Infested: Attack of the Killer Bugs (2002)

So our little creature feature continues as we move on from giant beetles to some sort of mutated fly. Jeff Goldblum not included. Oh, and you know how Brooke Nevin didn't wear that outfit or hold that gun in 'Infestation'? Yeah, this girl on the front cover, as far as I'm aware, does not appear in this film. And the flies don't look remotely like the wasp-like creatures on the cover. Believe me, we see one up close.

With the death of an old friend, five people get together for his funeral. However they're attacked by a swarm of flies which like possessing humans. Now the group need to find a way to survive before they become the next to fall to the bugs.

And just like my previous review this film seems to follow the 'Night of the Living Dead' scenario, only the group seek shelter in the house instead of them being a ragtag group. The problem is these characters aren't really that...well written I suppose. They do have some recognisable traits, Warren (Zach Galligan, yes the one from 'Gremlins') is an actor, Mindy (Nahanni Johnstone)...doesn't wear a bra,...um...Eric (Robert Duncan McNeill) is a conspiracy theorist.......ummm.......Elliot (David Packer) leaves his phone in the car because the plot says so...um...there are other people there too.

Okay I suppose the only character given real depth is the recently deceased's girlfriend Jesse. That's, actually a bad thing, only really caring about one person from the whole cast. We're supposed to feel something for these people, but in the end, there's nothing really to like. We feel that Jesse is slightly awkward interacting with her recently deceased boyfriend's friends, having never met them before, but she's smart, she cares, and she is wonderfully played by Amy Jo Johnson. Wait, Amy Jo Johnson? Why do I recognise that name?

Holy crap it's the pink Power Ranger? The ORIGINAL pink Power Ranger? That is just weird.
And we don't actually see anything when Johnson has a shower scene so our childhood is kept intact. Then again she does swear.

The acting from the other cast members, well, is okay at best. From some of them anyway. Actually a fair few you can tell had a lot of fun with this, they knew this film wasn't going to be the next 'Titanic' and win loads of awards, they just went into it and had fun, whether or not they were good. Johnson was the best this film had to offer though.

Now let's get down to it, the bugs. They looked...well. Whenever you see however many flies on the screen doing NOTHING, they can look good. The shower scene where they start gathering reminds me of the crows gathering on the climbing frame in 'The Birds' which can actually create some tension, which is then immediately ruined when the flies start moving and the poorly CGI'd swarm appears. Basically, anything that requires CGI doesn't look good. And giving the flies an allergy to sunlight may explain why they like possessing human bodies and how the threat of nighttime can be tense, it doesn't explain how the flies seem to be able to move during the day.

Then again, you could tell from looking at the cover that this wasn't going to have good CGI. And for what it is, the film is actually enjoyable. Fine, everything is mediocre at best, the acting, the story, the CGI is awful there's no doubt about it, but it is actually a fun film to watch with a group of people and drinks. Give it a try I say.

Infestation (2009)

There are so many different versions of the end of the world isn't there? Zombie apocalypse, asteroid, Rapture, machines, end of civilisation, virus, nature, and so on. This one is the bug kind. And no, Brooke Nevin does not wear that outfit or wield a gun. Unfortunately.

Cooper (Chris Marquette) is at work one day when a high pitch scream knocks everyone out. Cooper wakes up a couple of days later to find everyone has been cocooned in webbing by what appear to be giant bugs.Upon waking others, including his boss' daughter Sara (Brooke Nevin), Hugo (E. Quincy Sloan) and his father Albert (Wesley Thompson), and weather woman Cindy (Kinsey Packard), Cooper and his new found allies try to survive the now bug infested world.

I must admit I was quite surprised by this. The story feels more like a George A. Romero movie than your standard monster movie. Granted the film doesn't focus around the group waiting it out in one location, though that is their ultimate aim; to get to Cooper's dad's (Ray Wise) house since he has a bunker. No it's more a bunch of ragtag survivors learning to trust one another and to cooperate to combat a threat to their way of life, to learn how to operate in a world where most of the every day things we use are no longer applicable. Even the origin of the giant bugs isn't really explained, like the zombies from 'Night of the Living Dead'. The general assumption, and there is one giant hint towards that assumption, is that the bugs are from space. It's just a surprisingly nice feel to it, and with some twists it's a learning curve not just for the characters, but for the audience as well. You're not entirely sure what will happen next; okay they're bugs, some of it is obvious, but at the same time you will be guessing too.

