History YMMV / Species

* HeartwarmingMoments: It's bad news for humanity, but when Sil feels the conception and growth of her child, she just looks so awestruck and delighted. She even shares the sensation with Arden when he doubts her, just wanting to share this moment with the man who made it possible. [[MoodWhiplash She kills him immediately]], but that's because he immediately puts two and two together [[OhCrap and realizes what he's done]].

* FoeYay: One-sided; due to Sil and Eve's natural instinct to mate, they seem to develop a minor attraction to Preston. However Preston sees them both as monsters that have to be destroyed.

* NightmareFuel: Many of the deaths are brutal (such as Sil ripping the spine of a woman), the alien transformations are as disgusting as the ones from ''Alien'', and even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4aydQSu7-E the first movie's soundtrack]] contributes to a creepy atmosphere, while maintaining a sense of innocence and naievete that makes Sil such a relatable (and thus, all the more horrifying) villain.
** In the first film, the GrossUpCloseup of a homeless man's rotted golden teeth as he gets closer to a young Sil. He attempts to rape her, only for Sil to successfully fend him off and tosses him against the boxcar wall with her extraterrestrial strength. When he dies, blood pours out of his ears and mouth and his body is left ''twisted'' and broken beyond recognition.
** In the first film, the first set of nightmares Sil before waking up inside a boxcar shows two large extraterrestrials mating underwater. Followed by a snake hissing and lunging up at the camera.
** In the first film, Michelle Williams does an excellent job at conveying the agony and terror young Sil feels as her body moves forward with its life cycle without her consent or understanding.
** In the first film, a train conductor searches around for the young Sil and discovers her large alien cocoon inside the bathroom. When the train conductor gets close enough to inspect it, [[JumpScare a human/alien hybrid hand suddenly pops out from the cocoon snarling]] and grabs the woman and kills her. Then a fully grown Sil emerges bloody from her cocoon and stands over the woman's corpse.
** In the first film, Sil has a second set of nightmares of a train in the shape of a skull charging in close behind her as she runs on the train tracks in her hospital gown. Followed by gross close-up images of many earthworms crawling all over.
** When a woman stops to use a restroom in the club, Sil is heard growling as her hands burst through the walls to rip the woman's spinal cord out of her body and break it in two.
** In the first film, a man Sil believed at first to be a viable suitor and mate gets hostile and attempts to take her. Being an extraterrestrial, she responds appropriately by giving him a kiss and using her tongue as a deadly appendage weapon to bite through the man's head out the back of his mouth.
** A woman being kidnapped, held bound and tied up, having her finger severed without anesthesia, and left to die in a deadly gas tank and city electric transformer combined car collision. All because she helped Sil.

** The first set of nightmares Sil before waking up inside a boxcar shows two large extraterrestrials mating underwater. Followed by a snake hissing and lunging up at the camera.

** In the first film, Sil has nightmares of a train in the shape of a skull charging in close behind her as she runs on the train tracks in her hospital gown. Followed by gross close-up images of many earthworms crawling all over.
** When a woman stops to use a restroom in the club, Sil is heard growling as her hands burst through the walls to rip the woman's spinal cord out and in two.

** In the first film, the GrossUpCloseup of a homeless man's rotted golden teeth as he gets closer to a young Sil. He attempts to rape her, only for Sil to successfully fend him off and tosses him against the boxcar wall with her extraterrestrial strength. When he dies, his body is left ''twisted'' and broken beyond recognition.

** The GrossUpCloseup of a homeless man's rotted golden teeth as he gets closer to a young Sil. He attempts to rape her only for Sil to fend him off and toss him against the boxcar wall with her extraterrestrial strength. When he does, his body is twisted beyond recognition.

** Sil vs Fitch. To what extent was Sil killing people instinct, and how much was self-defense? Was Fitch the ''real'' villain for having Sil RaisedInALab and then resorting to killing her when she outlived her apparent usefulness? Would Sil have been less lethal and more well-adjusted if she grew up in a loving home? How much is the first film [[AlasPoorVillain a tragedy simply because Sil never had a chance at being normal]]?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The alien species that sent the message with the information to create Sil. Was it all an evil plan to exterminate the human population over the Earth and replace it with Sil's offspring as it looks, or it was a genuinely friendly attempt to share biotechnology that got screwed because Fitch and company couldn't handle it the right way? (Expanded materials state the former, but the films themselves leave it open.) Sara from the third film being a 'purer' hybrid and as a result lacking the urge to mate with humans (or eviscerate those she doesn't find suitable) and Eve being far more benevolent than Sil provides more fuel to the fire.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The alien species that sent the message with the information to create Sil. Was it all an evil plan to exterminate the human population over the Earth and replace it with Sil's offspring as it looks, or it was a genuinely friendly attempt to share biotechnology that got screwed because Finch and company couldn't handle it the right way? (Expanded materials state the former, but the films themselves leave it open.) Sara from the third film being a 'purer' hybrid and as a result lacking the urge to mate with humans (or eviscerate those she doesn't find suitable) and Eve being far more benevolent than Sil provides more fuel to the fire.

