Until the diverting special effects take center stage, this story, about an alien intelligence that builds an army out of flesh and metal, pathetically exploits genre conventions without generating self-reference, camp, or thrills.
Virus (1998)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:4
Rotten:37
Average Rating:3.1/10
Consensus: Despite its great special effects, this movie's predictability greatly undermines its intensity.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Passengers of a tugboat take refuge in a supposedly abandoned Russian research vessel to wait out a storm in the middle of the Atlantic. Little do they know that the crew has been killed by an... Passengers of a tugboat take refuge in a supposedly abandoned Russian research vessel to wait out a storm in the middle of the Atlantic. Little do they know that the crew has been killed by an alien life form which looks at humans as a virus to be eliminated. The elimination is done by combining parts of human bodies with machinery to create deadly life-exterminating creatures. From the producer of ALIENS and based on a series from Dark Horse Comics. [More]
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Joanna Pacula
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Joanna Pacula, Marshall Bell
Director: John Bruno
Director: John Bruno
Screenwriter: Chuck Pfarrer
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
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Reviews for Virus
A derivative sci-fi shocker that isn't likely to spark much interest beyond its target audience of undemanding genre fans.
While he can fling together a competent action or special effects sequence, his handling of the plot and actors is strictly routine.
a respectable little thriller that packs a couple of genuine jolts and gallon upon gallon of gore into a goofy, sometimes suspenseful yarn.
No one in the right mind would call this a good film, or even a decent one, but thankfully, rookie feature director John Bruno's romp is not a complete waste of celluloid.
Frankly, about 20 minutes into this dud, I was rooting for the alien beasties.
Even Donald Sutherland in the potentially juicy role as a self-serving old sea dog, is wasted in this big budget ill.
When the automated robotic lab starts using dead bodies as biological material to create killing machines programmed to believe man is harmful and must be destroyed.
bathed in an incessant gloom that makes it look like one of the comic book artists who inspired this sci-fi/horror hybrid spilled his ink blotter on the film's negatives
An unpretentious, amusing thrill-a-minute sci-fi horror thriller / monster movie that plugs right into fears of a Y2K crisis.
Besides the bloodthirsty E.T., tugboat navigator Curtis must deal with something even worse: lousy acting from her fellow cast members.
The dialogue tends toward the obvious, and the characters are constantly explaining what is happening to one another.
The conventions of the genre are well-established, and Virus uninspiredly copies them all.
How many cliches can one film incorporate or steal from other movies?
A disgusting, ugly, and downright depressing excuse for a thriller, and that's what makes it good.
Why tell a tale -- especially so unimaginatively -- which has been told so many times?
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| 43% 43% | The Proposal |
| 26% 26% | Land of the Lost |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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