Actually I might as well get it out the way, the bugs do look pretty good. They're not the best in the world, but they do still look very effective. They do look like they're there in the room with the characters, but they've got...I don't know, a certain B-Movie feel to them, I think that's what I like about them more than anything else. The bug drones also look really good and definitely creepy, especially a drone which has a comedic moment with a dog's squeaky toy.

The acting certainly doesn't let it down, and the praise has to go to Marquette. He absolutely carries this film, adding both charm and humour, but can also be serious whenever needed. Nevin does exactly what is needed with her character, portraying a strong woman but with a kind personality as well as intellect and beauty. Ray Wise also adds his own sense of comedy to the script, and sometimes steals the scene. Packard does a good job as Cindy, helping to add a lot more depth to her character than you think, while Sloan and Thompson do great bringing the emotional bits to the film.

My only real criticism of the characters is that I didn't actually see more of them in the film. This film goes out of its way to develop the characters to make us feel attached to them, we learn quite a lot about them in such a short time. Cindy in particular appears to be emotional and crazy, but when you really look at her you can see a manipulative and dependent person. She is so used to getting her way, that when the bug apocalypse happens, she has no idea what to do; this is obvious when she initially wants to go with the character who appears to be a natural born leader, before changing her mind to go with Cooper who seems more...competent, before changing her mind again when she sees the other guy's plan is actually working, then back to Cooper.

At the end of the day, this is a fun film to watch. The film is funny, it's got action, terrific acting, some great characters, some really interesting and good creature designs, there's a few flaws but nothing that would ruin this film.

Well. Except one thing.







Spoiler Section

The ending. I've been complaining about endings a lot haven't I? Well, after a very enjoyable film, we have Cooper, Sara, and Hugo are talking about how they haven't seen a bug in ages. They hear a rumble, see something, comment on it....

The end.

Yeah, it just ends. We don't see what it is, we're not told what it is, the film just ends. This is either help, or more bugs. Either way, this was an awful way to end the film. It's good as well, it leaves the audience wanting more, but it leaves the film feeling incomplete, it leaves the film to sequel baiting. Some films can pull it off, this film did not execute it right.

Judgment Day (1999)

Ah 1999, I...vaguely remember that year. Or rather the end of it, you know it the whole Y2K Millennium Bug and end of the world prophecies, whether that be the technological apocalypse, the Rapture, a meteor, or the popular zombie apocalypse. Hey, the zombies are coming, you better have your zombie plan ready. Alas that isn't what this next film is about, though the end of the world theme is fitting for the year. Though the Antichrist doesn't make an appearance, stupid lying tagline.

No we instead find that an asteroid fourteen miles long (They made a really big point about this, remember, the one that wiped out the dinosaurs was only six miles long) is on its way to Earth. The military send out agents to pick up Doctor David Corbett (Linden Ashby), arguably the only person on Earth capable of developing something to stop the asteroid. However a cult, lead by Thomas Payne (Mario Van Peebles), kidnap him in order to stop him from stopping the asteroid. Not sure how the cult knew about the asteroid, but anyway. Agent Jeanine Tyrell (Suzie Amis) is put in charge of a rescue, joining forces with prisoner Mathew Reese (Ice-T) with only three days to find him.

The plot is okay. It's a rescue operation in a race against time. The problem is that it plods along, there is no real sense of direction that the film is going in. Even when a lead becomes a dead end, low and behold Tyrell and Reese are suddenly on another lead which popped the Hell out of nowhere. There's a few action scenes which seemed forced than anything else; though I do love the fact that Payne at the start is filmed saying 'we don't have gun factories, so where do they come from? Surely an authority figure is to blame' and then five minutes later he has a grenade launcher. Then again that shows that he's (probably) the reason why guns are in the community. Also he is the leader of a cult, all cults have an armory. There isn't really a sense of danger either, any problems are normally solved by either luck or consummate ease.

