By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
When a flaming meteor crashes into rural America, two scientists from the local college, Harry Block (Orlando Jones) and Ira Kane (David Duchovny), go to investigate. They find it's landed in a cave and is oozing strange little creatures.
These aliens can evolve into
whatever the story requires, from flying dinosaurs, creepy-crawlies and savage reptiles to a clone of ET with an Alien tooth-monster down its throat.
The Army is called in, led by Dr Woodman (Ted Levine), a soldier-scientist who worked with Ira Kane before and reveals that he innoculated soldiers with a substance that caused diarrhoea, blindness, facial paralysis and hair loss.
Dr Woodman's assistant, Allison Reed (Julianne Moore), sides with the two college guys when her boss tries to freeze them out of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the creatures continue to evolve while the Mother of All Monsters is in the cave, producing more strange offspring before making an appearance in the grand finale.
All this was hatched from the rather too fertile mind of Ivan Reitman, who also made Ghostbusters.
• DVD features: Trailers; HBO documentary, The Making of Evolution; production notes; cast and filmmakers' filmographies; subtitles.
