DVD: Species III - Unrated Edition

Assumed dead, alien hybrid Eve gives birth to a daughter as her final act. The girl is taken by a college professor who plans to use her to create a perfect alien species. However, a group of half-breed aliens are trying to track her down and use her DNA to save themselves...


“Species III is about really hot naked alien babes,” says J.P. Pitoch in a featurette on this DVD and we couldn’t sum it up better. The original film made the best use of the naked female form in sci-fi since the space vampire from Lifeforce and that tradition is carried on here.

Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first two movies as the opening scene contains a voiceover with flashbacks to what went before. Unfortunately, this kind of heavy-handed plotting is obvious throughout, reaching a peak when Professor Abbot (Robert Knepper) tells Dean (Robin Dunne) to “take his access card it could come in handy”. This is an odd first reaction to finding someone dead in your house, but it fits in with a previous piece of dialogue that clearly signposted the ending.

Bad plotting aside, fans of the series get more of what they want – women who aren’t shy about their bodies and aren’t afraid to tear people apart. Don’t be fooled by the word ‘Unrated’ though, this movie is not as hardcore as it likes to think. There’s less gore than true splatter fans would like and the (one and only!) sex scene doesn’t appear until well into the film.

The biggest difference between this and the previous films is that Species III was shot to be straight-to-video. The effects haven’t suffered much considering the budget reduction but the focus has clearly moved towards a more lucrative market. Instead of the older alien female played by Natasha Henstridge (who reprizes her role briefly) all the characters fit into a college setting.

All the right boxes are ticked as far as the extras are concerned. A passable commentary by director Brad Turner, writer Ben Ripley and actor Robin Dunne and four ‘making of’ featurettes make up the bulk, with an extra effects featurette hidden on the second screen. A behind-the-scenes photo gallery with some interesting shots of the cast adorned in make up rounds out the package.

Overall, formula is king in this third episode and if you’ve seen either of the first two Species films you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Buy Species III on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com