[[quoteright:420:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/proteus_8.jpg]]

->''"Proteus had moved on to new level. It had converted shark's tissue into a new form. Amorphous. That night, it crawled out of tank and consumed every other specimen in the aquarium. [[ForScience We were overjoyed!]] ''[{{beat}}]'' We were idiots..."''
-->-- '''Dr. Shelley'''

''Proteus'' is 1995 horror film starring Craig Fairbrass and Creator/DougBradley. It concerns drug smugglers Paul, Mark, Linda and Christine, along with two undercover DEA agents named Alex and Rachel, being shipwrecked and seeking refuge on an abandoned oil rig owned by the mysterious Brinkstone Corporation. Aboard, they find a top secret genetic engineering facility, and the shapeshifting horror that the Brinkstone scientists accidentally unleashed.

The script was written by John Brosnan a.k.a. Harry Adam Knight, based on his and Leroy Kettle's novel ''Literature/{{Slimer}}''. In addition to changing both the title and the name of the compound which creates the monster, Brosnan also switched around characters' names and roles, making Alex of all people the likable DEA agent hero! While mostly a generic ''Film/{{Alien}}'' ripoff with a dash of ''Film/{{Leviathan 1989}}'' and ''Film/TheThing1982'' thrown in, ''Proteus'' still has some good moments and is a far more faithful Brosnan adaptation than the earlier Roger Corman ''Film/{{Carnosaur}}''.

Not to be confused with the historical documentary ''Proteus: A 19th Century Vision''. Or the indie video game ''{{VideoGame/Proteus}}''.
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!!Tropes used in this movie:

