When the Viking 2 lander mysteriously returns to Earth (it should be on Mars), it is taken to a military complex for study. Due to a conflict between scientists Case Montgomery (Cotter Smith) and Gracia Scott (Deirdre O’Connell), and Col. Jessie Pratt (Robert Wisdom), a life form escapes. The complex is sealed, leaving the humans to find the alien before it destroys them.
Quick Review: Also known as Lifeform, this is run-of-the-mill, solitary-alien invasion stuff. The scientists want to study it; the military wants to destroy it. They all get locked together in one of those warehouse-type buildings that must be cheap to rent around L.A. The first third has plenty of arguments between the liberal scientist and the conservative military-man. The second third is a bug hunt. None of it’s bad, but it’s not very interesting either.
I’ll give them credit for the final alien design (not the ape-like intermediate one). It doesn’t appear until the end, but for a low-budget production, it’s fairly innovative. And the ending is a step up from what I expected.
A yet-to-be-famous Ryan Phillippe shows up in far too many scenes as the only private who doesn’t scream and run.