has happened to the first team. Just like in JP3, one wonders why he doesn't simply come clean with the good doctor up front. The Thomas' would probably still have gone-but would have picked a crew better prepared to defend itself against a hideous unknown assailant.

I am surprised by the low rating for DS. Although it does bear surface similarity to these lowly regarded films, it is really quite well-crafted. Whereas The Bog Creatures winds up being (intentionally or not) a campy tribute to early 1950s B horror flicks, and whereas Congo and JP3 have some aspect that irritates the viewer to distraction (i.e., talking monkeys, wise and misunderstood raptors and screaming mothers), Deadly Species delivers what is promised.

Director Daniel Springen shows a deft touch and Jon Greathouse's original scores are perfect to convey an eerie Gothic mood in the marshy underbrush. Unlike TBC, Springen does not completely give away his creature in the beginning. Only by inches at a time do we begin to see the hideous face of the thing stalking the researchers. This is no B horror flick. There is very little, if any cheese, here. Springen delivers a stylishly done horror film with all the desired elements.

The movie's weakness would have to be the decision to insert a couple of generic college bimbos for unneeded topless shots and pouting. I could never keep the three girls straight during my one viewing. None of the students are much more than creature bait.

Still, the adults in the virtually unknown cast more than rally to pick up the slack. Penuel and Adams are quite convincing as the husband-and-wife archaeology duo. (One wishes they would have left at least one of the bimbo students at home and redivided the air time proportionately.) Minyard and his muscle-bound helper are also very well-done. I had no trouble buying either of their characters. The flakey photographer, Laird Kleeger (Britt George) is intriguing, but underused. Somehow he and Adams seemed to have known each other in the past; yet this is never explained. Also a bit puzzling is a reference in the `official' synopsis that Dr. Thomas was in the process of morphing into a creature himself after he apparently cut his arm on the infected remains of one victim-although he and his wife both believed he was dying of poison from the creature (like the Komoda Dragon). Either could have been the case; if he WERE turning into a creature, it seems bizarre that the Fountain of Youth water would reverse the process.

Despite a few questionable turns in the plot-including the bizarre ending, Deadly Species is entertaining and scary. It's no 3.3; call it a good, solid 7 that could have been an 8 with a little help.

BRING ME A DIRTY MARTINI

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 21 April 2019]

During the opening credits we find out this is a "Dirty Martini" production. Early in the film, the man who finances the expedition drinks dirty martinis made by a topless pool girl. Coincidence? I think not. Dr. Brinson Thomas (Pete Penuel) assembles a crack team of young co-eds that work cheaply, to find a missing tribe in the Everglades, most likely connected to the thing we did not see that killed two people before the credits. Hopefully these girls like to take showers because they can't act

Brian Minyard plays Wilson Friels, a bad actor who is made to look sinister with a goatee. He is financing the expedition, plans on going along, and has an undisclosed ulterior motive. During the first night camping, Friels tells the legendary story about the lost tribe and the creature. They discover the ransacked camp and human remains. They want to leave the island, but the boat won't be back for a few days. No sense packing a radio. The creature appears to be manufactured from the same high-tech polymer NASA uses in their space shuttle tires.

You could watch worse.

Nudity (Liz Toro, Samara Ibanez,Jenny Coyle)

too many bad things

[mauricesdevaraj · 3 June 2003]

I've read so much about 'B' movies not being really serious. And everytime I watch one, it gives lie to the statement. Congo, Anaconda are just two of the movies in my opinion that this film tried to draw from. Miserably though.

Entertaining Grade B horror monster opus

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 29 May 2012]

An expedition to find the fountain of youth in the Florida Everglades runs afoul of vicious big-mouthed predatory monsters. Director Daniel Springen, working from a blithely pulpy script by Bull Suchy and Rory Penland, relates the enjoyably cheesy story at a brisk pace, makes sturdy use of the dense secluded swampland locations, builds a substantial amount of tension, pulls out the thrilling stops for the lively conclusion, and tosses in a few nice naked boobies and an okay sprinkling of gore for good measure. The acceptable acting by the competent cast keeps the picture humming, with sound work by Pete Penuel as likable college professor Dr. Brinson Thomas, Allison Adams as Brinson's spunky wife Marta, Brian Minyard as slimy millionaire big-game hunter Wilson Friels, Jeff Brozovich as Wilson's menacing flunky Derek Neal, Britt George as macho photographer Laird Kleeger, William Cefalo as the amiable Todd Bender, Smara Ibanez as the foxy and jealous Nichelle, Heather Petrone as the cute and sweet Lori, and Kristina Moore as the fetching and sassy Allison. Stephen Campbell's slick cinematography makes energetic use of a Steadicam and gives the movie an impressive polished look. Jon Greathouse's throbbing tribal score hits the stirring and spirited spot. Moreover, the rubbery man-a-suit beasts possess a certain funky retro 50's creature feature charm and the film overall radiates a winningly earnest quality that's impossible to dislike. A fun little flick.

A low-rent creature feature that's not silly or fun enough to please, even as throwaway Matinee fare.

[TheVid · 15 March 2004]

This low-budget monster movie tries to cash in on the old terror-in-the-woods creature feature formula, but tries way too hard for its own good. It's mostly annoying for taking itself too seriously. By the time you reach the climax, you're bored, even with a less-than-ninety-minute running time. Most of the bad parts are way worse than the rubber-suited monster harassing our protagonists; in fact, the creatures are amusing enough in a 50's sci-fi kind of way. The acting is soap-opera caliber, but the female lead is particularly homely and shrewish, which is a big mistake in a cheap thriller like this. The worse thing of all though, is an outdoor make-out session by a couple of disposable co-eds during which they feel up each other's blue jeans. While there is some throwaway, gratuitous nudity, it's not milked to the point of satisfaction and undercut by the constant and witless bantering between the cast. I'll reiterate, the women in this are all unappealing, a major mistake for this kind of flick. Unforgivable!

Good screen play well worth watching

[goldstein-3 · 10/10 · 16 January 2006]

As an award winning writer I really enjoyed the movie and found it very entertaining. It had a good plot, was scary and although some viewers had a bad rating for it I consider them not educated enough to see this as a good screen play well worth watching. Some of the actors though needed more polishing up and the monsters could have looked a little more realistic, but movie making takes a lot of money and a high risk of loosing it, so with what budget they had I rate this movie excellent for entertainment. As a collector of classic movies & cult movies I am considering owning this one and viewing it over and over again. I have written over forty books and several plays with many awards to my name so I figure I am a good judge of what is a good screen play and Deadly Species in my opinion is a good screen play and one I would like to own.

B-movie roller coaster derails at the loop di loop ending

[Dr. Gore · 25 April 2003]

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

A bunch of college students head out into the Everglades to look for something. Instead they find something else. People die and some other stuff happens.

It was a pretty decent B-movie up until the roller coaster derailing ending. There were naked breasts. Very good. There was blood, although not a lot. There was a thing stalking the party in the woods. But all the condiments in the world do not add up to a B-movie burger if the ending stinks.

*SPOILER ON ENDING*

There should never be a level of understanding between the monster and its victims. "Yes, yes. I understand. I was wrong all along. Thank you for killing me." Apparently the filmmakers couldn't afford to mess up the monster's rubber costume. It was a rental and had to be back by next Thursday. Stop making nice with monsters! They are there to be killed, not to be put on a pedestal as a swamp guardian. First I fear the swamp species, now I sympathize with their plight? Coaster going off the tracks! Fatality.