The acting...is okay. No-one really does anything bad, but they don't do anything spectacular. Although saying that, Peebles I thought was really good. He was charming, he was sophisticated, he basically showed why he was the leader; he basically has a silver tongue, he's a smooth talker, he can manipulate people. An actor who was surprisingly in this was Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as Brother Clarence. Again, I thought that he was pretty good, he certainly played the obedient servant well and was able to portray the right emotions when necessary.

In all honesty, Ice-T was probably the weakest of the cast. Well, him and Amis. Even Coolio as Luther and Dartanyan Edmonds as Damon in the supporting cast stood out more than our two heroes. I suppose it's because of the script and how everything basically went right for them than the actual acting. The characters themselves do have potential to shine, but the result isn't as bright as they should be, though we do have...some stereotypes in here.

The effects. Ooh boy. Well, the gun fights I suppose are pretty standard as well as explosions, again not great, but when it comes down to most of the other stuff, it's pretty bad. The asteroids look fake, and I mean really look fake. Then again it's a low budget B-movie in the late 90s, what else would you expect?

To be honest, this film is disappointing. It certainly has flaws, what movie nowadays doesn't? But I actually expected a lot more of this. So it was made in the late 90s, but I was expecting something like the 1980s action flicks. Compared to those, this film didn't really bring anything new, just more of the same thing we saw in the 80s (If this film WAS made in the 80s I'd have given it some slack). But the film isn't entirely awful, I actually quite liked it. It certainly shows potential, if it had a bigger budget, maybe some better acting, the kinks worked out, it could have been a really good film. It's certainly watchable, I'll say that and I will say give it a try, just don't expect much of a masterpiece.

Trailer Park of Terror (2008)

What is up with film makers and audiences? Who made the first torture porn film? Why did they think that audiences would love watching people get tortured over a long period of time? Why are they made? Why do we watch them? The video nasties of the 1980s (In particular cannibal films, as well as 'I Spit On Your Grave'), then a resurgence in the noughties with the 'Hostel' films, Turistas (Or 'Paradise Lost' here in the UK and Ireland), and of course 'The Human Centipede' films.

And here (Based on the Imperium comics of the same name...apparently. I've never read said comics so that most likely affected my viewing. Can't find a copy anywhere though) a group of delinquents lead by pastor Lewis (Matthew Del Negro) shelter at a trailer park run by Norma (Nichole Hiltz) after their bus has a bad case of crashing into another truck. As the title of this film suggests not all is right with this trailer park, and the group are hunted by a group of evil rednecks.

To be honest I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. The story focuses more on Norma and her..."family" than anything else, the group who we're supposed to follow are more pushed to the side. There's a certain charm to our villains compared to the bland, unmemorable or downright hated members of Pastor's group. Only ONE character, Bridgette (Jeanette Brox) who is likable, and even then it's hard to root for her.

There isn't really much of a story, it's just watching people get killed in bizarre and brutal ways. No, seriously, some of the deaths are bizarre. I won't spoil any of them, I'm sure you'll know them when/if you see them. But they certainly are brutal, it's one of those films where you cringe at seeing them, but surprisingly laugh about it. Well, laugh at one or two anyway. But with that being said there really isn't an aim for this film, the characters seem to be so stupid that escape isn't really an option.

The gore is...well...gorey. But unlike 'The Human Centipede 2' it actually puts effort into the other aspects of the film. More for the villains of the film, but at least it deviated from the gore. The effects certainly look real, thankfully, at least it isn't CGI.

The acting I have to say was pretty damn good, much better than what you'd expect from a film like this. Hiltz shines through them all as Norma, but her fellow trailer park members also share the same charm and energy needed for their roles, especially Myk Watford as Roach, the guitar wielding...undead guy. The only real weak links would be a few members of the Pastor's group, in particular Ricky Mabe as Michael, and Hayley Moarie Norman as Amber, who, at times, you forget are in the film.


