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Bruce Boa, Jason Cavalier, Roy Dupuis, Liliana Komorowska, Andrew Lauer ... see more see more... , Henry Ramer , Jennifer Rubin , Peter Weller , Ron White , Tom Berry , Leni Parker , Charles Powell , Michael Caloz , Sylvain Masse

This action-packed sci-fi thriller is set upon the planet Sirius 6B in the year 2078. The planet has been decimated by a vast nuclear war. Many have survived, but their continued survival is threatene... read more read more...d by the dreaded screamers, strange shape-changing mechanical creatures who use razor sharp knives to hack up any life-form in their way. They earned their name because when they kill, they make a horrible high pitched sound. The first screamer makes its appearance as a lone soldier approaches a bunker. He has come to deliver an important message from the NEB to its enemy the Alliance. Unfortunately, the low flying screamer gets to the soldier first, and quicker than Popeil's Vegamatic, slices and dices the fellow into tiny pieces. Later a jet crashes near the bunker. Aboard it is a nuclear reactor. One man survives the crash. The man, Ace, knows how to make a bomb with the reactor. Alliance-leader Col. Joseph Hendricksson takes Ace and they travel across the great irradiated desert to met with the NEB leaders. Along the way they find a small boy and though they don't want to, bring him along. Unfortunately, by the time they get to the NEB headquarters, the screamers have killed all but Becker, a tough soldier, Ross, who is nearly mad, and sexy smuggler Jessica. When Becker and Ross see the boy, they think he is a screamer and kill him. They are right and soon the little group find themselves surrounded by the hellish killing machines, all of which have taken the shapes of small boys. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Flixster Users

45% liked it

8,698 ratings

Critics

30% liked it

30 critics

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Christian Duguay

Release Date: January 26, 1996

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DVD Release Date: September 6, 2000

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Stats: 471 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (471)

  • garyX
    September 13, 2011
    garyX
    A collection of soldiers and refugees from a civil war on an abandoned colony planet are hunted by an army of self replicating killing machines that have evolved from their own mechanical booby traps. Screamers actually starts with a lot of promise as the usual sci-fi cliches are... read more tempered with some interesting politics and an underlying message about the dangers of meaningless cold wars and the ultimate price to pay for the arms races that accompany them. The no-name cast acquit themselves reasonably well and despite the variable quality of some of the effects, it provides some atmospheric and tense scenes as the motley crew of survivors attempt to evade their unseen enemies. Unfortunately the script didn't seem to know where to go from there and it all gets a little twist happy and silly by the end. But the biggest problem with Screamers is it treads the same ground as some of the best sci-fi films of all time; namely Aliens and The Terminator and seriously suffers in comparison, especially considering how low budget and straight to DVD it all feels. It's not terrible though, and a strong performance by Weller and some inventive sequences make it a reasonable way to wile away an hour and a half. If you haven't seen either of the aforementioned classics though, there's really no contest.
  • briandeguelle
    March 22, 2008
    briandeguelle
    Great Film and a good performace for Peter Weller.Nice idea for a movie and the soundtrack is fitting.
    It's a blast.
  • deano
    January 27, 2008
    deano
    This sci-fi film is fine, but slow-paced and predictable.
  • jabcdef
    October 29, 2007
    jabcdef
    Well made if somewhat corny sci-fi. Worth a look.
  • husky10000years
    September 3, 2008
    husky10000years
    Based on a Phillip K. Dick story, this movie delivers, but suffers because of the apparently tight budget. The special effects feel fated when watched today, but they are not too bad. Peter Weller is as usual decent enough in the lead and the rest of the actors left... read more rather much to wish for though. A sappy ending lowers the grade a notch, but this is still worth watching.
  • EbertsLittleApprentice
    September 25, 2009
    EbertsLittleApprentice
    So Distraught in it's own vien attempt of a Thrilling, Out-of-this world Sci-Fi extraveganzsa, that it slightly entertained, and had a plot so loose and disfigured, I felt inclined to ask who ever wrote it, to stiop writing Screenplays.
  • MightySparks
    September 16, 2010
    MightySparks
    When I first saw this, the main thing I remembered was that there was a cool Mozart song at the start. Yeah, don't ask, I was young. I haven't read the book/story it was based on, but it was really enjoyable. Although it was predictable, I think that was mainly due to my being ab... read morele to predict pretty much everything in movies, I love science fiction and this is an awesome movie.
  • matthewtherault
    February 25, 2010
    matthewtherault
    Oh this was one of the greats. This was one of those movies that had a huge production budget, but flopped on the big screen. Why you ask? I don't know. I thought this movie was great. However, scifi is a genre that is extremely temperamental.
  • Surfer567Rosa
    June 18, 2009
    Surfer567Rosa
    "don't you think the blade wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices we created will eventually become a danger to us?"

    "no."
  • MrGrimlock
    October 4, 2008
    MrGrimlock
    I saw this when I was trying to get the Midnight Meat Train on fearnet.I guess this was Peter Weller's first movie after Robocop.For an obvious low budgeted movie he puts in a good performance.In 2078 after a civil war on a planet, the survivors are offered a cease fire.After bei... read moreng nuked from The N.E.B. , the alliance made a weapon called screamers to take out ground forces.In their own words they made a machine to make them turned it on and ran like hell.Fast forward 12 years and they evolved.Weller's character,Hendricksson and a young recruit must cross a wasteland to negotiate peace.When they get there they find 3 survivors because new screamers have infiltrated the bunker.will they make it back before the new screamer reveal itself.Low budget but interesting enough to make you watch it till the end.

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Critic Reviews

Ken Tucker
July 6, 2010
Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly

Based on a short story by the great nutball sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, Screamers is more like a high-pitched rip-off of Alien. Full Review

Brendan Kelly
March 26, 2009
Brendan Kelly, Variety

A fun, fast-paced futuristic thriller with enough jolts per frame to keep even the most impatient action fan happy. Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 20, 2003
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Until it succumbs to one cliche too many, Screamers, which was directed by Christian Duguay, does an efficient job of generating a stomach-knotting tension. Full Review

Jack Mathews
February 13, 2001
Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times

There's nothing exhilarating or enjoyable in any of this. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Screamers oozes atmosphere. It's a dark film that borrows heavily from the likes of the Alien films, Dune, Blade Runner, and John Carpenter's updated The Thing. Full Review

Susan Wloszczyna
January 1, 2000
Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today

A pile of recycled space junk, it alienates even while flinging body parts into the audience's yawning faces.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's not exactly a bad movie; it's made with a certain imagination and intelligence. But its future is so grungy and grim it makes our current mess look like Utopia. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

In its last minutes Screamers becomes the last thing it intends to be -- laughable. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
July 5, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

not as cool as it could be

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

The design and effects teams have lent scale and impact to the futuristic locations and sets. If only Duguay's flashy, aimless direction had succeeded in filling these barren wastes and antiseptic int... Full Review

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    • Joseph Hendricksson: Where do you go when there's nowhere else to go?
    • Jessica: ...home.
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Screamers Trivia

  • In which of these sci-fi movies did Roy Dupuis play an antagonist pretending to be an injured soldier?  Answer »
  • What are the common denominator of these movies? blade runner total recall minority report screamers paycheck a scanner darkly next  Answer »
  • What author do these movies have in common? 1. Blade Runner 2. Total Recall 3. Minority Report 4. A Scanner Darkly 5. Screamers  Answer »
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