Insecticidal

This was Jeffery Scott Lando first attempt to direct a flick. Well, he already made his name by making a turkey. Let me clear it out for you, the story is as simple as it can be but it's the use of CGI that makes it a turkey. Even the attacks by the bugs are off-screen, so you only see some puss flying around or hitting the actors.

And let me go in on the acting, it's lesser than mediocre by some. The girl (Rhonda Dent) changing into a so-called bug is exaggerating in her acting. Just watch when she's eating a human corpse. If it was to be a comedy I would go buy that kind of acting but here, sorry, no can do. The best part was in fact the main lead Cami (Meghan Heffern), she did well as the nerdy girl and look, she went on to do The Fog and Chloe. The rest all disappeared into bad flicks or stopped acting.

But I guess they all knew that it wasn't what it was to be so there is a shower scene were we have gratuitous nudity full shaved frontal. Further we have some kinky chick getting into SM but naturally they all got attacked by the bugs. Maybe the best ones were the slugs, if they all could have looked like them then it could have been great. But the SyFy look of the bugs teared this flick really into a turkey. There's almost no blood in it and if it does it isn't scary or gory on any part. One to see with your friends and having big fun with the stupidity of the blonds, the nudity and the over-sized bugs of Samantha McLeod.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 3/5 Effects 0/5 Story 1/5 Comedy 1/5

Described as a horror B-movie, Insecticidal is a rather tame film in tone and in terms of violence and gore. It is entirely silly, cheesy and ultimately predictable. Perhaps a throwback to those 1980's films.

The characters aren't bad, but are entirely the stereotypical type we would seen in these sorority women films. Also, noticed how all the main women characters' names ends in "i". Cami, Josi, Sophi, Fumi, Jeni, Twisti, Belli. Not to nitpick but what was the purpose of this. As it wasn't mentioned. Or are we just to assume those were their "sorority sister" alias names?

The CGI giant bugs look fake and are never menacing or threatening. This film doesn't take itself serious which perhaps benefits it.

It is rated R due to its brief few nude scenes, though without them, everything else is reduced and feels that of a PG-13 film. Reminded of those 2000's teen drama/comedies tv series.

Not exactly worthwhile but its "more fun and relaxed" tone makes it entertaining at times, all be it predictable.

So bad, I stopped paying attention after the first 10 minutes. I'm not kidding, this movie is filled with the most obviously bad cgi scorpion I've ever seen, ever. Each character is painfully stupid. Plot is stupid, "special" effects are stupid, etc. If you are a vegetable you may enjoy this I suppose, but then if you are a vegetable you probably don't really care one way or the other, which leads me to believe that the people who made this movie must be vegetables. I'd give a synopsis of the plot, but trust me, it really doesn't matter, but I'll try anyway: Something about bugs, and a nerdy girl and some dumb slut who is a terrible actress, thats basically all I can remember, and I challenge anyone not to loose brain cells while watching this crap.

Cami (Meghan Heffern) is a dedicated student of etymology that is researching insects in her sorority house. When her sorority sister Josi (Rhonda Dent) sprays insecticide on her bugs, Cami becomes upset. But sooner she learns that the insects had grown bigger and bigger and her sister and she are under siege of the insects. Further, Josi is the host of the breed of mutant insects that are very hungry.

"Insecticidal" is a B-movie with all the elements of this type of film: hot naked girls, terrible dialogs, awful story and acting, poor special effects and lots of gore and spittle. Therefore, it is only recommended for fans of trash movies. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Inseticida" ("Insecticidal")

Ah, giant bug movies. If you're like me, you fondly remember films like "Them," "Tarantula" and maybe even "Eight-Legged Freaks." "Insecticidal" aims for that same genre...sort of. The premise is simple: a sorority house gets attacked by giant bugs. You know how this movie will go. People will be hacked apart by the merciless arthropods, the house will be turned into a battleground, and yes, there will be lesbians.

In all truth, there are decent parts to this film. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, acknowledging at points its own cheesiness. The actors and actresses who play our main characters pull off their less-than-Shakespearean lines pretty well. And, of course, there is eye candy to be found here.

Unfortunately, the film suffers from painful amounts of stupidity when it comes to the bugs and pretty much anything involving them. For instance, Cammy, the nerd (we know she's a nerd because she wears glasses) creates the monsters by accident. That would work for this setting, except for the REASON behind it. She states that she was mocked by her professors for her outlandish theory that "insects used to be the dominant species," and that she was experimenting on them to prove that they had "dormant genes." A combination of these experiments and some pesticide exposure activated these genes and made the bugs grow huge.

First, the claims that bugs were once dominant on Earth: No @#$%, Sherlock! Back in the Carboniferous period (300 million years ago) arthropods DID rule the world. There were dragonflies with 3-foot wingspans, centipede/millipede relatives from 5 to 10 feet long and scorpions 3 feet long. The idea that any modern scientist would mock Cammy for stating what's already true is just idiotic.

Second, the whole "dormant genes" idea: It's possible (although REALLY unlikely) that modern arthropods do hold dormant genes from their Carboniferous ancestors, but how the heck did Cammy manage to turn those genes on? It remains a mystery.

"Insecticidal" also suffers from what I like to call pseudo-intelligence. When the filmmakers want you to think that a character is smart, they have him or her use really long words, even if those words make no sense. When the giant praying mantis appears, Cammy classifies it with a long, Latin-sounding name. The problem is that the praying mantis's REAL scientific name is simply "Mantis religiosa" The final thing that hurts this film is that the special effects aren't so special. If brought to life effectively and accurately, the giant insects, arachnids and other invertebrates in "Insecticidal" could be terrifying. The praying mantis (a major enemy in the movie) has a ridiculous Kermit-the-frog mouth and the annoying habit of knocking people to the ground and apparently whacking them repeatedly with its forelegs. A real praying mantis attack is far more disturbing: it's spiny forelegs snatch prey in the blink of an eye and simply hold it there while the insect's blade-like mouth-parts methodically chew through the living victim. That would have been far more frightening than being slapped to death by Kermit the bug.

There are so many things wrong with this movie (herbivorous stag and rhinoceros beetles are shown eating people, as well as everything I already mentioned) that I can't rank it highly. That said, I'm actually recommending this film. It's so incredibly bad that you can have your own Mystery Science Theatre night with it.