''DNA'' is a 1997 American
science fiction action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
starring
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...
and
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow ( ; born 10 June 1941) is a German-American actor. His international breakthrough was his portrayal of the good-hearted and sympathetic U-boat Captain "Der Alte" ("Old Man") in the 1981 war film ''Das Boot''.
He is also known f ...
, and directed by William Mesa. Filming took place in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. The film was retitled ''ADN - La menace'' for its French DVD release, and ''Scarabée'' for its television showing. It is also known as ''Genetic Code'' in some areas of Europe and ''Genosaur'' (russian: "Генозавр") in Russia.
The film was influenced by
''Alien'', ''
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
'', ''
Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
'',
''Predator'' and
cannibal films.
Plot
Ash Mattley (
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...
), a doctor in a small village deep in the jungles of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, is approached by another scientist, Carl Wessinger (
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow ( ; born 10 June 1941) is a German-American actor. His international breakthrough was his portrayal of the good-hearted and sympathetic U-boat Captain "Der Alte" ("Old Man") in the 1981 war film ''Das Boot''.
He is also known f ...
) regarding his studies of an enzyme found in a rare beetle. With the aid of Mattley and a group of natives, Wessinger secures several of the beetles, but then betrays his team and leaves them behind in a cave. Later, Wessinger uncovers a fossil in the jungle, but the natives in his new team fall in fear and worship before the deceased creature, which they call "Balacau."
Two years later, Mattley's clinic is beset by a series of gruesome murders in the jungle. The natives attribute the killings to Balacau, who is an ancient myth in the area. Mattley is approached by Claire Sommers (
Robin McKee), a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
agent, who enlists his aid to find Wessinger. Wessinger had been working for the United States government but fallen out of contact, and Sommers reveals she has been sent to track him down. Together with Matzu (Tom Taus), a boy whose sister was one of the victims, they set out into the jungle. Mattley does not initially believe that Balacau is real, but Sommers eventually tells him that the CIA was funding Wessinger's research into the fossil, leading him to change his mind.
Mattley and Sommers eventually reach Wessinger's compound, only to find it abandoned. When they examine the computers in the main lab, they find that Wessinger used the enzyme from the beetles to reanimate Balacau's fossil; Wessinger's records reveal it was an alien creature that terrorized the jungle centuries earlier. He intended to make clones of it for sale to the highest bidder, but it grew hostile and escaped. Balacau returns to the compound and pursues Mattley and Sommers, who end up separated from Matzu but find Wessinger and his assistants in a panic room. The two groups team up to keep the compound's power on and find Matzu. Balacau attacks in the main lab, but the flashing of Sommers's camera and the light from an arriving helicopter frighten it away. A band of mercenaries led by Sergeant Reinhardt (
Mark McCracken) that work for Wessinger arrive, ostensibly to aid in recapturing the creature, but instead help Wessinger subdue and imprison Mattley and Sommers. They also decide to use Wessinger's assistant, Azenfeld (
Roger Aaron Brown
Roger Aaron Brown (born June 12, 1949) is an American character actor known for his role as Deputy Chief Joe Noland on the hit CBS drama television series ''The District'' from 2000 to 2004, and for his minor role in the 1988 science fiction film ...
) as bait for the creature, but Mattley and Sommers escape and free him. In the ensuing battle, Azenfeld sacrifices himself to set off a bomb that kills Wessinger, Reinhardt, and most of the mercenaries.
Mattley, Sommers and Matzu escape into the jungle, pursued by both the remaining mercenaries in a second helicopter and Balacau; the creature is able to track them using invisibility and
heat vision. After destroying the helicopter, they are attacked by Balacau, and Matzu is killed when he warns Mattley and Sommers of its presence. Matzu's tribe arrives to give him a burial and prepare Mattley for battle against Balacau. After a series of traps fails to do much damage, Mattley acquires a rocket launcher from Sommers and kills the creature by firing an explosive into its mouth. He and Sommers grow close at the bottom of a waterfall as the natives cheer and CIA rescue helicopters arrive.
Cast
*
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...
as Dr. Ash Mattley
*
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow ( ; born 10 June 1941) is a German-American actor. His international breakthrough was his portrayal of the good-hearted and sympathetic U-boat Captain "Der Alte" ("Old Man") in the 1981 war film ''Das Boot''.
He is also known f ...
as Dr. Carl Wessinger
* Robin McKee as Claire Sommers
* Tom Taus as Matzu
*
Roger Aaron Brown
Roger Aaron Brown (born June 12, 1949) is an American character actor known for his role as Deputy Chief Joe Noland on the hit CBS drama television series ''The District'' from 2000 to 2004, and for his minor role in the 1988 science fiction film ...
as Loren Azenfeld
*
Mark McCracken as Sergeant Reinhardt / Balacau
* John H. Brennan as Hatton
*
Joel Torre
José Rizalino "Joel" de León Torre (born June 19, 1961) is a Filipino actor and producer who is best known for his numerous films such as the biographical film ''José Rizal'' (1998), crime thriller film '' On the Job'' (2013) and the historica ...
as Taka
* Cris Aguilar as Kasala
* Aniceto "Chito" Fulminar as Fulminari Chief
*
Susan Africa
Susan Africa (born August 20, 1959) is a veteran Filipino film, television and theatre actress.
Recognised as a legend in the Philippine cinema, Africa won "Best Supporting Actress" at the 13th Metro Manila Film Festival for her performance in ...
as Nurse
Release
Home media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
by Front Row Entertainment on June 25, 2001. In 2005,
Platinum Disc
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
released the film three separate times that year, both as single and multi-feature editions.
Reception
Chris Parry from ''eFilmCritic.com'' gave the film one out of five stars. In his review, Parry panned the film for its poor writing, and virtual plagiarism of entire scenes from other films; while also writing, "If there's one benefit to watching ... ''DNA'', it's in the realization that special effects technicians, no matter how skilled in that field, should never take part in any other task on a film shoot."
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
awarded the film two out of four stars, writing, "While its script comes off as an experiment in plot-splicing, this is an admittedly snappy, occasionally exciting monster movie."
References
External links
Review - DevilDead
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dna
American science fiction action films
1997 films
Direct-to-video science fiction films
1990s science fiction action films
Films set in jungles
1990s monster movies
Films shot in the Philippines
1990s English-language films
1990s American films