The Story:

The year is 2078, Col. Hendrickson is in charge of the few soldiers who have survived decades of political turmoil on the mining planet Sirius 6B. During the war, scientists created a perfect weapon for defense against all life forms. Their creation: intelligent robots who seek out their prey by pulse rate and they were named screamers after the high pitched squeals they make before attacking.

Over the years the Screamers have gained learning abilities that have helped them adapt and survive the elements, now feral, they have created their own agenda for war. The threat of Screamers has surpassed that of the rival Alliance forces as they have begun developing new and more advanced models. Hendrickson soon realises for survival he must negotiate a truce agreement in the Alliance territory deep within the wastelands.

Characters:

Dexter’s own Peter Weller plays the stone-faced, no nonsense Hendrickson. He is portrayed as a person who has somewhat lost his humanity over the years for survival. Hendrickson feels as though he has been abandoned by the higher government powers which pushes him to change his way of dealing with the situation at hand.

Hendrickson is accompanied by a young, skilled sniper named Ace who is unfamiliar with the dangers of Sirius 6B. The two meet up with Alliance leader Jessica who becomes Hendrickson’s love interest as they head back to base.

Effects/Gore:

The movie isn’t overly bloody, focusing more on sci-fi action over horror. The Screamers effects are great for it’s time and are achieved a number of ways mainly animatronic puppetry and stop-motion animation. The CG effects in the finale look really dated.

Final Headcount:

I’ve been hearing about Screamers for years, but never really knew what it was about. Having now seen it I can definately understand the hype. The movie is a trek through a wasteland of intelligent robots who have developed amazing camouflage for the elements. The story is never boring, the characters are well developed and the effects are impressive considering the year it was made.