I've got a soft spot for a lot of Peter Hyams films like Capricorn One and Running Scared. This one, not so much. It takes what should be a simple story - a monster running around a museum killing people- and complicates it to the point of obfuscation.
I think they were trying to elevate the material, to make it smarter, but the result is a lot of confusing talk - it's not really smart because there's no fresh twists or ideas, it's just gobble-dy gook about serum and hormones, and endless set ups for situations.
I get what they were going for but they take such contrived steps to do there - for example, they wanted a Poseidon Adventure type of thing with people going along corridors, fighting water to get out. But they do it in a museum with the door right there. And sure they went "the doors are locked" but it didn't feel real.
They analyse the blood of the creature to find out more about it and you think it's going to be one of the people in the group - they have this ticking clock of building a photo like in No Way Out and it turns out to be... the explorer from the beginning of the film, who we never met and don't care about.
I enjoyed the Hyams "look" of the film - close ups, dark photography. There's always movement and colour. It's not a very good movie though.
I saw a Q and A about the film with Hyams and Penelope Ann Miller. Hyams kept talking about wanting to elevate the material - but he doesn't seem to have noticed the logic issues.
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