Metamorphosis

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.

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")

Another evil conspiracy is in the works. This time it's a rich guy who owns a beef distibuting company, in league with genetic engineers, trying to make his product sell more, or better, or something. In any event, they're messing with the beef, by treating it with some kind of parasite. Guess what? Something goes wrong, and the parasites go on a rampage.

It's actually creepy and scary enough to work, in spite of the recycled plot devices. The movie offers exploding stomachs (Alien), the conspirators covering up their actions at the expense of more lives (X Files), dumb sheriffs (lots of movies), and dumber townspeople (also lots of movies). There's also lots of bloody bodies, both humans and creatures. The acting is fairly decent, and the quasi-bat like design of the rapidly proliferating monsters is ugly enough for this sort of flick. The action is paced rather well, gory scenes balanced with scientific analysis exposition, even some "Don't look behind that door!" type stuff. Of course, they run the obligatory victim mauling scenes, including the usual couple-making-out-gets-killed routine.

All in all, a capably managed low budget horror movie, which manages a fair number of good old fashioned scares.

Having watched 1000+ movies, this one is just another one in the genre. It's has no exciting extra's at all. The story and plot are well known. Only a little different on the outside. Watching this movie is just as filling in the same mathematical formula, with other values for it's variables. Nothing new. The effect's are really bad done. Especially the 'monsters'. They just look like an old coat that is in someway washed but never ironed. The color is also not realistic. It's yellowed. Done with a meaning ? I don't know, it's just irritating to watch. I hate things like this to give a special setting to a movie. Do it with good acting, good special effects and a good story. Not with Yelowing the whole movie, I rather watch them in realistic coloring. All by all, if you're young and new to the movie-watching scene, it maybe worth a view. But if you're older and have seen a lot of movies, you really fall asleep by looking this one.

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."