The Colorado prairie has become a graveyard. Mutilated cattle, their organs surgically removed, litter the high country. Is this the gruesome work of a Satanic cult? Of extraterrestrials? Of conspirators who arrive and leave in mysterious black helicopters? The locals are terrified - and it falls to their new sheriff (JoBeth Williams) and a troubled cop (Robert Urich) to unravel an eerie skein of deception and danger to discover the stunning truth. This paranoia-fueled thriller from director Alan Rudolph (Welcome to L.A., Afterglow) boasts a blue-chip supporting cast and spectacular, spooky cinematography that pulls viewers deep inside the mystery. And here's the scariest thing of all: Endangered Species took its inspiration from real-life events.

Fans of television's THE X-FILES will want to track down this thriller about a New York ex-cop (Robert Urich) and an attractive female sheriff (JoBeth Williams) who fall in love while investigating a string of mysterious cattle mutilations in a small Colorado town. Urich is great as Reuben Castle, the retired alcoholic police lieutenant out visiting the town with his tomboy daughter. At first he tries to stay out of the case but finds himself involved after the mysterious death of his friend Joe Hiatt (Paul Dooley), the editor of the local paper whose theories about black helicopters have aroused the ire of cattle baron Ben Morgan (Hoyt Axton). Trying miserably to stay sober, Castle finds himself back in danger and in love, as he and the sheriff work together to get to the bottom of the mystery, encountering incredible danger and resistance from the frightened locals.

Director Alan Rudolph proves himself an able director of suspense thrillers with this intriguing tale, based on an actual phenomenon. The film features a nicely pulse-raising electronic score by Gerry Wright and a fine company of supporting actors including Peter Coyote, Paul Dooley, and Dan Hedaya.