Uriah43 "Miranda Hollander" (Helena Mattsson) is a professor at a small college who is both smart and beautiful. She lives with her uncle "Tom Hollander" (Ben Cross) due to the fact that both of her parents were killed when she was quite young. At least that is what she has been told. The truth of the matter is that she was created by Tom and this other scientist named "Forbes McGuire" (Dominic Keating) as an experiment using human DNA and mixing it with the same type of alien DNA used in the previous movies. Realizing how volatile this combination was previously, Tom was secretly injecting human hormones into Helena to keep the alien part of her from coming to the surface. However, when her body develops a tolerance for the hormone she passes out and is taken to the hospital. It's at this time that the alien briefly emerges and viciously kills several medical people attending her. Fortunately, Tom arrives and manages to get her out and then both head for Mexico to find Forbes and hopefully a cure to prevent this from happening again. But neither of them are prepared for what happens next. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie essentially followed the same basic outline as the previous films with a few minor twists and turns along the way. The acting was somewhat uneven and the plot seemed a little rushed in places which might cause some confusion for those who haven't seen at least one or two of the other pictures. In any case, this movie wasn't quite as good as the first two films and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Richard Hawes MGM's Species franchise, like Wishmaster and The Crow, is a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns. Roger Donaldson's 1995 hit Species was a stylish, self-consciously trashy homage to B-movies. One that has had its scenario rehashed three times now. One would expect a low-budget sequel to revel in sleaze and gore, but since 2004, when the concept was resurrected, 6 years after the cinema release of the disastrous Species 2 (1998), for the direct-to-DVD market, there has been a surprising resistance to the gratuitous ingredients of sex and violence. Species 3 paid little more than lip service to the desires of the target audience and the same is true here. Deviating from the plot line established by the first three films, which featured Natasha Henstridge, The Awakening is a standalone feature that references and reimagines the ideas of the first film. It posits an alternative scenario; what if the scientist played by Sir Ben Kingsley in the original had not kept the young girl like a rat in cage? What if he'd raised her like his own? This could have made for an intriguing exploration of nature versus nurture. Had Henstridge's Sil been allowed to develop in a more normal way could her dangerous, alien side have been suppressed? Alas there is little such depth to this cheap cash-in.Kingsley's role is reinterpreted by fellow British thespian Ben Cross, while Swede Helena Mattsson (who looks a bit like Nicole Kidman) takes over where Henstridge and Sunny Mabrey left off. With only four key cast members and no sign of even Michael Madsen, The Awakening is the weakest of exploitation films. Only the audience is being exploited. A studio like MGM isn't short of cash, so the explanation for the cheapness of this film is clear; they knew they can get away with it and turn an easy profit. Studios like The Asylum have their desperately limited resources to explain their crass and dissatisfactory efforts, but there's simply no excuse for a Species film to be as unspectacular as this.Feeling more like a cross between a vampire movie and a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein than a sexy sci-fi movie, Nick Lyon's film merely coasts on tenuous links to its predecessors. There are the HR Giger-inspired creature costumes and the promise of flesh is vaguely satisfied but there's not much effort or imagination. Were it not for a few gratuitous moments and aggressive curse words this could have been made for mainstream TV. Lyons does well to pay homage to the original film and its subtext but seems to have forgotten how tongue-in-cheek it all was. Species 4 should have taken things to a cartoonish extreme. Instead what could have been knowingly amusing is just po-faced and embarrassing. From Dominic Keating's terrible Aussie accent to the fact that the alien hybrids use their tongues as weapons, at one point they shoot icicle-like spears from their mouths in bullet-time, the experience is one of contradiction.The original Species really went for it. Utterly shameless titillation. The sequel went further, but in a misjudged, sleazy and misogynistic direction. Perhaps this is why the following two instalments have been so tame. The Awakening, as evidenced by its 15 rating, delivers the bare minimum that one could expect from a film with the Species title. Cautiously exploitative. Like its heroine, The Awakening is in denial, trying its best not to give in to its primitive instincts. There's the potential for a wild ride in its concept and its plot, but Lyons takes it so seriously that the only laughs come unintentionally. This is a film in which a back alley scientist creates sex-crazed human/alien hybrids that run around Mexico! One of them dresses as demonic nun and leaps between rooftops, lassoing potential prey with its tongue; this is potentially hilarious stuff! But it's stripped bare, like its heroine in the final act, devoid of emotion. This is a film of wasted opportunities.

Chris Smith The first Species movie was awesome, the second was a big disappointment, the third was surprisingly decent, but this is even worse than the second...somehow. Species: The Awakening left me checking how much was left of the it every five minutes or so. Though the plot was not that horrible, the movie is just not entertaining.After the first half hour, I must admit I thought this movie would actually be as good as the third. I was wrong, very wrong. As soon as the characters get to Mexico, this promising movie turns into a cheap, cheesy excuse for a horror movie. Why? There was no excitement. There is definitely not enough gore, almost all the sex scenes were unnecessary, and some stuff just didn't add up or made any sense whatsoever (the reason for Fisk's lies, the taxi-driver and the reason for Azura's actions when they arrive in Mexico - just to name a few).The reason for this getting a 3 and not a 1, is the first half hour of the movie, and the not-so-terrible acting. Apart from that, I'd suggest staying away from this movie, since it's by far the weakest Species movie so far, it makes Species II seem like a masterpiece. Even if this film wasn't a Species movie, it's still a movie to stay away from.

Nick Damian It just didn't work.Alien nun? WTF? Alien taxi driver? And he tries to kill his passenger for what reason? They live in Mexico? Where where they the rest of the time? So why are they suddenly just killing people when Ben Cross and the Blonde chick come into town? Wasn't good...wasn't scary, wasn't science fiction...just wasn't workable.The writers could have come up with something more creative for the paycheck...and the locations could have been chosen better too.Basically, it all could have been better.Yeah...as far as sequels go...it should be written by the same people - especially if the script was big enough to have a sequel.