Infested

Take the Big Chill and blend it with the worst possible "the evil government made the baddie" movie and you've got this bomb. Even with a reasonable cast (Amy Jo Johnson, Zach Galligan, Amy Jo Johnson and Tuc Watkins) this one cannot climb out of the pit of B-movie turkeys.

A group of friends reunites in the country for the funeral of their old friend Steven, who committed suicide. After the services, they decide to spend together the weekend in the cottage of Carl (Tuc Watkins) at the seaside recalling their best moments. While getting tanned at the beach, the voluptuous Mindy (Nahanni Johnstone) is attacked by flies that invade her body through her mouth and possess her brain. When Carl meets her, she transmits the bugs to him, spreading the invasion of bodies. The survivors are trapped in the house and fight to survive.

"Infested" is one of those B (or Z) movies that the viewer must expect flaws and clichés in the screenplay, bad special effects, breasts and half-naked women, screams and funny (or ridiculous) situations. In this regard, this trash movie does not disappoint. The story is silly and predictable, but I have seen flicks worse and worse than "Infested". The speech of Father Morning is hilarious and one of the best moments of the story but the insane motive of Steven gives a weak conclusion to the plot. Considering that I bough this DVD for about US$ 3.00, I did not dislike this film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Infested – A Invasão" ("Infested – The Invasion")

If you gave a group of teenagers a camcorder, they could accurately recreate about 90% of this movie. Seriously. Shot on digital video, the movie looks absolutely threadbare, not helped by the fact that it all seems filmed on location with nothing added in the scene. The first third of the movie is, in fact, nothing more than actors standing and talking around outside or inside the house. Not just cheap, but BORING.

And then when the effects come in... oh dear. Even your average weekly dramatic TV series, if it ever uses CGI, will have it looking better than these CGI effects. Gore effects are at a minimum, though I must admit one effect concerning a leg looked both gruesome and pretty convincing.

The movie is not just boring - it is unbelievably STUPID. Characters keep doing things in the dumbest way possible, when anyone with some common sense probably wouldn't have taken long to get out the situation. These are not just stupid characters - they are ANNOYING characters. Not one of them is the least bit likable. They are especially unbearable when the movie decides to be humorous. Not only are they not funny, they are even more painful to observe.

What happened to Zach Galligan? Is he really that hard up for cash? Well, considering he was arrested for shoplifting not long ago from the date I write this... maybe he is.

This film is a catastrophe. It is amazing that some one actually created and produced this mix-up-crap of film. This movie has almost no dialogue, lost any sense of humuor and The whole point of the movie is missing. In addition the act in this movie are so awful that it goes beyond my imagination.

I really hope that every copy of this film will be eradicated in a not so distant future and that John Olsen is fired because of this horrible movie

Warning: Do not try to buy or borrow this movie. You will waste priceless time on it!!!!!!!!

"Infested" tries to do too much, and derails itself in the process. It's main crime is a dependence on easy option, post-modern references to other films to entertain Generation X video renters. This gets tired very quickly and soon takes on the air of "rip-off" rather than "homage". It intends a kitsch "so bad its good" appeal, but ends up just being bad.

There is some good acting to be found however, from actors who clearly got the joke and entered into the spirit of the affair. It's not enough though - shoddy direction, lazy camerawork and an overall atmosphere of "naffness" are too strong to be overcome.

Also, as in "Night of the Lepus", the monster animals just aren't a frightening concept at all. Flies! What a stupid idea! Not even wasps or bees, but flies. I'm sure I'm not alone in having never shivered at the thought of a blue-bottle... It also feels like a lame monster was chosen as some kind of joke, but it's about as funny as it is scary.

I'm afraid, "Infested" fails to become a "beer-and-a-joint-laugh-at-the-lame-film" experience. I think it tries too hard. It suffers from the same problem as Tarantino's "Kill Bill Vol.1" in that you just end up wishing you'd watched one of the films it rips off instead.