Ga naar registratie

Benefits at Work
header_login_header_asset

Species: 2 Deleted Scenes

In the pantheon of 1990s sci-fi horror, few films occupy a space as uniquely schlocky and ambitious as Species (1995). It was a high-concept blockbuster: a gorgeous, genetically engineered alien-human hybrid (Natasha Henstridge) escapes a government lab and goes on a mating-fueled killing spree in Los Angeles. It was lurid, terrifying, and surprisingly successful.

Instead, we have a handsome mess. And somewhere, on a dusty hard drive in MGM’s vault, or in a collector’s basement, a time-coded VHS tape holds the real Species 2 —still waiting to be bred back into existence. species 2 deleted scenes

The core premise is brilliant: what if the hybrid’s drive wasn’t just sex, but a desperate, biological need to breed a new species that would conquer humanity? In the released film, we see Ross seduce and kill a trio of women (including a memorable, stomach-churning birthing scene in a car). But the connective tissue—the psychological horror of a man losing his humanity, the political cover-up, and the tragic arc of Eve (Henstridge’s original hybrid, now a conflicted ally)—feels severely truncated. In the pantheon of 1990s sci-fi horror, few

Then came Species 2 (1998). Directed by Peter Medak (of The Changeling fame) and written by Chris Brancato, the sequel attempted to broaden the mythology. It introduced Patrick Ross (Justin Lazard), a heroic astronaut infected with alien DNA on a Mars mission, who returns to Earth as an even more predatory, rapid-breeding monster. The film is infamous for its extreme gore, grotesque body horror, and a plot revolving around presidential politics and alien hive-mind strategies. Instead, we have a handsome mess

Test screenings found it “too depressing” and “slow.” The studio wanted Eve to be a tougher action heroine.

Context. Ross isn’t just contaminated by a spore; he’s chosen by a cosmic horror. His mission becomes a tragic inevitability, not an accident. 2. The Political Subplot: The President’s DNA (+4 minutes) In the theatrical film, President Phil Hayden (James Pickens Jr.) is a peripheral figure. The deleted scenes give him a harrowing backstory. A flashback reveals that the original Species program was indirectly funded by a black-ops project to create “super-soldiers.” The President himself was given a low-grade genetic tweak decades earlier—a fact that makes him (and his Secret Service agents) “compatible” with Ross’s breeding imperative.

Until that workprint leaks, we’re left with the novelization, the script, and our own imaginations. And in the world of Species , imagination might be the most dangerous thing of all. Have you ever seen a copy of the Species 2 workprint? Share your memories on the Lost Media Wiki forums. And to the studio executives reading this: release the Medak cut. The audience is ready.

In the pantheon of 1990s sci-fi horror, few films occupy a space as uniquely schlocky and ambitious as Species (1995). It was a high-concept blockbuster: a gorgeous, genetically engineered alien-human hybrid (Natasha Henstridge) escapes a government lab and goes on a mating-fueled killing spree in Los Angeles. It was lurid, terrifying, and surprisingly successful.

Instead, we have a handsome mess. And somewhere, on a dusty hard drive in MGM’s vault, or in a collector’s basement, a time-coded VHS tape holds the real Species 2 —still waiting to be bred back into existence.

The core premise is brilliant: what if the hybrid’s drive wasn’t just sex, but a desperate, biological need to breed a new species that would conquer humanity? In the released film, we see Ross seduce and kill a trio of women (including a memorable, stomach-churning birthing scene in a car). But the connective tissue—the psychological horror of a man losing his humanity, the political cover-up, and the tragic arc of Eve (Henstridge’s original hybrid, now a conflicted ally)—feels severely truncated.

Then came Species 2 (1998). Directed by Peter Medak (of The Changeling fame) and written by Chris Brancato, the sequel attempted to broaden the mythology. It introduced Patrick Ross (Justin Lazard), a heroic astronaut infected with alien DNA on a Mars mission, who returns to Earth as an even more predatory, rapid-breeding monster. The film is infamous for its extreme gore, grotesque body horror, and a plot revolving around presidential politics and alien hive-mind strategies.

Test screenings found it “too depressing” and “slow.” The studio wanted Eve to be a tougher action heroine.

Context. Ross isn’t just contaminated by a spore; he’s chosen by a cosmic horror. His mission becomes a tragic inevitability, not an accident. 2. The Political Subplot: The President’s DNA (+4 minutes) In the theatrical film, President Phil Hayden (James Pickens Jr.) is a peripheral figure. The deleted scenes give him a harrowing backstory. A flashback reveals that the original Species program was indirectly funded by a black-ops project to create “super-soldiers.” The President himself was given a low-grade genetic tweak decades earlier—a fact that makes him (and his Secret Service agents) “compatible” with Ross’s breeding imperative.

Until that workprint leaks, we’re left with the novelization, the script, and our own imaginations. And in the world of Species , imagination might be the most dangerous thing of all. Have you ever seen a copy of the Species 2 workprint? Share your memories on the Lost Media Wiki forums. And to the studio executives reading this: release the Medak cut. The audience is ready.