What lies beyond this blue little marble? Parasites, attractive anthropomorphic beings? An army of polydontal predators, all of the above? We don’t know. Yet with curiosity as our co-pilot, we push on forward, into potential peril, not knowing what is out there, what its intentions may be, and how it will demonstrate those intentions. In 1998, a sequel turned to the stars for a surprisingly political evolution in Species II.

After much effort, humanity has finally landed on Mars. The heroes of this historic mission receive a welcome return, especially handsome Captain Ross. When Ross begins fraternising with the civilians back on earth, breaking quarantine rules, all hell breaks loose. As the women Ross comes into contact with, violently give birth to similar Alien-hybrids from Species. With the same stakes as before, it is now up to the veteran expertise of Press, and a more docile version of Sil to stop this alien onslaught, using all the tools at her disposal.

Martian political Thriller feels like a peculiar choice for the late 90s thriller to go, with everybody focusing on cyberspace, it is a concept that feels a couple of years out of date on paper when you watch it in action. Those fears are quickly remedied. It is certainly compelling, with James Cromwell giving it his all, as the patriarch who sees his son’s unprecedented expedition as a stepping stone to the Oval Office. His son feels like an interesting character too, managing to cast a certain reflection of a certain fictional political dynasty, especially with his unwilling involvement with the Alien’s plans gives the whole film a Manchurian flavour.

It is nice that both Natasha Henstridge and Michael Madson manage to return, albeit in reduced roles, but any connective tissue is welcomed, even if they don’t pick up on that rat-based plot threat from the first film. Henstridge is here playing a more docile version of the creature that caused all the havoc in the first film. Press also returns, carrying on his character from the events three years ago. For returning fans, this film charters into newer territory by amping up the amount of gore and nudity but managing to craft a fun thriller around the results.

Following on from an idea that captivated the sci-fi market in the mid-90s, Species II turns to new Planets and the Stars and Stripes for a fun, politically-tinged thriller. It’s liberal with the amount of skin and the amount of gore to push the entertainment stakes further for new and returning fans. It is pleasing that they managed to take the premise of the first film and spin it in a newer direction, but also in a way that allows the spice that made Species flourish. Species II shows that sometimes evolution is a good thing.

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