Legitimate Beef

ENDANGERED SPECIES Directed by Alan Rudolph Screenplay by Alan Rudolph and John Binder

Tough being a cow. Since 1969 there have been 10,000 killed and mutilated in the Western states. That is documented. Thereafter, speculation begins. Is this the work of religious cults? Little green men from Mars? Endangered Species opts for paranoia. It is all the product of a right-wing conspiracy that needs livers to test chemical-warfare agents. If you take the sensible view that any plot requiring more than three people to keep their mouths shut is bound to fail, this premise will seem far fetched. For as the story develops, we see that hundreds are involved in running the research complex. Nevertheless, the picture is stylishly made and suspenseful, with the distinct advantage of having JoBeth Williams (the mom in Poltergeist) as a sheriff investigating the killings aided by a burnt-out New York City detective (Robert Urich, TV's Dan Tanna). She's spunky and believable, and she can make you care about her professional problems, her sputtery love life and -- almost -- a crime wave in the bovine population.

-- -R.S.

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