Derek Rappaport Movies
While on the job at an abandoned Chicago office building, four electrical workers -- Dean (Richard Grieco), Ray (Richard Yearwood), Junior (Jason Jones), and Sheldon (Jeff Douglas) -- stumble upon a time portal. Instantly, Dean and Junior disappear, rematerializing in a modernistic alternate Chicago. Soon after, Ray and Sheldon follow their buddies -- a bad mistake, inasmuch as this parallel world is ruled by cannibalistic, spider-like humanoids. The four heroes link up with a group of survivors of the spider invasion, led by Dr. Morelli (Colin Fox), Elena (Kate Greenhouse), and Crane (David Newman). Will they be able to escape the rampaging arachnids and return to their own world, or will they be betrayed by a spy in their midst and delivered up to the omnivorous Spider Queen? Bearing more than a passing resemblance to the TV series Sliders, the made-for-cable Webs debuted June 28, 2003, on the Sci-Fi channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Grieco, Richard Yearwood, (more)
In the year 2068, the Earth's surface is in a cataclysmic upheaval, much of it transformed into wasteland by unstoppable storms (the byproduct, of course, of the destruction of the Ozone Layer). A few hardy souls have dedicated themselves to preserving and protecting what is left of mankind; among these is former Army Captain John Thomas Garth (Grant Show). Approached by Lapierre (Steve Bacic), a former comrade in arms and now in the employ of grasping eco-profiteer Anton Reich (Art Hindle), Garth is made an offer he can't refuse. In exchange for the opportunity to save his father and several other apocalypse survivors, Reich agrees to lead a small team of mercenaries into the near-impenetrable Vincent estate to "liberate" the priceless works of art that had been stored there before civilization collapsed. Accompanied by reconnaissance specialist Fernandez (Naomi Gaskin), sniper King (Matthew G. Taylor), and tech genius Ebershaw (Wayne Ward), Garth must find some way to circumvent Encrypt, the deadly computerized security system surrounding the estate. Other obstacles include the Rook, a human-destroying robot, and Diana (Vivian Wu), the holographic security chief at the estate -- and a double danger because she possesses not only the means of mass destruction, but also a conscience. A two-hour cable movie that has "series pilot" written all over it, Encrypt premiered June 14, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Show, Vivian Wu, (more)
- 2003
A feature-length pilot for a possible cable TV series, Deathlands: Homeward Bound was inspired by a series of novels and audio-books written by James Axler (actually a joint pseudonym, shared by several prominent science-fiction authors). Sort of a "Mad Max Meets the A-Team," the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where crime and destruction is the norm and law-and-order is in the hands of a few courageous mavericks. Vincent Spano stars as justice-fighter Ryan Cawdor, who travels the scorched countryside in his "SecWag," or military security wagon. Cawdor's hearty band of cohorts include his half-mutant girl, an angry Albino teenager, and a geeky weapons specialist called the Armorer. Not surprisingly, the original "Deathlands" book series was incredibly popular with long-distance truck drivers, presumably the audience to whom this ultra-macho thriller is geared. Deathlands: Homeward Bound debuted May 17, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Spano, Jenya Lano, (more)
Perhaps inspired by the finale of the 1954 horror film Them!, the made-for-cable chiller Bugs explores the consequences stemming from a swarm of giant insects gathering in a major metropolitan subway systems. These bugs not only eat human beings, but tear their bodies apart and leave the fragments scattered to and fro. It is up to entomologist Emily Foster (Angie Everhart) and civil engineer Matt Pollock (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) to save humanity from the oversized scourges. Bugs made its Sci-Fi Channel debut September 4, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Sabato, Jr., Angie Everhart, (more)
- 2003
- R
As a highly infectious ageing virus causes chaos around the world, one woman sets out on a desperate mission to save the life of her unborn child, and perhaps the rest of the human race in the process. The time is the not-so-distant future. An ageing virus has divided the world population between "cleans" and "infecteds." Once infected, the only way to avoid ageing one year every twenty-four hours is to take a daily dose of Anzanol, a drug designed to slow the effects of the virus. Meanwhile, as the creator of Anzanol schemes to keep his empire thriving at any cost, Ruth Hennessey (Polly Shannon) learns that she has gotten pregnant by her infected husband, who confides to his wife on his deathbed that he was close to discovering a cure for the disease. Fearing for the health of her unborn child, Ruth makes it her mission to finish her husband's research and ensure that the rest of the population won't have to suffer like he did. But the creator of Anzanol knows that sales of his drug will quickly dry up if a cure is found, and he's willing to kill in order to ensure that Ruth fails in her mission to eradicate the disease. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Polly Shannon, Nigel Bennett, (more)
Evidently inspired by the 1958 theatrical feature It! The Terror From Beyond Space (which, of course, was also the basis for the 1979 thriller Alien), this made-for-cable melodrama begins as the crew of the space shuttle Oklahoma returns to earth after a routine mission. Unbeknownst to them, they have also brought back an alien "guest" in the form of seeds which blossom into insectoid life-forms, infiltrating human bodies to complete their evolution. At first, the victims of these aliens think they've merely broken out in blisters, but they soon learn differently -- to their unutterable horror. Racing against the clock, the Oklahoma's chief medical officer "Geronimo" Horne (Nicholas Lea) works in concert with his colleague Thaddeus Owens (Anthony Sherwood) and entimologist Savannah Bailey (Jamie Luner) to stem the alien invasion before the rapidly proliferating creatures reach the "threshold" amount -- at which point they will be impossible to control. Threshold debuted April 19, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Lea, Jamie Luner, (more)
The setting for this nail-biting thriller is a snowbound rural airport. A group of outer-space aliens, disguised as human, take over the airport, in preparation of conquering the earth. The fate of mankind ultimately rests in the hands of two others trapped in the terminal: a fiercely combative female pilot named Cathy Garrett (Chase Masterson), and convicted murderer Jack (Bruce Campbell). The only problem is, with the aliens totally camouflaged as earthlings, no one can tell the good guys from the bad. Filmed under the title The Devil's Pass, Terminal Invasion made its American cable-TV premiere via the Sci-Fi Channel on September 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Campbell, Chase Masterson, (more)
