for Earth on the escape shuttle with a single souvenir, the teddy bear carried by the original "David". As the screen fades to black, the bear slowly begins to move on its own. Cast Peter Weller as Commander Joseph A. Hendricksson Jennifer Rubin as Jessica Hansen Screamer Andrew Lauer as Private Michael "Ace" Jefferson Ron White as Lieutenant Commander Chuck Elbarak Charles Powell as Private Ross Roy Dupuis as Marshal Richard Cooper / Private Becker Screamer Michael Caloz as David Screamer Liliana Komorowska as Private Landowska Jason Cavalier as Private Leone Leni Parker as Corporal McDonald Bruce Boa as Secretary Green Release It premiered at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 1995. It was released in the United States on January 26, 1996, by Columbia Pictures. Production Screamers was stuck in development hell for over a decade before finally being produced. Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon had completed his adaptation of Dick's short story Second Variety in 1981 (along with his adaptation of another of Dick's short stories, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which became the 1990 film Total Recall). By 1983, O'Bannon's screenplay for Screamers had been optioned by Tom Naud (SFX designer on the 1981 film Outland). However, the production never went ahead as planned. At various times, Charles Fries showed interest in the project, but it was not until the 1990s that Screamers went into production. By this time the screenplay had been rewritten by Miguel Tejada-Flores. O'Bannon was unaware that the film had been made until after its release, when his agent called him to notify him of his screenwriting credit for the film. According to O'Bannon, they had kept much of the plot and characters from his original script the same while changing much of the dialogue. The film, directed by Christian Duguay, was made in Canada. Locations included a quarry in Quebec, in Montreal's Olympic Stadium, as well as Joliette. Reception Critical response The film holds a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews. James Berardinelli gave the film a positive review, awarding it a rating of three stars (out of four). Berardinelli said that the film "oozes atmosphere" and "underlines an important truth: you don't need a big budget or big-name stars to make this sort of motion picture succeed." Joe Bob Briggs also reacted positively, calling Screamers "a pretty dang decent [movie]" and saying, "I loved