* ActionGirl: Rachel, and later Linda.
* ActionHero: Alex. So much so that Mark nicknames him "Mr. Macho."
* AdaptationDistillation: Alex's dickish qualities from the book are split between Mark and Paul, the latter of whom now shares the former's heroin addiction [[spoiler:and is the first of the group to get taken by Charlie.]]
* AdaptationNameChange: Christine, Rachel and Leonard Brinkstone were named Chris, Rochelle and ''Lloyd'' Brinkstone in the novel.
* AdaptationExpansion: We actually see the characters getting on the boat following the drug deal, whereas in the novel they're already in the life raft when introduced. There's also a prologue where Alex is being grilled by DaChief.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Alex. In the novel, he's a drug dealer and was easily one of the most despicable characters in the entire story. Now he's a heroic DEA agent.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Brinkstone was a WellIntentionedExtremist for whom UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans in the novel, and not necessarily evil. Here, he's a greedy CorruptCorporateExecutive complete with {{Mooks}}.
* AdaptationalWimp: In the book, Charlie was completely immune to any sort of man-made weapon, and was only defeated [[spoiler: when he absorbed the mind of a heroin addict]]. In the movie, on the other hand, an ordinary flamethrower is enough to kill him. [[spoiler: Although the ending implies that Charlie isn't actually dead]].
* AndIMustScream: The fate of the people Charlie absorbs. And scream they do, particularly when he goes OneWingedAngel at the climax.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Many a JumpScare is provided by this.
* ApocalypticLog: Dr. Shelley's video.
* AsHimself: The group finds a PeekABooCorpse of a guard named Duncan Jarman, who is played by... Duncan Jarman, a rare example of someone playing themselves ''dead''.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Paul]] and [[spoiler:Mark]].
* TheBigGuy: Alex, even lampshaded by him when he brings up that he's 6'3" tall and later complains about being thrown around a second time by people half his size (actually the same shapeshifter in two different forms.)
%%* BioPunk
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The first onscreen death is black security guard Buckley.
%%* BodyHorror
* ClosedCircle: The oil rig.
* CombatTentacles: Charlie has several of these when he wants to kill or assimilate someone.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Leonard Brinkstone.
%%* DarknessEqualsDeath
* DeadpanSnarker: All the guys, but especially Alex.
* DeathByCameo: Creator/DougBradley from ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' shows up as Leonard Brinkstone just to get offed by the monster.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Paul]].
* DoomedHurtGuy: [[spoiler:Linda, who is taken by Charlie while recovering in the infirmary.]]
%%* DwindlingParty
* EmptyPilesOfClothing: When Charlie absorbs someone, their empty clothes are left behind. This doesn't stop them from appearing fully clothed when Charlie takes on their forms, though.
* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:The pilot of the helicopter that rescues Alex and Linda turns out to have been taken over by Charlie.]]
* EvilIsNotWellLit: The lab is very dimly lit, a stark contrast to the novel's descriptions of bright white corridors.
* EvilOldFolks: Leonard Brinkstone. He's basically [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]] in designer sunglasses.
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: This happens twice. First to [[spoiler:Christine]] when Charlie in the form of [[spoiler:Rachel]] er, French-kisses her to death with a long black tongue, and later to [[spoiler:Mr. Brinkstone]] courtesy of one of Charlie's tentacles.
* FailedASpotCheck: When the group searches Shelley's office, they fail to discover [[spoiler:Paul's]] empty clothes, which are pretty much left right out in the open.
* {{Fingore}}: Paul had one of his fingers cut off by the Triads.
%%* ForScience
* AGodAmI: Charlie gets it into his head he's a superior being after the experiments. Alex [[ShutUpHannibal lets him know exactly what he thinks of a heroin-addicted shark monster]].
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Proteus experiment.
* HuskyRusskie: Dr. Shelley. This despite the fact he's a small elderly man. [[spoiler:Being taken over by Charlie gives him super strength.]]
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: The characters frequently try to get the imprisoned consciousnesses of Charlie's absorbed victims to come to the surface, in order to prevent the creature from harming them.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Sometimes the minds of Charlie's absorbed victims can override the main consciousness and forcibly turn Charlie's body into theirs. It's only temporary, though, and after regaining control, Charlie retaliates with some InvoluntaryShapeshifting of his own. Alex and the audience get to witness this during Dr. Shelley's video log when Charlie regains control near the end of the recording.
%%* KillItWithFire
* TheLoad: Mark and Christine. All Mark does is whine and act mean to everyone, and Christine does even ''less''. Her primary contribution to the plot before [[spoiler:Charlie gets her]] is needing to pee.
* {{Mooks}}: Brinkstone brings a few with him when he shows up at the end. Fat lot of good they do anybody.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Charlie is a mutated, shapeshifting, heroin-craving super-intelligent great white with tentacles.
%%* NoisyGuns
* NonIndicativeName: Proteus. It was named that ''before'' the scientists discovered the compound gave its host shapeshifting abilities. "Proteus" only makes sense after the fact. The name from the novel, Phoenix, made more sense.
* OneWingedAngel: The final battle.
%%* OutRunTheFireball
* PeekABooCorpse: The dead security guard the ocean.
* RaceLift: Alex was of Mexican heritage in the book. He's a white British guy here.
* ShakyPOVCam: Used numerous times to depict Charlie's point of view.
%%* ShockAndAwe
* ShoutOut: When Charlie, conveyed only through ShakyPOVCam, picks up [[spoiler:Paul]] it's almost exactly the same as when Ash is grabbed and spun around in ''Film/EvilDead2''.
* ShutUpHannibal: Alex lets Charlie know just how "superior" he thinks the heroin-craving mutant shark that ate [[spoiler:his girlfriend]] is:
-->'''Alex''': Superior? You're a [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] fish with a drug habit!
* ShutUpKirk: Brinkstone does this to Alex by smacking him across the face with his cane.
-->'''Brinkstone''': Cease this levity!
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Alex.
* SunglassesAtNight: Mr. Brinkstone.
* TapOnTheHead: Averted. Multiple times, Alex is bonked on the head by someone, and it simply renders him temporarily disoriented rather than outright knocking him unconscious.
* ThreateningShark: Charlie is a mutated great white.
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Who Paul and Mark do their business with at the beginning.
* TookALevelInBadass: Linda. From Paul's meek and put-upon girlfriend to machine gun-toting ActionGirl.
* TwentyMinutesWithJerks: Most of the characters are incredibly annoying. At least Alex's jackassery is part of his cover as a drug dealer.
* UndercoverAsLovers: Alex and Rachel. In reality, they actually ''are'' boyfriend and girlfriend even when off the job.
* UndercoverCopReveal: When attempting to get Linda to trust him, Alex outs himself as a DEA agent.
* VoluntaryShapeshifter: Charlie.
* WeaksauceWeakness: As in the novel, absorbing a heroin addict character causes Charlie to become first disoriented by the drug and then begin craving it to the point where he begins sabotaging his own schemes to get his fix.
* TheWorfEffect: Alex tends to be the one the possessed people target to show off how strong they are.
-->'''Alex''': That's the second time today I've been thrown around the room by a complete stranger! This is embarrassing! I'm 6'3"!
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