Aberration

It can't be helped, the film is cool. Yeah it's low budget and there's bad acting, etc. but from the beginning this film grabs you. A young girl (Pamela Gidley) escaping her troubled life finds refuge in her families old house in the mountains. She gets stuck in her house, but luckily with a grad student (Simon Bossell) who specializes in animals. Very soon after they get stuck the showdown with the killer geckos begins. All parts with the geckos are entertaining, but by far the best bit is when the girl's boyfriend (Valeri Nikolayev) finds where she's hiding and tries to force 'his' money out of her. Must be seen to be understood, but he does a great job of being campy and unintentionally funny. 'Aberration' did not take itself too seriously, which paid off because the script was really cheesy. I would say it's good enough to rent, definitely worth a watch if it's ever on TV. Rating: 23/40

This movie is about as scary as a Disney movie. With plenty of gore and a weak story line, it is little wonder that it was overlooked by many, but in the end, the cheesiness of the film is what makes it worth watching for many. The effects aren't as good as hoped and the characters are not very believable. The story is that of a pair of people whom (too my knowledge) are stuck in a cabin where there are insidious lizard-like animals which feast on flesh. The monstrous and quite murderous creatures seem to appear as little more than garden-variety newts, but they seem to creep a viewer out in a pinch. The setting is also fairly weak, but it does the trick well for the story. All in all, if you are in the mood for a simple story and moderately simple effects, cast aside "Troy" and watch this.

pamela gidley shows that she really knows how to take control of mutated reptiles, although she can't do too much with the script. the actors are so forgettable that the creatures should get top billing. on-screen chemistry between gidley and simon bossell is perhaps the worst ever if not for the recent star wars trilogy.

the effects and props are outlandish but there's plenty of them - a guy's head explodes and you've gotta love that, another guy gets eaten by mutant lizards, and there's an absolutely great scene toward the end where gidley almost loses her leg to a hasty operation on (of all places) the counter in the general store. more lizard battles follow, lots of blood, puss, etc. it's a miracle that the characters' lack of anything resembling common sense didn't get them dusted in the first ten minutes.

if you're a fan of gore, crackerjack horror, B-anything, peter jackson's older work, or have a "thing" for pamela gidley, then you'll probably enjoy it. it succeeds where a lot of cheap movies fail, which is to say that while the plot is essentially brainless, it manages to stay consistently fun and entertaining. aberration's biggest drawback may be its 'TV movie' feel but given the subject it doesn't suffer much for it.

As I was sitting with my wife watching "Aberration," I couldn't help but say "why the heck am I watching this? This is the dumbest movie I ever saw!" Then it dawned on me. If it was so dumb, why was I watching it? It seems this movie is so bad it's good and I actually recommend it if you're into that kind of movie.

First of all; the rating scale is difficult to use as I recommend the movie (who doesn't love campy, tongue-in-cheek low budget scifi/horror; if you're reading this you do!). I use the scale for the quality of scenes not the movie whole. The acting was OK and at times rather bad. There were some cool aspects and the gore was quite good even though scifi hacked it. Pamela Gidley i've always loved! The lizards looked like a cross between older godzilla movies with a hint of digital animation at times. I loved the setting (cabin in the woods) and the snow. A hot snow bunny always helps. All in all it's definitely worth a rent.