So, this film was pretty good. But that's really only because we tend to like the villains attacking the characters we don't like. Hey, kind of like the sequel to 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. But for the most part, there isn't really a reason for this to exist. The story teaches us nothing, but then again it's the kind of film that's designed to entertain rather than teach.

Although...it does slam a moral message right at the end.










Spoiler Section

The ending is weak. It really is. The way the film builds it up, the ending is so disappointing. I'll explain, after the Pastor and all of her friends are killed, Bridgette is confronted by all of the trailer park undead. Norma is happy, until Bridgette yells at them to just kill her and that all she wanted was for people to like her for what she is rather than what they want her to be.

And this works.

Seriously? I mean, this relates to a similar rant that Norma shouts to the trailer park residents, since they treated her with disrespect, and therefore Norma saw a resemblance to herself in Bridgette and that's what led her to let Bridgette go. But seriously? That is what saves Bridgette? When I first saw this with a group of people, you have no idea how much negativity was given to this ending, how much moaning was...moaned. They might as well have just ignored her cries, or faked her out and killed her anyway. Anything than what we actually got would have sufficed.

And that's the moral of the story? Be yourself? Be proud of who you are? What a crap moral to put on the end of a torture porn movie! Hey Amber, be proud of the fact that you've had more guys than the number of letters I've typed in this review. Alex (Ryan Carnes), be proud of the self-centered bastard you are. Hey Tiffani (Stephanie Black), be proud of the fact that you're so desperate for crack you suck the dicks of random guys behind a fuel station!

Of course I may be blowing this out of proportion. Maybe a feeling of self-hatred IS the reason why these kids are on the path of self destruction. Maybe if they had just believed in themselves and liked themselves for who they are they wouldn't have gotten into this mess.

Oh my God I just talked myself into liking the ending.

The Ward (2010)

Do you know what I haven't done for a while? A film about a haunted asylum! Yeah there aren't enough of these is there? And with this film we see John Carpenter returning to the director's chair since 2001's 'Ghosts of Mars', having since worked as...something other than director on 'Vampires: Los Muertos'...um...okay, 'Halloween: Resurrection'...um...okay, and the remakes of 'Assault on Precinct 13' and 'The Fog'. Not boding well.

Kristen (Amber Heard) burns down a house. Not realising it's a crime, she is arrested and committed to an asylum, where she meets Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Emily (Mamie Gummer), and Zoey (Laura Leigh), all of whom are being treated by Doctor Stringer (Jared Harris). However, an evil presence is lurking in the hospital and is hunting the girls. It's a good thing they're the only patients in this hospital, or others would have been in danger as well.

This is pretty much a meh film. Not entirely sure why Kristen was sent to an institution simply because she has memory issues; she seems to be perfectly sane, the only indication is when Kristen was struggling when the police arrested her. Apart from that though the film is wonderfully written, providing the necessary character development and allowing the plot to flow. There are some unnecessary scenes, some of which feel like they were thrown in there for the Hell of it, but overall it is written well.

As I said the characters are developed, you do learn about them, though at the same time not a lot. But it's not just that, at best they're likable, at worse they're bland. They've all got their own traits and personalities but no-one really stands out except Kristen and Stringer. The staff, namely Roy (Dan Anderson) and Nurse Lundt (Susana Burnley), as well as Stringer himself, are normally seen as stereotypical "oh they're nuts we don't care about them" people. Stringer though is only seen doing this a few times, almost as if he's working in the shadows.

Now, the reason why Kristen and Stringer are the only real stand out characters, is because of the acting. And because Kristen is the main character. Heard is an outstanding actress who mostly dominates the scenes, while Harris is pretty much the best acting talent in this film, performing brilliantly as Stringer. Actually I have to say I liked Anderson's role as Roy as well, he's just not given enough screen time seeing as how he's a minor character. Everyone else though, they're okay, they're not bad, nothing spectacular.

The effects I will say do look really good...I can't think of a reason why, but they are good. I think it's more the make-up actually rather than the effects. Carpenter tries to use as little effects as he possibly can and this comes off remarkably well in the film.

