DVD Review | Project V.I.P.E.R.
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: B
DVD Special Features: N/A

I'd usually start something like this off with "ya gotta love made-for-Sci-Fi
Channel movies", but I'm not going to this time because the Sci-Fi Channel is
not at the top of my love list.  As of this writing, they're canceling
"Farscape".  However, I won't hold that against the filmmakers or Lions Gate
Entertainment.  On the downside, "Project V.I.P.E.R." sounds like a fairly
cliché title and the trailer does show a pretty cheesy looking CGI creature. 
On the upside, it is a pretty ambitious project with some with some
interesting ideas and a few thrills and chills to boot.

The astronauts aboard a space shuttle carting around a canister containing an
organism called "V.I.P.E.R." meet an untimely demise as their power fails and
the mysterious creature gets loose.  As if that's not bad enough, a facility
on Earth is infiltrated and a second V.I.P.E.R. prototype is stolen.  Hot on
the trail of those responsible is Agent Mike Connors (Patrick Muldoon,
"Stigmata").  After a narrow and daring escape, one of the infiltrators
eludes capture with V.I.P.E.R. and the Defense Department is left trying to
put the pieces together of who is behind it.

The creators of the project are all taken into custody and when an airplane
crashes in a small town close to Mexico, Connors heads down with the project
leader, Dr. Nancy Burnham (Theresa Russell, "Earth Vs. The Spider") to access the situation.  It's not good.  V.I.P.E.R. was originally created to survive on Mars and terra-form the planet by absorbing certain elements in the soil and releasing others that would eventually make the planet hospitable for
humans.  On Earth, however, people make for pretty juicy meals and as the
organism grows, it's eventually going to procreate.  Don't you just want to
smack the crap out of scientists sometimes?

Dr. Burnham rounds up the rest of her team as they try to figure out why
V.I.P.E.R. is sticking around that particular town, how it's getting around,
what its weakness is and how to locate the creature if they're lucky enough
to discover a weakness.  The local sheriff (Tim Thomerson, "Trancers") isn't
buying their story and there might just be a traitor amongst the scientific
team, so the odds are stacked against them.  Again, while the CGI creature
effects are pretty painful to watch, there are enough legitimate jumps to
keep things moving along.  The pacing is decent and the "Alien" inspired
soundtrack actually gives the film an extra dimension that the script's
dialogue nearly ruins.  Okay, and is it me or does Theresa Russell look
painfully bored?

Lions Gate has delivered an extremely decent looking Widescreen transfer of
"Project V.I.P.E.R." The colors are crisp and there's little to no grain or
blemishes.  Audio is also pretty solid too.  As for extras, there are a
couple of trailers and that's it.  An audio commentary might have been nice,
but it's really not necessary, although I'd have liked to know if they plan
on making a sequel since the ending was left pretty open.

Despite some of the effects being pretty fake looking and the characters
having dialogue ranging from over-the-top to underwhelming, "Project
V.I.P.E.R." actually made me jump in a few places and it wasn't from
cringing.  Director Jim Wynorski ("Bare Wench Project 3: The Nymphs of
Mystery Mountain") actually manages to elevate the material with a decent
cast, solid pacing and exciting action.  The film deserves a look and I
actually found it to be surprisingly entertaining.