* IdiotPlot: Regardless of whether Sil was a failed peaceful contact between races or a wicked alien device to destroy humanity, the first film would have never happened if only Finch and the US government had not been so extraordinarily idiotic in their handling of the Sil project. They start the chain by deciding to terminate her, an experimental subject they struggled a lot to create, only because she had what in any regular little girl would be mere night terrors. They then try to do it while she is awake and painfully aware of it, even although they don't know the extent of her skills in case she tries to resist, which is why they are killing her in the first place. Then it turns out that the security of her containment chamber was non-existent, not to talk about the entire facility, which, aside from being pathetically ease to escape from, also happens to be near some train tracks that lead to a densely populated urban center! But that's not the last, as Baker later deduces they didn't even try to educate Sil in human customs and values, despite the obvious fact that her cooperation would have been desirable, if not downright vital, for their experimental goals. And finally, in order to solve the mess they have caused themselves, they just send a very small and unsupported (and judging for their attitudes, very unprepared) search team instead of calling for an official police manhunt with the pretext Sil was a female serial killer or something similar to keep the masquerade. Really, Finch and his people weren't just incompetent: they were basically asking for humanity to be destroyed.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: As Sil is closing in on her next victim, Press and Laura are driving to his place while Laura tries to call him on the car phone. He's a bit distracted by Sil throwing him a TwoPersonPoolParty, so Laura gets his answering machine.
-->'''Laura''': Should I leave a message?\\
'''Press''': Yeah. Tell him he's about to copulate with a creature from outer space. ''(laughs)''\\
'''Laura''': ''(slightly amused)'' Copulate, huh?\\
'''Press''': Yeah.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The original has impressive prosthetics, and well done morphing effects (specially in contrast to the dodgy CG in the climax). The sequels, less so.

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: The ''Species'' films are mainly known for one thing: Natasha Henstridge (or her equivalents in the third and fourth movies) taking her clothes off a lot.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Dr. Xavier Fitch says they made the alien female because they assumed she'd be more docile, which [[YouNeedToGetLaid Preston finds funny]] and [[CriticalResearchFailure is actually untrue]] as female members in Earthly predatory species tend to be more aggressive than males (it's mostly mammals who buck the trend). But by doing so they actually may have bought themselves more time, considering a female only can have one partner and reproduce more or less one by one while a male can have multiple ones at once and impregnate all of them. And considering what we see of the clearly more dangerous male hybrid in the first sequel, he turns out to be pretty close to being entirely accurate. Basically, RightForTheWrongReasons.

* IdiotPlot: Regardless of whether Sil was a failed peaceful contact between races or a wicked alien device to destroy humanity, he first film would have never happened if only Finch and the US government had not been so extraordinarily idiotic in their handling of the Sil project. They start the chain by deciding to terminate her, an experimental subject they struggled a lot to create, only because she had what in any regular little girl would be mere night terrors. They then try to do it while she is awake and painfully aware of it, even although they don't know the extent of her skills in case she tries to resist, which is why they are killing her in the first place. Then it turns out that the security of her containment chamber was non-existent, not to talk about the entire facility, which, aside from being pathetically ease to escape from, also happens to be near some train tracks that lead to a densely populated urban center! But that's not the last, as Baker later deduces they didn't even try to educate Sil in human customs and values, despite the obvious fact that her cooperation would have been desirable, if not downright vital, for their experimental goals. And finally, in order to solve the mess they have caused themselves, they just send a very small and unsupported (and judging for their attitudes, very unprepared) search team instead of calling for an official police manhunt with the pretext Sil was a female serial killer or something similar to keep the masquerade. Really, Finch and his people weren't just incompetent: they were basically asking for humanity to be destroyed.

** In the first film, the "mist" in the woods outside the hot tub guy's house is patchy, obviously from a smoke machine. Also the CG in the final scenes, while forgivable due to the era it was produced in, are very dodgy and weightless (which H.R. Giger complained about, saying that unlike the animatronics they weren't worthy translations of his design).

** In the first film, the "mist" in the woods outside the hot tub guy's house is patchy, obviously from a smoke machine. Also the CG in the final scenes (which H.R. Giger complained about, saying that unlike the animatronics they weren't worthy translations of his design).

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The alien species that sent the message with the information to create Sil. Was it all an evil plan to exterminate the human population over the Earth and replace it with Sil's offspring as it looks, or it was a genuinely friendly attempt to share biotechnology that got screwed because Finch and company couldn't handle it the right way? (Expanded materials state the former, but the films themselves leave it open.)

** In the first film, the "mist" in the woods outside the hot tub guy's house is patchy, obviously from a smoke machine. Also the ConspicuousCG in the final scenes (which H.R. Giger complained about, saying that unlike the animatronics they weren't worthy translations of his design).

