Screamers

Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, Screamers follows Peter Weller’s Joe Hendricksson as he and other soldiers attempt to negotiate a truce on a planet ravaged by a protracted (and apparently devastating) conflict – with his efforts complicated by the pervasive presence of robotic killing machines. Director Christian Duguay kicks Screamers off with a comically dense information scroll that immediately establishes an atmosphere of confusion, and it’s clear, generally, that the viewer is held at arms length by Duguay’s inability to wholeheartedly explain and develop the ins and outs of this world – with the hands-off vibe compounded by a total lack of compelling or sympathetic protagonists. (Weller is as good as ever here, but his character’s motivations remain vague at best.) The narrative admittedly simplifies and grows slightly more interesting as it moves into its pared down midsection, and yet the fairly low-rent atmosphere and obvious instances of padding – the movie, in terms of the latter, is never entirely able to shake its concise origins – ultimately cement Screamers‘ place as a mostly ineffective adaptation.

*1/2 out of ****