Surviving a Dystopian Horror: Screamers

The realm of science fiction encompasses a vast expanse of possibilities. From the far reaches of the cosmos to the distant future, some of the most brilliant stories have been told within this genre. While sci-fi often delves into the fundamentals of society and the complexities of humanity, it can also create dystopian landscapes that force heroes to fight for survival, as seen in the film Screamers.

Blade Runner has become a beloved classic in the science fiction community over the past few decades. It is a quintessential work in the cyberpunk genre, revered for its exceptional production design and its significant influence on modern history. Additionally, it introduced the works of Phillip K. Dick to a wider audience through multiple adaptations.

What is Screamers About?

In the year 2078, the once-thriving mining colony on Sirius 6B has been ravaged by contamination. The miners had unknowingly released toxic gases into the planet's atmosphere, leading them to strike for livable conditions. In response, the New Economic Block (N.E.B.) hired mercenaries and strikebreakers to force the miners back into the mines. The Alliance, a group of miners and scientists, united to fight against the N.E.B. Five years into the war, the Alliance developed their most powerful weapons yet, the Autonomous Mobile Swords, also known as screamers. These screamers were capable of killing N.E.B. soldiers in large numbers, leading to a fragile peace treaty as both sides ran low on supplies.

However, the leader of the Alliance army, Joe Hendricksson, realized that both the miners and the owners had given up on Sirius 6B. He and his fellow soldiers set out to create their own peace treaty, only to be ambushed by a new type of screamer that had evolved beyond its original purpose. The screamers were now attacking both sides indiscriminately, and to make matters worse, they had developed the ability to mimic human form. This left the few survivors from both armies to band together and fight a common enemy that threatened to destroy them all. Screamers is a gripping war movie that quickly turns into a dystopian horror story, combining the ambiguity of Blade Runner with the terrifying claustrophobia of Alien.

What is Screamers Based On?

Like Blade Runner, Screamers is also based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, specifically on his sci-fi novella Second Variety which was written in 1953. Though some substantial changes were made, Dick himself cited Screamers as one of the more faithful cinematic adaptations of his work. In Second Variety, the story takes place after a nuclear war between the U.N. and the Soviet Union. The U.N. army, forced to take shelter on the moon due to the Soviets’ early victories, develops robots called claws – described as “churning spheres of blades and metal” – which quickly even the score. Similar to the screamers, these claws become self-aware, improve their design, and wage war on both sides. Overall, Screamers is a fairly accurate adaptation of a lesser-known but intriguing Dick story.

Did Screamers Get a Sequel?

Alien co-writer Dan O'Bannon had completed his script for an adaptation of Second Version back in 1981. During that same period, he also wrote a treatment for an adaptation of Dick's We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which would eventually become Total Recall. However, Screamers remained untouched on a shelf for a decade before anyone decided to take it up. When the film finally went into production, Miguel Tejada-Flores was brought in to rewrite the script, with most of the changes being made to the dialogue. Unfortunately, Screamers performed poorly at the box office, losing between $10-20 million and receiving mixed reviews from critics. Despite some supporters, the film underperformed and only earned a sequel fourteen years after its initial release.