Drake is a greedy mining magnate (Robinson) turning the sleepy rural town of Clear Sky into a prospect, lining the pockets of corrupt local officials in the bargain, until water poisoning results in over-sized mosquitoes sucking the lifeblood out of the locals. Local deputy and part time metal sculptor (Youngs) isn't on Drake's payroll and decides to engage the services of a chemist (Sanderson) to ascertain the cause of the pollution. Naturally, Drake and his cronies try to hinder the process, until finally the mutated "skeeters" become the common nemesis.
Despite its disjointed, pedestrian pace, the vast array of familiar faces and corny set-ups are almost redeemable qualities in this otherwise meandering mish-mash. There's some nice photography and amusing dialogue, and the effects aren't so bad they're unwatchable, but continuity is the chief concern, with so many scenes of limited relevance that characters are reduced to cameo appearances (recognizable faces like Pollard, Putch & Flower are virtually bit parts).
The primitive tension between goodbye girl Griffith and her former companion Youngs manages to simmer to a gentle boil for one, romantic interlude in the sheds – by candlelight of course. It's one of the hallmarks of the weakly conceived storyline, or its interpretation, that the mood can switch so frequently from scene to scene as it does in this film. In some passages, it seems almost as if the "skeeters" are a sub plot such is their lack of relevance; in reality, the film carries so much peripheral baggage, it can't successfully meld them cohesively. Lots of location work, stunts and pyrotechnics to show off some semblance of a movie budget, but the connective tissue is so malnourished, it's barely alive.
So while the cast is attractive (see Trainor & Edwards in all too brief roles), capable (Napier particularly) and with some exceptions sincere in the performances, the fatal lack of connectivity or momentum consigns this one to trash-video status. Not to be avoided at all costs, but don't expect much in return.