So, you'd think this is a good film. Good acting, decent plot, great effects/make-up. But, bizarrely, it kind of isn't. I guess it's because it's all been done before, the scares, the story, nothing new is brought up, and that just makes this film really unmemorable. This is one of those films that really deserved more than this. I suppose it could be a good introduction to Carpenter for newer audiences, but it still isn't a classic compared to 'The Fog' or 'Halloween'. It's a so-so movie, one you can watch, but not one you'll be raving about.






Spoiler Section

You already know what the twist is don't you? Before you even buy the film you know what the twist is. Why? Because it has been done before! Kristen, or rather Alice (Mika Boorem) has a multiple personality disorder; basically everything was in her head. And, as I said, this was pretty much what anyone watching it was expecting.

That being said there are some clever bits involving this, namely how the personalities see everything else, like the hospital staff; initially we see them as jerks, but once Alice has been brought to the surface, we see a much kinder side of them. Though it doesn't explain why, when we see multiple personalities in a room, Stringer moves his face to talk to them; if they were all in the same body wouldn't he just stare straight at one person rather than tilt his head in another direction? And Alice was 'killed' when the other girls put a bag over her head, which doesn't explain why her face looks like it has been burnt off.

Basically, it there are some clever bits and some stupid bits when you think about how the twist affected the film.

Victim (2010)

You know, when someone direct messages you on Twitter saying "Check out Victim 2010' don't do it. If you do you might come across some king of monstrosity which might keep you up at night.

We follow...Young Man (Seriously, he's credited as that) (Stephen Weigand) who is kidnapped by Doctor Rudolph Volk (Bob Bancroft) and his ogre of an assistant Mr George (Brendan Kelly). What does Volk want with the Young Man? What exactly is Volk up to? And does it have anything to do with the video we saw at the beginning of the film?

This film, this film is weird. I can't really talk about the story without hinting at major spoilers, so I'll leave that till the spoiler section at the end. I will say that the acting is pretty good, in particular Bob Bancroft who managed to portray a very sinister individual. However, when he tries to express any other emotion, he tends to fall flat. Brendan Kelly can do particularly well as the mute Mr George, but he can't seem to get the right emotion from time to time. Stephen Weigand meanwhile, is pretty bad all round.

Then again not much is given with their characters, Volk is only interesting when in eccentric mode and we don't really learn much about Mr George or Young Man to really care. Hell, we don't even learn Young Man's actual name, nor do we know why George is helping Volk. Volk's motivation you sort of learn as the film progresses, but there is a big contradiction, again it'll come up in the spoiler section. In fact you care less and less about Young Man as the film goes on.

There is one other main character, Detective Janet Corwin (Stacey Haiduk) whose character is weird. She's there to provide hope for Young Man, but her interest in Volk seemingly comes out of nowhere. That and she is virtually bland, all we really know is she wants to go to Florida. Haiduk doesn't really seem to know what to do with the role, she just goes along for the ride really.

Actually for the story, I can say that I kind of respect where it goes, how it pushes the boundaries, but it doesn't really pull it off well. When Volk's objective is revealed, for a thriller film it really is downright disturbing. And with a short cast list there isn't the classic 'kill them off to raise tension', and Volk's plan goes along with hardly any problems so escape seems impossible.

But overall, it isn't exactly a good movie. For a large part not much happens, but the film does crawl under your skin. It's kind of like 'Twilight', there's a good concept, but it's held back by everything else. The acting is poor, the overall story is poor, not much goes for the film. Now for the spoilers.








Spoiler Section

Volk's objective to brainwash Young Man into becoming a woman. I am dead serious. And not just any woman, but his daughter. Why? Well, Volk's daughter was sexually assaulted, and Volk wants to inflict the same pain onto the person who did it.

And that works against the film because you get a feeling that Young Man was the rapist before it's even revealed, which makes it a lot more difficult to like the guy. Along with that, by the time Volk's master plan is about to be executed, it virtually isn't Young Man anymore, so technically Young Man isn't suffering the same pain, its this whole new personality that's suffering.

So, a bit of a flawed story, but really, it's a passable film. I'm not going to watch it again in a hurry, but it's passable.