Dr. Susan McCallister and Dr. Jim Whitlock are doing brain research on sharks in a remote facility in the ocean. One of the sharks escapes. Even though it is quickly recaptured, the negative publicity makes the corporate backers get cold feet and threaten to shut the facility down. Executive Russell Franklin returns with Susan to investigate and gives Susan and Jim until 'the end of the weekend' to come up with results that will justify their continued investment in the research. Problems quickly pile up when a powerful tropical storm hit the facility, and the sharks not only display human-like intelligence, but start flooding the facility, picking off the humans one by one!

Deep Blue Sea is the right blend of thrills, chills, and—most importantly—intelligence. It also has a surprising amount of self-awareness, with a lot of that provided by LL Cool J's character: cook Sherman "Preacher" Dudley. His is an intriguing mix of common sense and religion. The other characters are more or less standard for this kind of movie, but they are all performed equally well.

Nevertheless, the film is a great ride because it keeps throwing unexpected twists and turns in an original setting ("We go down to get up.") The film is also surprising as it kills off the apparently sacrosanct characters unexpectedly. Add to that the unpredictability of human-intelligence enhanced sharks, and one is in for a wild ride!

Casey Conner is the dedicated and constantly bullied photographer for the Herrington High School's student newspaper. He is the assistant to spiteful Delilah Profitt, the paper's editor-in-chief and head cheerleader. Her boyfriend, Stan Rosado, is thinking about quitting the football team that he captains to pursue academic studies. Marybeth Hutchinson is a new transfer to the school, and attempts to make friends with Stokely Mitchell, who has spread rumours about herself that she's a lesbian so that she can become an outcast. Hutchinson soon develops a crush on Zeke Tyler—a rebel repeating his senior year—who sells illegal items to other students. After football practice, while Rosado is having a shower, the school's elderly teacher Mrs. Brummel comes in, naked, and in a state of panic. Rosado attempts to comfort her, but her skin begins peeling off, and she apparently dies. Later, other school staff tell him, Conner, and Profitt that Mrs. Brummel is suffering from cancer, and they ought to be quiet about what they saw to protect her from further trauma for the remainder of the school year.

During lunch break, Conner discovers a strange cocoon-like creature on the football field. Accompanied by Profitt, Rosado, Tyler, Hutchinson, and Mitchell—who has a crush on Rosado—Conner shows it to the science teacher, who believes it to be a new species. They all observe that not only does the creature rehydrate and grow in water, but it is capable of self-replication and has a hunger for human flesh! Later, Conner and Profitt sneak into the teachers' lounge to find a story. However, they witness the football coach and another teacher force one of the creatures that Conner discovered into the school nurse, who apparently dies. In their panic, they also discover the corpse of Mrs. Brummel in the closet they were hiding in! The teenagers flee, and call the police. However, Conner and Profitt's claims are dismissed, and they now have the full attention of whatever or whoever is behind the strange happenings at the school!

The Faculty is a unique film. On the one hand, it has an all-star cast and an A-list director. However, it's story is firmly in B movie territory. That said, Robert Rodriguez has plenty of fun with the film, throwing in reference after reference to other films. In fact, part of the fun is trying to identify the classic horror movies in which you first saw a particular special effect or other reference. Perhaps the highlight of this film is Rodriguez's subversive style of film making that makes the movie smart, without taking itself too seriously.

The only drawback to the film is the low quality 90's CG animation in the later parts of the film. They weren't exactly good at the time, and have a tendency to knock the viewer out of the film. Nevertheless, what the film gets right is the portrayal of teenage alienation in high school. This is something that the heroes have a hard time overcoming even when they have to start working together to save the day. It's thought provoking that part of the horror element comes from the protagonists being forced into a world were everyone is the same and gets along, but at the cost of their freedom and individuality.

Another thought provoking aspect is the film's reinvention of the fear of female sexuality. All the girls and women in the film subtly or overtly reveal their hidden sexuality and become more sexually aggressive after being taken over by the invaders. On the other hand, the teenagers in the film have to come to terms with and overcome their fear of the apparently 'monstrous' aspects of female sexuality—in order to become adults and save the day. It's especially telling that the ultimate hero of the film is the male character closest to his feminine side.

Police constable Ichabod Crane is dispatched to the titular village that has had a series of decapitations. In investigating the murder mystery, Crane comes face-to-face with a larger conspiracy and the supernatural.

What strikes you first is the beautiful cinematography of the countryside that seems like the film is a recreation of autumnal scenes by famous painters. In addition, the colour pallet starts extremely muted—almost monochrome—and grows in breadth and intensity as Crane's journey sees him evolve and acquire a more well-rounded view of the world.

The movie is populated by a pantheon of well known actors and actresses. Admittedly, when I first saw the film I was only aware of a small portion of them. However, decades of film appreciation later, I recognize most of them and can appreciate Dir. Burton's genius at helping the viewer differentiate between the rather large number of similar villagers with them.

The film earns its frights, and has a creepy feeling throughout. There is some gore—making it unsuitable for younger viewers—but it is much more like the stuff seen in a CSI investigation than it is a slasher film.

