''Project Viper'' is a 2002

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univer ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

starring

Patrick Muldoon Patrick Muldoon (born September 27, 1968) is an American actor, film producer, and musician. Early life and education Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury ...

Theresa Russell Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films. Born in San Diego, R ...

Curtis Armstrong Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series '' Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky Busine ...

and Tamara Davies that debuted as a Sci Fi Pictures TV-movie on the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

. It was directed by

Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski (born August 14, 1950) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s, and has directed over 150 feature films. His earliest films were released ...

under the pseudonym "Jay Andrews".*

Plot

The

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

''Olympus'' is on a routine mission, but with a far-from-routine payload: "Project Viper", an experimental hybrid of

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and

computer chips An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...

, designed to adapt to any environment, particularly that of the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

. But as the shuttle crew prepares to launch the first prototype, referred to as "Viper", into space, an unexpected power glitch occurs, causing the container housing the prototype to break open. Soon the

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s are killed by Viper, and the Secretary of Defense orders the remaining second prototype Viper destroyed - which is stored in a secure NovaGen Science facility, the manufacturer of the prototype. To do the job, he calls on special agent Mike Connors. Unaware of these proceedings, Project Viper head Nancy Burnham and her team at NovaGen - Steve Elkins, Sid Bream and Alan Stanton - are celebrating the fruition of their scientific dream. One more member, Cafferty, is on her way - but is killed by a rogue police officer, who is planning to steal the second prototype. Along with his wife, he steals the second Viper from the NovaGen high security lab, shooting several guards and technicians in the process. Mike Connors arrives at the scene, only to chase the thieves into a nearby forest, Though the rogue police officer is killed, his wife escapes along with Viper's container unscathed and unseen by Connors and military personnel. Along with another accomplice, the thieves steal a small cargo plane and head towards their base, but a catastrophic engine failure causes their aircraft to crash into a forest 50 miles north of the Mexican border near a small town of Lago Nogales. In the crash, Viper's container is broken open and ends up into the environment, killing and devouring the thieves and a couple. Connors, Burnham and crew arrive at the crash site to investigate and trace Viper's trails of gray, gelatinous remains to the small town. After carrying out tests and experiments, investigating human disappearances caused as Viper feeds, they reach the conclusion that Viper is attracted to the uranium-contaminated town water system, where it has a concentrated point in an abandoned uranium mine. Connors orders an electromagnetic pulse bomb, though he encounters Viper at the police station and battles and kills Steve Elkins who revealed that he deliberately programmed Viper to kill humans and in doing so, rid himself of Bream and Stanton. Along with Burnham and a former suspicious sheriff Morgan, they successfully destroy Viper with the EMP bomb at the mine and escape unharmed, with the exception of the sheriff. Back at the NASA tracking facility, Connors, Burnham and the Secretary of Defense learn that the first prototype Viper aboard the shuttle ''Olympus'' re-enters atmosphere and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

Cast

as Agent Mike Connors *

as Nancy Burnham * Billy Keane as Steve Elkins *

Tim Thomerson Joseph Timothy "Tim" Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the '' Trancers'' film series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and for his comedic television ...

as Sheriff Morgan * Tamara Davies as Sid Bream *

Daniel Quinn Daniel Clarence Quinn (October 11, 1935 – February 17, 2018) was an American author (primarily, novelist and fabulist), cultural critic, and publisher of educational texts, best known for his novel ''Ishmael'', which won the Turner Tomorrow ...

as Alan Stanton *

Lydie Denier Lydie Denier (born 15 April 1964) is a French-American model and actress. She has appeared in numerous TV series and films. Biography Early life She was born in Pontchâteau, France. Denier was raised in Martinique, attending school at the ...

as Diane Cafferty, Rogue Cop's Wife *

as Keach * John Beck as Simpkins * Andy Milder as Chambers * René Rivera as Pete Gonzales * William Langley Monroe as General Cartwright * Adam Koster as C-133 Pilot * Geoff Stults as Boy In Pickup * Lorissa McComas as Girl In Pickup * Rod McCary as Dr. Shoup * Steve Purnick as Mr. Norton * Eric-James Virgets as Deputy Ferguson * Adam Gordon as Crewman Terrance *

Todd Kimsey Todd Grant Kimsey (June 6, 1962 – September 16, 2016) was an American film, stage and television actor. He appeared in more than forty television roles throughout his career, as well as film roles including '' The Perfect Storm'' in 2000, ''Pl ...

as Crewman Mitchell * Redmond Gleeson as Local Man * Steve J. Hennessy as Plainclothes Agent * Paul Preston as First

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Suit * Eamonn Roche as Fred, Mission Control * James Cromwell as MP * Joe Sabatino as MP

Other crew members

*Production Designer: Robert E. Hummel *Costume Designer: Gail De Krassel *Casting: Linda Berger *Visual Effects: Foundation Imaging

Release

''Project Viper'' debuted as a Sci Fi Pictures

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

on the

on April 20, 2002. It was also released to

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 ...

and VHS later that year in August, with the DVD including a widescreen transfer.

References

External links

* {{Jim Wynorski 2002 television films 2002 films Syfy original films 2000s science fiction horror films American science fiction horror films CineTel Films films Films directed by Jim Wynorski 2000s monster movies American monster movies 2000s American films