This is the hybrid we’ve been waiting for, the combination of the mosquito and man that not even the best filmmakers could manage, Mansquito! I can just imagine the pitch meeting for this film at the studios. It’s comedy gold. Regardless, this is the kind of shlock drive-in movie you would have loved to see back in the fifties, though it follows along the vein of past movies plot-wise. The premise sounds cheesy even after considering it came from the Scifi channel who are now known for cheesy flicks, but it’s actually an interesting movie. I didn’t hate it. I was surprised also that Lorenzo Lamas wasn’t in this flick since he usually is in about every other Scifi Channel flick… maybe he was holding out for more money. After a new strain of disease rivaling west nile hits a worldwide epidemic, scientists are now working on a new antidote researching mosquitoes. A convicted murderer is being transferred to the lab to become a guinea pig for the antidote, but when he breaks free he raises hell in the lab and ends up being doused with experimental liquids.
Tag Archives: Horror
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
“The Exorcist” is my favorite horror movie of all time and to this day no matter how much I see it, it’s still the most intelligent, character based horror film I’ve ever seen; the rest of the series? Not so favorite of mine, but regardless, after a lot of hype about this movie and the constant problems, we’re given this. After nearly five years of filming and constant problems (Original director dying, Original star dropping out, and so forth), this film basically bombed big time with both critics and movie-goers despite moderate success in the box-office. The original director Paul Schrader — who was kicked off the production (You’re morons Hollywood execs) in favor of Renny Harlin (Again, morons!) — directed his own version before being forced off, and while I imagine it can’t be as bad as this, I hope it’s at least an improvement.
Species III (2004)
After the sequel to Species, the army is now transporting her body to the morgue for testing, but discovers she’s not exactly dead and has given birth to two offspring. Sil, the original species (cameo by Natasha Henstridge) is killed, but not before she gives birth to a child which is stolen by a soldier and taken in. The name of the child is Sara a brand new species/half-breed. Sara is played by the beautiful and angelic Sunny Mabrey, who pulls in a good performance as the new creature forced to discover the world. She presents the same sexual appeal predecessor Henstridge did, and is just as threatening.
Starship Troopers 2 – Hero of the Federation (2004)
What occurs in “Starship Troopers 2” is an odd thing, something that happens very rarely in franchise land. First off, I’ll be the first to admit that the sub-title “Hero of the Federation” makes no sense to me. What is it supposed to mean? Is it supposed to refer to the character Dax? Regardless, I would have preferred something like “Dark Corruption” or something to that effect, something that refers to the plot. What’s odd is, this is so very different from the first film, and that was perplexing to me. I’d read about this movie and about how dark and murky it would be from the original film, but I didn’t expect anything like this. I thought the original film was decent for what it was; a balls to the wall action film without a brain in its head, but I liked it, and I even liked the obscure dark animated series “Roughnecks”, so it’s safe to say the writer strays away from the original formula that made the Verhoeven directed original so successful and decides to take its own route in storytelling.
Willard (2003)
“Willard” 2003 has a very Tim Burton motif that just didn’t work and with characters that were over the top, and a love interest that’s under-used, it’s not hard to believe there’s barely a story to see here, especially one that is just comprised of Willard seeking revenge on his enemies through the mice. There’s nothing but filler and mild violence that hardly displays the carnage of the mice who are supposed to be the devil incarnate, the devil in Willard, but nothing is accomplished except a lot of tricks involving rats. This time around, there’s a loon playing a loon, in this case Crispin Glover who is delightfully over the top as Willard himself.
Saw (2004)
The Grudge (2004)
The remake of “Ju-On” now called (sigh) “The Grudge” is the perfect example of faulty westernization in which the translated work suffers in the translation and completely misses the point of the original. The original had the surprise ending which makes you re-assert your thoughts on the characters, while the remake has the “You thought the monster was dead, but its not!” ending that I yawned at.