Director Peter Hyams pulls out all the stops in this unpretentious, super-slick gothic horror that rings few changes on the Alien blueprint but still delivers the gory goods. An ancient Amazonian beast is creeping around Chicago's Field Museum of natural history on the night of a charity benefit. Can feisty scientist Penelope Ann Miller and detective Tom Sizemore overcome their fears to battle the blood-lusting demon of superstition? Throw some Poseidon Adventure-style panic into the monster mix and the result is a spectacular creature feature that gives a glossy veneer to its time-worn clichés. Scattergun jolts keep the seasoned suspense simmering and Hyams's full-tilt approach to the grisly mayhem is spot on.

A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.