Infection

This movie is the most original horror film I have ever seen. It was so unpredictable that it really made me squirm. There's a overwhelming sense of dread right from the start even though everything seems humdrum normal. It almost has a documentary feel to it. Because you can't predict what's next and because the actors don't play the characters as stereotypes, the feeling of dread just keeps growing and growing until it does get almost unbearable. And the one shot gimmick really makes the film scarier because there is no relief and because its all from a police car camera you can't see what's outside of your view but you sure do hear it! The sound and music was outstanding and so were the actors who seemed like real people caught up instead of the typical sweat faced and blood covered actress you see running around chased by the typical (pick one knife, chainsaw, sadistic torture device) carrying maniac. It was how the film did what you couldn't see that made me so scared and paranoid. Just a very clever and inventive film. My negatives would be the title Invasion, which is about as unimaginative as it can be and I wish there were a few more incidents so the viewer can catch their breath. Bravo to this film.

Wow. I almost passed on this because its imdb score was 4.0 (which is absolutely insane). This is a minimum 7, might even be an 8 if they cut out the cringey opening slides & added maybe 20-30 minutes of action/climax (it's only 1 hour long, so it definitely had a VERY SOLID base to build from).

It's the best dashcam movie I've ever seen. Based on its imdb score, I thought it would be a B movie I could put on in the background while I did other things; boy was I WRONG! It's short but absolutely grippingly intense with menacing scenery and frantic dialogue throughout. The constrained view of the dashcam really emphasizes your sense of vulnerability. You really become emotionally involved and engrossed by the dashcam filming style. The voice acting is top notch, the little actual acting that there is is decent, but the atmosphere, the atmosphere is what absolutely nails this. I want to give it an 8 so bad, I just wish there was MORE! Okay, I'm giving it an 8.

Compared to another big name horror movie I recently saw, this blows NOSFERATU out of the water and it's not even close.

INFECTION (aka: INVASION) starts out semi-promising. A cop drives down a rural road in his patrol car, recording everything on his dash cam. It seems that a meteor has hit nearby, and something strange is going on as a result.

Unfortunately, this setup lingers on and on. And on, as various people drive the same police car down the same long stretch of road!

To be fair, a couple of zombie-types do wander about, but they only last for about 10 seconds. There are few scares, and even fewer interesting plot developments. Most scenes are made up of lengthy shots of empty road with absolutely no action.

As one of the so-called "found footage" films, this movie could be used as evidence for why the entire sub-genre should be abolished...

I have never in my life taken the time to write a review on anything. But PLEASE do not waste a penny or a second in this movie. There is nothing redeeming about it at all. The script is terrible, the acting atrocious, the plot absurd, the sound effects ridiculous and the storyline completely boring. It is sad that one red cent was made making this disgrace to the movie industry. I only have it 1 star because there wasn't a way to give it negative stars. I guess they thought they were creating something inventive or imaginative but my six year old niece tells better stories.

Everyone involved in this film should be banned from ever making another movie.

That's right. You heard me.

Almost everything important in this movie happens off-camera. The problem with these "real-life" style horror flicks is that the presence of the camera has to be explained. The only way the makers of 'Infection' could think of to get a "real" camera into their movie was to use the dashboard camera of a police car. The problems with this choice should have been immediately apparent--the middle of a car's dashboard can't follow a principal character around. A police car can't bob and weave through buildings, can't hide in bushes, can't investigate strange sounds in an abandoned warehouse or flee to the roof and fail miserably at trying to escape via helicopter, can't do about 80% of the "required" activity in a successful zombies-are-coming-to-eat-you flick. It's just too limited. Even COPS doesn't rely ONLY on dashboard cameras. Why the makers of 'Infection' thought they could do it is beyond me. You're so desensitized to everything by the time hand-held cameras finally DO come into play toward the end, it doesn't even have an effect.

The "skipping" footage doesn't help matters. For the feed to cut out just when what IS visible starts to get good doesn't make it extra scary, it just makes it frustrating.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of "less is more." Best thing about 'Paranormal Activity?' The power of suggestion. But the power of suggestion ALONE is not enough to carry a good horror film.

Even with an "A for effort," I can only justify giving this flop three stars. Recommended only for those who can't handle the real scares in something like '*REC' or 'Paranormal Activity.'