| Genre: | Action Horror Sci-fi Thriller |
| Director: | Jim Wynorski (as Jay Andrews) |
| Executive Producer: | Steven Paul Datty Ruth John Paul Pettinato |
| Producer: | Paul Hertzberg Lisa M. Hansen |
| Starring: | Patrick Muldoon Theresa Russell |
| Music: | Neal Acree |
| Cinematography: | Mario D'ayala |
| Editor: | Craig Kitson |
| Company: | CineTel Films Crystal Sky Pictures VCL Communications |
| Network: | Sci Fi Channel |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Project Viper is a 2002 science-fiction thriller starring Patrick Muldoon, Theresa Russell, Curtis Armstrong and Tamara Davies that debuted as a Sci Fi Pictures TV-movie on the Sci Fi Channel. It was directed by Jim Wynorski under the pseudonym "Jay Andrews".[1]
The Space Shuttle Olympus is on a routine mission, but with a far-from-routine payload: "Project Viper", an experimental hybrid of human genes and computer chips, designed to adapt to any environment, particularly that of the planet Mars. 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 astronauts 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.
Project Viper debuted as a Sci Fi Pictures TV-movie on the Sci Fi Channel on April 20, 2002.[2] It was also released to DVD and VHS later that year in August, with the DVD including a widescreen transfer.