Diane Robin

A biological mutant gets loose during an opening-night gala at Chicago's Museum of Natural History in this chilling monster flick.

Come in—if you dare. The opening-night gala for a new exhibit at Chicago's natural history museum is under way. But be advised: something terrifying wants to make sure no one ever leaves. Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt and James Whitmore star in this effects-packed shocker that gives haunted-house movies a terrific new setting. And the non-human star (brought to head-ripping life by Jurassic Park Oscar winner Stan Winston) is something no creature fan can let slip by. "The creature can hold its own with the Alien," writes Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel. "When the last reel begins...the special effect is truly awesome." Let the panic begin.

A researcher at Chicago's Natural History Museum returns from South America with some crates containing his findings. When the crates arrive at the museum without the owner there appears to be very little inside. However, police discover gruesome murders on the cargo ship that brought the crates to the US and then another murder in the museum itself.

A mythological creature stalks the halls of Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History during a society fundraiser, forcing guests to escape through an underground waterway -- a route to which the beast is all too familiar.