The only drawback is that the film is a little unclear on who did what for whom in the conspiracy. Nevertheless, the film makes up for that with very clear depictions of the ringleader's motivations and how that person came to be able to control the Headless Horseman.

During the SETI program, Earth's scientists send out transmissions with information about Earth and its inhabitants in the hopes of finding life beyond the Earth. They then receive transmissions from an alien source on how to create an endless fuel supply with minimal input. Therefore, the scientists assume that it is a friendly alien species. In a second transmission, the scientists receive information about an alien DNA sequence along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. A government team led by Xavier Fitch proceeds with a genetic experiment attempting to induce a human female–alien hybrid. One of the hundred experimental ova produces a girl names Sil, who looks like a normal human but develops into a 12-year-old in 3 months. Sil's violent outbursts during sleep make the scientists consider her a threat. One day, they try to kill her using cyanide gas, but she breaks out of her containment cell and escapes. The government assembles a team composed of anthropologist Dr Stephen Arden, molecular biologist Dr Laura Baker, "empath" Dan Smithson, and mercenary Preston "Press" Lennox, to track and destroy Sil. Sil matures rapidly into an adult in her early twenties and makes her way to Los Angeles. Her body strength, regenerative ability, and intelligence make tracking her extremely difficult. The scientist fear she may mate with human males and produce offspring that could eventually eliminate the human race. Sil is intent on producing offspring as soon as possible, and kills several people to prevent them from notifying the authorities, or simply to just use their clothing!

Species was billed as a successor of sorts to the Alien franchise, even enlisting H. R. Giger for the creature designs. However, despite its best intentions and some good sequences, it doesn't attain that level of greatness. The first two-thirds of Species is good, engaging and suspenseful—especially when Sil is learning how to operate in human society and begins attempting to outsmart her trackers. The last third, particularly when Sil starts being rendered entirely in CG, is disappointing. If the people behind such films as Alien or Predator can fully realize an alien without CG, why couldn't the people behind Species do the same?

Another problem with the film is the near instant development of the alien creature. This film attempts to have its cake and eat it: earlier, it takes months for the human-alien hybrid to develop from a single cell into a child. Later, when the protagonists make it solely with its own DNA, it takes mere minutes to develop into a threatening worm-like creature. What was it feeding on? Air itself? I understand that the production team wanted a suspense-filled scene with two characters trapped in a room with a lethal creature, but the whole premise defies belief.

Nevertheless, what I really liked about the film was when they were tracking the alien by credit cards and other "low tech" (or non sci-fi) means. The film also got the depiction of psychics just right. A lot of the credit for that goes to Forest Whitaker's pitch-perfect performance. That said, the highlight of the film ought to be the costuming—Natasha Henstridge's white top in the nightclub scene in particular.

Val McKee and Earl Bassett are handymen working in Perfection, Nevada, an isolated settlement in the high desert and surrounded by mountains on three sides. They have grown tired of their jobs and leave for the nearest town: Bixby. As they are driving away, they discover the dead body of Edgar Deems, perched atop an electrical tower and still grasping both the crossbeams and a rifle. Jim Wallace, the town's doctor, determines that Edgar died of dehydration, apparently having been too afraid to climb down. Later, shepherd Fred and his flock are killed by a creature that appears to burrow through the ground. Val and Earl discover his severed head, and believe that a serial killer is on the loose. Two construction workers, working on the only road out of town, ignore Val and Earl's warning and are killed by the same creature—their deaths causing a rock slide that blocks the road. After warning the town's residents and discovering that the phone lines and road access have been cut, Val and Earl borrow horses to ride to Bixby. En route, they come across Jim and his wife's buried station wagon near their under-construction home, but the couple is missing. Val and Earl press on until an enormous burrowing creature erupts from the ground and consumes one of their horses. Fleeing, they run into Rhonda LeBeck, a graduate student conducting seismology tests in the area. The three become trapped on top of a cluster of nearby boulders by the creature. She informs them that there are four creatures burrowing through the area. Not only do the trio have to escape to safety, they also have to get back to the town before it's too late!

Tremors is a fun movie. The film is a perfect mix between comedy and horror. Above and beyond that, it focuses on its characters, and not only shares the spotlight with its supporting and minor characters, but lets each and every one of them make vital contributions to the story. As a horror film, Tremors also smartly employs both misdirection—initially suggesting that the creatures are something completely different than what they turn out to be—as well as not explaining what they are and where they came from. The film lets its characters speculate on some possible origins, but as they bicker about almost everything, they themselves can't even agree on an one!

The highlight of the film is the characterization—viewers will be hard pressed to not be able to say something unique about each one, even the minor characters. The practical effects are also especially noteworthy. The concept of a burrowing creature stalking prey in the desert like a shark sounds deceptively simple, but is hard to do realistically. This film's artists have succeed in not only visualizing what it would be like for surface dwellers, but also from a "worm's eye" view as well! The movie also gives the creatures intelligence, and it is great seeing them not only outsmarting the humans, but being outsmarted themselves. Nevertheless, what makes a film a great one is its characters, and despite this film's B-movie origins, its characters put it right up there with the best!