It’s no classic, but Virus is a fun little sci-fi horror film with creative creature effects and several noteworthy ideas, despite the monster movie clichés. Although the villain itself borrows elements from Star Trek’s Borg Collective and even Hardware’s robo-antagonist, the visuals are surprisingly effective, lending a few designs to future fantasy films (such as The Matrix). Some of the acting is questionable, but Curtis is believable as the hero and Sutherland handles insanity well. And with a short running time, there isn’t time to bore the audience, provided they’re in the mood for bloody violence and dark fantasy nonsense.

The barge Sea Star, commanded by ornery, stubborn and borderline suicidal and homicidal Captain Robert Everton (Donald Sutherland), is caught in Typhoon Leiah on the Pacific Ocean. The valuable, uninsured load is lost in the storm, but the crew of mercenaries, led by skeptical engineer Steve Baker (William Baldwin, with a quizzical look permanently etched on his face), navigator Kelly “Kit” Foster (Jamie Lee Curtis), J.W. Woods (Marshall Bell) and Hiko (Cliff Curtis), (along with various other fodder) discover a Russian missile and satellite tracking ship, fitted for scientific purposes and space communication, floating dead in the water in the eye of the storm with the Star. They board the seemingly derelict ship to look for survivors, an opportunity of a lifetime if they can salvage it for a 10% fee on its $300 million value. That’s provided they don’t find anyone alive – although it just doesn’t add up that the entire ship would be abandoned. Their troubles really start when power is restored to the vessel and it appears that the ship has a mind of its own – or perhaps there’s something else onboard with them.

The enormous, deserted ship is a great setting for a monster movie – a claustrophobic, dark and desolate interior, isolated by miles of water, powered down, ransacked, covered with blood and drenched with tubes, piping and wires of all kinds, strung about the ceilings, wrapped around the walls and layering the floors. Naturally, the crew is inexperienced when it comes to working together in a jam, and they’re not afraid to wander off down dark corridors alone. The visuals are the strong point, with incredibly complex robotic monstrosities scurrying about in a machine shop of horrors.

Once again, the main character is a quick-thinking, selfless, strong-willed female leader, sculpted from Aliens’ Ellen Ripley. Virus also contains loud noises, unexpected freaked out birds, disorienting, flickering lights, distrusting crew members, and a wide array of clashing personalities – some courageous, cowardly, backstabbing, curious, greedy, frightened, disbelieving or maternal. And there are plenty of surprises, especially if you’re unaware of the monsters behind it all. The execution may not always work, but the level of seriousness doesn’t dwindle, giving the unbelievable elements considerably more validity. When the majority of the crew starts to lose their grip on sanity, things become edgier and slightly more realistic, despite the fact that the general premise is supremely science-fiction. A literal man vs. machine theme dominates Virus, a largely overlooked thriller with some genuinely entertaining ideas, creative bloodshed, and sea-faring adventure (undeterred by Baldwin’s constant wide-eyed intensity and a convenient conclusion) that should please both horror fans and sci-fi junkies.

- Mike Massie

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