Larva

Larva (2005) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows some experiments on larva that get out of the lab and into the local cattle. As the cattle are slaughtered and turned into meat for the locals the cattle might not be the only ones infected by the parasites.

This movie is directed by Abram Cox (Mammoth) and stars Vincent Ventresca (The Invisible Man), Rachel Hunter (The Benchwarmers), William Forsythe (Raising Arizona) and Mercedes Peterson (Rattlers 2).

This has one of those predictable storylines where the entire movie you're waiting for the "experiment gone wrong" explanation. The acting is better than the writing and the dialogue is frustrating at times. The horror scenes are disappointing and the CGI isn't very good. The kills are just okay, which is too bad because there's a worthwhile concept buried deep in here.

Overall, this had a worthwhile premise that with better execution could have been very good. Unfortunately this falls short of its potential. I would score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.

A leading meat-providing corporation takes a turn for the worst when an experiment involving seeds that beef-up cattle end up creating mutant creatures within the stomach's of those who ingest the beef. I caught "Larva" by accident this afternoon, sat down and watched it and was reasonably impressed. The plot offers nothing new, that's for sure. You've got your usual collection of characters--the greedy company CEO, the disbelieving sheriff, the throw-away creature fodder victims, etc. the film is also quite predictable. But the technical aspects of the film are well done. Director Tim Cox's visual style is strong and adds lots of credibility to the films. I loved the yellow-golden Cinematography that he bathes the film in. Acting is all-around decent, especially William Forsythe who's quite amusing as the clichéd wacko farmer. The special effects were pretty neat. Once we actually see the creatures, their somewhat disappointing, kind of like a Horseshoe crab spliced with a sting ray. Sounds pretty cool, looks rather silly and unbelievable. The make-up effects were quite impressive. Don't be fooled by the fact it's a made-for-cable monster movie, it's gory as hell (Can't wait for the DVD release). I dug all the yucky parasite business as well.

Despite the clichéd plot and characters, it's a pretty decent, watchable movie, especially for fans of gore. Worth a viewing.

6/10.

Best line: "Um, sheriff, their's aliens in my backyard. They look like kites."

In Host, Missouri, the newcomer Dr. of Veterinary Science Eli Rudkus (Vincent Ventresca) is called by the farmer Jacob Long (William Forsythe) to exam one of his cows. The veterinarian finds a strange parasite in the animal and sends it to a friend in the Department of Agriculture for research. Later, he finds the same parasite in a creek and he summons the population for a meeting, warning that the cause might be the animal food. However, Fletcher Odermatt (David Selby), the wealthy owner of the local Host Tender Meals that has been providing free animal food for the farmers, brings his lawyer Hayley Anderson (Rachel Hunter) and discredits Eli. When a huge mutant parasite attacks Eli and Jacob, they discover that the meals are actually an experimental genetic cocktail that is growing parasites inside the kettles and people.

"Larva" is a surprisingly funny and entertaining B-movie. The flawed story is silly and trash and it is hilarious to see, for example, the veterinarian Eli using his bare hands touching the mutant parasite that has just been killed, or the chase in the hospital. Nevertheless the absurdness of the plot, I believe that fans of B-movies may like "Larva". My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Homem Larva" ("Larva Man")

The plot here is typical of its genre, experiments gone bad, quick-witted scientist/good guy, action side-kicks, a few silly teenagers caught up in it all. Unlike a lot of monster movies of its day you don't have to wait right to the end to see the monster, or the monster growing up, so to speak, and toward the end the thrills do start flying, so to speak. The actors are good, well cast. The horror is gory and plenty of splatter, though the tension needed to be better done. That might have been achieved with better film, but perhaps that was just my dvd, which seemed to have been bleached of some clarity and the colour blue (everything seemed to be a 'midwest red'). It's not a bad movie, though one can't approach it with too much anticipation, and certainly if one is into collecting classic monster movies, then you do need a copy of Larva, if only for a look at Rod Stewart's old girlfriend.

Finding out that a film is a 'Sci-Fi Original' is usually enough to put me off and indeed that is the reason I haven't seen many of them; but to my surprise, Larva is actually a well made and entertaining film that delivers the thrills along with an interesting storyline. The plot focuses on a small town somewhere in America in which the farmers are getting a good deal from a meat company as they're getting free food for their cattle. The free food also increases their productivity; but there's a side effect because it contains a parasite that eats the cattle from the inside out. This is discovered when a new vet comes to town; but it's not long before the parasite has gotten out of the control and has become a problem for the whole town. Naturally the story has holes and the acting is not the best you'll ever see; but Tim Cox's film gets over this by focusing on the storyline. Obviously it's not completely original and has been seen in many films before, but nevertheless it works well in this one. The special effects are decent when the parasite is in its first stage; although it does have to be said that the quality takes a bit of a downturn once the parasites start to grow a bit larger. However, it's not a big problem really; you've got to expect cheap effects from a film like this and it delivers the goods in other areas. Overall, this is certainly fun entertainment and I would recommend giving it a look.