* IdiotPlot: The first film would have never happened if only Finch and the US government had not been so extraordinarily idiotic in their handling of the Sil project. They start the chain by deciding to terminate her, an experimental subject they struggled a lot to create, only because she had what in any regular little girl would be called mere night terrors. They then try to do it while she is awake and painfully aware of it, even although they don't know the extent of her skills in case she tries to resist, which is why they are killing her in the first place. Then it turns out that the security of her containment chamber was non-existent, not to talk the entire facility, which, aside from being pathetically ease to escape from, also happens to be near some train tracks that lead to a densely populated urban center! And finally, in order to solve the mess, they just bring a very small and unsupported (and judging for their attitudes, very unprepared) search team instead of calling for an official manhunt with the excuse Sil was a females serial killer or something. Really, Finch and his people were asking for mankind to be destroyed.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The alien species that sent the message with the information to create Sil. Was it all an evil plan to exterminate the human population over the Earth and replace it with Sil's offspring as it looks, or it was a genuinely friendly attempt to share biotechnology that got screwed because Finch and company couldn't handle it the right way?

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: The ''Species'' films are mainly known for one thing: Natasha Henstridge taking her clothes off a lot. Or her equivalents in the third and fourth movies.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Even if ''Species'' has quite its share of dissers, it is considered well-done and serviceable, in contrast to the increasingly worse sequels.
* FoeYay: One-sided; due to Sil and Eve's natural instinct to mate, they seem to develop a minor attraction to Preston. However Preston sees them both as a monster that has to be destroyed.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Dr. Xavier Fitch says they made the alien female because they assumed she'd be more docile, which is [[YouNeedToGetLaid seen as funny]] by Preston and [[CriticalResearchFailure it's actually untrue]] as female members in Earthly predatory species tend to be more aggressive than males (it's mostly mammals who buck the trend). But by doing so they actually may have bought themselves more time, considering a female only can have one partner and reproduce more or less one by one while a male can have multiple ones at once and impregnate all of them. And considering what we see of the clearly more dangerous male hybrid in the first sequel, he turns out to be pretty close to being entirely accurate. Basically, RightForTheWrongReasons.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: The alien species that sent the message with the information to create Sil. Was it all an evil plan to exterminate the human population over the Earth and replace it with Sil's offspring as it looks, or it was a genuinely friendly attempt to share biotechnology that got screwed because Finch and company couldn't handle it the right way?
* BestKnownForTheFanservice: The ''Species'' films are mainly known for one thing: Natasha Hensridge taking her clothes off a lot. Or her equivalents in the third and fourth movies.

** In the first film, the "mist" in the woods outside the hot tub guy's house is patchy, obviously from a smoke machine. Also the ConspicuousCGI in the final scenes (which H.R. Giger complained about, saying that unlike the animatronics they weren't worthy translations of his design).

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The original has impressive prosthetics, and well done morphing effects (specially in contrast to the dodgy CG in the climax). The sequels, less so.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Dr. Xavier Fitch says they made the alien female because they assumed she'd be more docile, which is [[YouNeedToGetLaid seen as funny]] by Preston and [[CriticalResearchFailure it's actually untrue]] as female members in Earthly predatory species tend to be more aggressive than males (it's mostly mammals who buck the trend). But by doing so they actually may have bought themselves more time, considering a female only can have one partner and reproduce more or less one by one while a male can have multiple ones at once and impregnate all of them. And considering what we see of the clearly more dangerous male hybrid in the first sequel, he turns out to be pretty close to being entirely accurate. Basically, RightForTheWrongReasons.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** One of Sil's victims in the first was named John F. Carey. The 2004 Presidential candidate was John F. ''Kerry'', who was a well-known senator at the time of the movie.
** The second film has a male astronaut being infected by a black liquid, then impregnating a woman with a rapidly-growing alien lifeform. A near-identical scenario would play out several years later in ''Film/{{Prometheus}}''.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The first film is generally regarded as most popular due the the various reasons mentioned on the main page. The second tries to make a bigger spectacle, which worked for some and not for others.
** The third and fourth films came about by the two-picture deal with Syfy. The third pretty much comes off more like you would expect a scifi TV show to. Which to some was a far cry from the first two, while others appreciated it. While the director of the third had plans for the fourth, it instead tried to examine a different WhatHappenedToTheMouse and most would probably agree made a film that made the second and third less bothersome.
* SpecialEffectFailure: The aliens' prosthetics in ''Species III'' are vastly inferior to what was seen in the two previous films. ''The Awakening'' has similarly bad effects, but for the most part it does a better job of working around them.

** Take a real close look at the monster effects at the end of ''Species II''. The constant strobes are there to make you miss how terrible and awkward they look.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: Dr. Xavier Fitch says they made the alien female because they assumed she'd be more docile, which is [[YouNeedToGetLaid seen as funny]] by Preston and [[CriticalResearchFailure it's actually untrue]] as female members in Earthly predatory species tend to be more aggressive than males (it's mostly mammals who buck the trend). But by doing so they actually may have bought themselves more time, considering a female only can have one partner and reproduce more or less one by one while a male can have multiple ones at once and impregnate all of them. And considering what we see of the clearly more dangerous male hybrid in the first sequel, he turns out to be pretty close to being entirely accurate. Basically, RightForTheWrongReasons.
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: There's no denying ''Species II'' had some pretty awesome scenes. The original has equally impressive prosthetics, and well done morphing effects (specially in contrast to the dodgy CG in the climax).