Movie Review - Screamers 2: The Hunting (2009)

A die hard SCIFI fan would have to sit through this movie. What I’m referring to is “Screamers 2: The Hunting” (2009). Now, I really enjoyed the original “Screamers” (1995) movie and thought I would give the sequel a try. Oh, Oh… my mistake. I mean it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t good. Okay maybe it was terrible. It’s too bad that we wait years for a follow up. The movie was not even released at the theatre but rather ‘direct to DVD’ and you just know there is nothing good that comes from those. The original movie was based on a novel “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick. I just love the movies that are based on his works.

The movie in no way picks up from the original but it does takes place on the same planet Sirius 6B. It follows a crew of rescue military personnel sent from earth to investigate an SOS distress signal. They land and are greeted with attacks from a small faction of survivors and ground screamers. The crew later meets up with Guy - the leader of the survivors and takes cover in an underground military bunker. The real problems start when some captured facsimile human screamers are accidentally released and the bunker is compromised by a horde of screamers. With the very little survivors left they make their way to an abandoned station searching for power modules for the ship and meet up with the doctor responsible for making screamers. By this time there are more screamers on the way and in just a few short hours the planet will be bombed with meteors. So, needless to say only two escape back to the ship (Victoria and Guy) and embark for the voyage home in stasis. 2 months later, Victoria is pregnant and with a screamer child who is Guy’s. The ending is what really ruined any creditability that the film had up to that point.

The storyline was weak, the script was terrible. At times it seemed like it was predictable. With this movie, I pretty much knew that Guy was a screamer. The acting was okay. The effects were not bad but at times I found it a little cheesy. The film is just all around awkward that is not worthy to be viewed again. I would rate this 4/10 and note that I wish it was better. I do recommend watching the original. It is definitely a classic.