Product Description

It was created to live on mars. Now its loose on earth. V.I.P.E.R. Is the bio-engineered brainchild of dr. Nancy burnham: genetically and electronically programmed to transform the hostile atmosphere of mars into a livable earth-like environment. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 10/07/2003 Starring: Theresa Russell Patrick Muldoon Run time: 89 minutes Rating: R

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108329 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2002-08-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Customer Reviews

Pretty Good Even With Borrowed Footage
Film makers are always looking for new and interesting monsters. This one is certainly different.

Viper is the codename for a lifeform engineered to live on Mars. We later find out it is a living acid. It also somehow incorporates a computer chip. The Shuttle Olympus has a canister with Viper. We don't know if the Shuttle is going to Mars or merely acting as a launch platform, but whichever it is, it never happens as Viper gets loose.

Well, Viper is not alone, there is another prototype on Earth, but that one gets stolen but escapes in a small town where the original development team and special agent Mike Connors have to stop it.

Fans of creature movies will recognize a lot of footage lifted from the movie Species (car crash, shooting flares, etc) but they are used in a different way so their use is not too jarring. The effects and the creature are pretty good although while the creature has some effect on electrical systems, the characters never seem to catch on.

It was refreshing to see the Agent not trusting the scientists (he thinks it's an inside job). It was also good to see Tim Thomerson again (Trancers, Doll Man, etc.) as the local sheriff.

If you like creature films you will probably want to take a look at this one.

Can't Complain, It's Exactly What I Expected
"Project Viper" is actually an above average B-flick. The star of this flick is the likeable Patrick Muldoon, who's been a second-rate star for some time now. Another second-rater, Tim Thomerson, plays as the unfortunate smalltown cop who's trying to keep his smalltown alive. The plot is simple, an experimental "thing" meant to clean Mars and make it suitable to live there kills the crew of the shuttle it's on. It's counterpart escapes on Earth thanks to a few baddies and it wreaks havoc on Thomerson's town. Muldoon is a federal agent dispatched to kill the "thing." He attempts to do this with the help of the team that developed it, lead by Theresa Russell.

The action in this flick is above average for B movies. The special effects are par for the course, with a pretty fake looking "Viper" that slinks and slimes its way through the hapless citizens of the town.

There's a brief glimpse of the dude who played Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds" fame, as a lawyer hoping to cash in on the shortfalls of the town. He's mainly there to supply food for the "Viper," as most folks in this flick are.

If you're wanting to kill a little time with a B-movie that isn't all that shabby, give "Project Viper" a shot. It's worth a rental, but you might think twice before plunking down money for this one.

THE HEE HAW GANG ARRIVES!
I had to laugh every time Patrick Muldoon referred to the scientific geniuses as "The Hee Haw Gang." Muldoon stars as rogue investigator Mike Connors (a tribute to "Mannix?) who is investigating the team that designed a genetically enhanced computer program called Viper. After the Viper takes care of the men on the shuttle Olympus, all hell breaks loose. The only other prototype is stolen by a woman supplanted to take the place of one of the team members. Darn good woman, too. She manages to take out all the government agents, crash her car, and then outsmart her pursuers. What is Viper and how can it kill? That's where the film's core takes place.
I had to admit..I loved this movie. I thought the creature effects were brilliant, sort of a silly putty alien monster. It strikes quite quickly and unexpectedly; my favorite attack is with the nice neighbor and his little french poodle. It's priceless.
The cast is good, too. Theresa Russell, still looking as lovely as she did in "Insignificance" and "Black Widow" plays her scientist role with a glibness and tenacity that matches Muldoon's sarcastic, macho lawman. Tim Thomerson does well as the local sheriff; Billy Keane is effective as the Viper programmer; and the rest of the cast lends its ilk to the proceedings.
I credit the writers for coming up with such a uniquely disgusting creature.
This may not be a classic film, but in the B-movie category, it's a winner!