Mosquitoman

undoubtedly you've seen the previews on sci-fi which show the sexy scientist tearing off her blouse-- that and the title tell you all you need to know about how cheesy and ridiculous this picture is-- but I hate to admit I found it strangely watchable. Corin Nemec plays a positively Beowulfian cop who tussles repeatedly with the mansquito but somehow survives each time, while(numerous) lesser men and women die within a few tenths of a second of their 'squito encounters. The story hurtles forward at a breathless pace,which is undoubtedly a good thing considering how silly it is. The heroine is also infected by radioactive skeeter juice(hence her need to disrobe(?), and she figures out that Only She can lure Mansquito to his doom...and you can probably guess the rest.

Look: obviously no one watches a teevee movie called "Mansquito!"(it needed an exclamation point, don't you think?) expecting King Lear, unless they have neurological problems or something. Mansquito! is the cinematic equivalent of cheese nachos: you hate to admit you occasionally crave because you know they're nutritional gargbage-- good in a bad way. And gee, I didn't know mosquitos growl.

A convict is scheduled to be used in tests involving the west Nile virus, but escapes and is bitten by a mutant mosquito, transforming him into a hideous insectile humanoid. It's up to cops to track him down as he makes his way through a city, sucking his victims dry. This is one of those "Made for Sci-fi channel" films, which, lets face it, more often than not turn out to be stinking cesspools (See Dinocroc, King Snake, Boa vs. Python, etc.) or, putting it more kindly, on the "lower end of the horror spectrum". However, "Mansquito" actually manages to transcend most of the other films sci-fi produces. It's got decent enough acting, plenty of nasty gore scenes, cool creature effects, but lots of problems too. To start, the plot is carp. I'll admit that. It's got lots of 1-D characters whose sole purpose is to be killed off in horrible gruesome ways by the monster. The science behind the creature is non-existent. It's also very, very predictable. Director Tibor Takács—who was responsible for 1987's effects-laden cult hit, "The Gate", and the really cool "I, Madman"—has since done some not-so-great low-budget horror films like Killer Rats (2003), but he redeems himself somewhat with "Mansquito". He gives the film a fun feel and never lets the pace drop. He also gives us just what we paid for—gore and a slimy, ugly monster. At first the gore is rather tame, but it really picks up towards the end, check out the "SWAT team dismemberment" for some real nasty stuff! As I said before, the creature effects are really cool. The effects are handled by Tony Garner, who also worked on "Seed of Chucky". Thankfully the monster isn't CG most of the time, just a good old man-in-a-suit (Except for shots of the creature running or flying, in which the makers implored so truly awful CG).

If you're looking for a fresh, original sci-fi film, look elsewhere, 'cause "Mansquito" is anything but that. However, it IS a fun, gory monster movie for a boring, rainy Saturday afternoon.

6/10.

SciFi has been doing a little better with their films lately. I enjoyed Frankenfish, this, and Species III. THey are making some ones better than Raptor Island...Ugh, I shudder to think of that crap. Anyway, this is Mansquito. SciFi usually uses bad CGI effects, but in this they managed to have GOOD effects! GO figure! The effects really impressed me, some CGI, but not much at all. THe Mansquito looked real good, and there were some nice gore effects. Hopefully there will be more gore in the DVD release hehe. ANyway, this film is not too original, but it is entertaining. Very entertaining. Good way to waste 2 hours of your time. Def. one good monster/killer bug film. Recommended if you want to have some good fun. 7/10

You don't have to watch Mosquito Man to know that it takes heavy influence from David Cronenberg's classic film 'The Fly', but I liked said film a lot and so decided that I would be happy if this film merely offered a fun retelling of it. I'm pleased to say that while Mosquito Man is silly and redundant, it is at least lots of fun and therefore offers enough as far as I'm concerned. I have to admit that I find insects fascinating, and this is a good thing given how many insect related horror films there are to choose from. Mosquito's don't really interest me, and the film doesn't really delve into their life cycle much...but luckily, it doesn't really matter. The film bases its plot on the idea of a virus that is working its way through the human population. A couple of scientists have found some sort of cure involving mosquitoes, but this backfires when a convict set to be used as a guinea pig escapes and causes an accident in the facility. His DNA is then merged with the mosquito DNA and he becomes, you guessed it, a human-mosquito hybrid with a mission to mate with the female scientist who has suffered the same unfortunate fate.

Director Tibor Takács made a minor splash back in the eighties with cult hits The Gate and I, Madman. This film is unlikely to remembered with the same affection as the latter two films, but it features the same kind of nonsense, yet well worked plot line. The special effects are important in a film like this, and despite being a film that is unlikely to ever amount to anything - Mosquito Man does feature great special effects. The central monster looks cool enough, and this is matched by some great gory scenes that will please anyone with a mind to see it. As mentioned, the plot doesn't delve very deep but it does at least focus on the important elements and remains interesting for the duration. The acting is surprisingly decent also, with the hot Musetta Vander providing the eye candy (both for the audience and for the title monster), while Corin Nemec is good in the opposite role. It's not hard to guess where it's going at any point, but the film races towards the inevitable conclusion with style, and the director chucks in a nice gore sequence every time things start to dry up. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trash to anyone looking for a fun flick, and it's nowhere near as bad as it could have been.

Creepy looking convict gets some genetic engineering stuff on his hand and rapidly morphs into an even creepier looking creature. Mansquito is outrageous, but actually gets in a few scares on you. Watching that thing drink is pretty gross, what with blood being the implied soft drink of choice.

He starts finding victims immediately, some at random, others for revenge. He takes particular interest in seeking out a female doctor at the genetic engineering lab, who herself may be contaminated with the stuff. You suspect this because she starts liking sugar and raw meat. Plus, she gets a bad case of "red-eye."

Enter the stock plot coincidences. The aforementioned doctor is romantically involved with the only cop who seems able to figure out the horrible truth about the rampaging mansquito. A predictable finale that you see coming for about half the movie is delayed for the usual routine of an unending stream of trigger-happy cops taking turns futilely shooting at the armor-plated beast, with the obvious results. You won't believe the venue they choose for this high-body-count carnage.

Not bad, for a Sci Fi channel low rent quickie. A few scares, a few laughs, and good fun. Just remember to turn your brain off before viewing this.