Endangered Species

Endangered Species (1982)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Alan Rudolph

Starring: Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Paul Dooley, Hoyt Axton, Marin Kanter

From: MGM

If you missed it, I posted a review earlier today and it's directly below this entry.

Here is an obscure film I only just first heard about via Letterboxd a few days ago. It's not hard to find online (either legally or illegally) and yet even now most people don't know or forgot it exists. It's not a must-see but I still say it's fine. The Letterboxd review is below: 

I'll be honest here and say that it wasn't until I saw a follower like a review for this movie a few days ago on this site that I even knew the movie existed. While it's not hard to find online today, it's still rather obscure, something that has fallen through the cracks with the passage of time. It's not a great movie or a must-see but I still think it's fine.

The plot revolves around a controversial topic at the time and one rife with conspiracy theories: cattle mutilations. I am surprised there apparently have only been a few movies about this topic, considering the mystery surrounding it and how hot an issue it used to be. The director is Alan Rudolph, a surprise to me because of what I know of his filmography. The cast had plenty of names I knew: Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Hoyt Axton, Peter Coyote (who in this film looks like Sonny Bono!), Harry Carey Jr., Dan Hedaya-is it really a spoiler to say he plays a villain?-and to me I was amused to see Gailard Sartain not in an Ernest film.

As for the movie, it is uneven and for it to follow the theory they went with for the cattle mutilations, it doesn't always make sense. I won't spoil the angle they went with, although the opening seconds of the film is a block of text which all but spoils it; I don't know why they did that, as it ruins the mystery, but alas... still, I can say that this is fine. It is an interesting tale, it is well-filmed, there are quality suspense (and some graphic) moments and the music is great; more on that later. It's about Urich, a loose cannon ex-cop who has issues with alcohol and he has a 16 year old teenaged daughter and they don't get along due to his issues. It has to be noted that the lead isn't always a guy you like. He has flaws but he is a real lout and an A-hole at times. He goes on vacation with his daughter and he ends up in a rural Colorado town where those CM happen and the newly elected sheriff is a woman (Williams) and of course she has to deal with sexism and a little hamlet full of colorful characters.

The score is from Gary Wright. Yes, the Dream Weaver and Love is Alive guy. Now, a few times you hear his standard pop rock stuff, and at one moment a bit character sings the chorus to Dream Weaver. But, the score would really be considered in vogue now, as it's 80's synth goodness. In fact, I think it's great; it's weird, creepy, and fits the images you see rather well. Between hundreds of artists making songs in the Synthwave field the past several years and all those horror films or otherwise having someone create a modern version of an 80's synth score, it's almost starting to become played out but to me it hasn't reached that point... yet If you're like me and enjoy such things then there's a good chance you'll love what Gary Wright did here.

Like I said the movie is uneven yet it's still fine and if you enjoy the paranoid conspiracy thriller, you may want to check this out.