This was a very interesting movie because it was played out like a b-movie, it had the cover of a b-movie, heck, it even had the plot of a b-movie but as far as technicalities go, this seemed like an A-movie that had the bad luck of being labeled as a B-movie. This movie is essentially about a convict who has been unwillingly volunteered to be the test subject of a new serum to cure a deadly virus spread by mosquitoes, the problem is, as a result of his attempted escape, he becomes a bloodthirsty bug in the process. This movie had everything a good B/A-movie should have. It had great camera work, great lighting, it even had great special effects. The only downside to this movie was the acting, a major contribution, and some cheesy scares, but there were some very gory parts that were pretty intense.
Lets do the bad parts first. The acting was not all that good; in fact, there were points where I would mock the person who was on screen and his or her performance. Musette Vander, who play Dr. Allen, does not do a good job emotionally charging her character, and when she throw a temper tantrum, it seems as though she was overreacting and at the same time a bit tired of her character or role. Corin Nemec, who plays Lt. Randall, does some justice to this film as far as acting is concerned. However, there are points where he can be a bit clueless even though he is supposed to know what is going on. There was a great performance by Patrick Dreikauss, who plays Det. Morrison. One person, who was only in the movie for a few minutes and managed to decline his acting abilities, was Matt Jordon, who played the convict and Mosquito Man. His performance was a bit laughable and he seemed way too eager to be in the role, he didn't concentrate on his character.
The scary parts in this movie were neither abundance nor a deficit. As far as "jump out scares," there was one real scene where I jumped out of my couch, but other than that some of those scares you can see coming. They were too predictable just by the way the scene was set up. However, as far as gore is concerned, this movie strikes at a 8 or 9. Some scenes, after Mosquito Man attacks, seem like a slaughter with missing limbs, dismembered bodies, blood splatter and overall carnage. When Mosquito Man attacks somebody and shoves that proboscis of his down somebody's throat or into somebody's stomach, it can get a bit gritty and gory. The design of Mosquito Man was also pretty frightening, and obviously heavily influenced on Cronenberg's The Fly, but nonetheless, it was till pretty creep. It resembled a man, by means of walking and holding, but it also had the anatomy of an upright mosquito.
As far as the technical aspects of this film are concerned, they were truly amazing. If I did not know what a B-movie looked like, I probably would have thought this was an A-movie. The lighting was surprisingly excellent, it didn't seem over saturated or too dimly lit. It had great portrait lighting as well as great night and stale lighting. The camera angles where so amazing, steady and incorporated some great pans and zooms. There where great establishing shots that reminded me of some 80s b-movie flicks. There were some great sweeping shots and quality of the picture was really great, and did not seem anywhere near B-movie quality. The special effects for the Mosquito Man were very obviously CG, but for a movie of this caliber, it was really good CG and motion effects.
Overall, this was an average "B"- movie, with A-movie technicalities. The acting was average and at points it was really bad, but that's what you get when you enter this territory. The scares where not abundant, however, the gore and splatter effects were and it really shows. This is one of those B-movies that is a hidden gem or it could be a guilty pleasure. You'll probably end up passing it up on the DVD rack, but I recommend this movie to those who enjoy cult classics or B-movies. If you are one of those people who enjoy a high quality of horror movie, you'll be surprised how much reputation this movie might hold up. Either way, I enjoyed it and hopefully you'll see what I'm talking about when it comes to movie quality and not acting.
Lets do the bad parts first. The acting was not all that good; in fact, there were points where I would mock the person who was on screen and his or her performance. Musette Vander, who play Dr. Allen, does not do a good job emotionally charging her character, and when she throw a temper tantrum, it seems as though she was overreacting and at the same time a bit tired of her character or role. Corin Nemec, who plays Lt. Randall, does some justice to this film as far as acting is concerned. However, there are points where he can be a bit clueless even though he is supposed to know what is going on. There was a great performance by Patrick Dreikauss, who plays Det. Morrison. One person, who was only in the movie for a few minutes and managed to decline his acting abilities, was Matt Jordon, who played the convict and Mosquito Man. His performance was a bit laughable and he seemed way too eager to be in the role, he didn't concentrate on his character.
The scary parts in this movie were neither abundance nor a deficit. As far as "jump out scares," there was one real scene where I jumped out of my couch, but other than that some of those scares you can see coming. They were too predictable just by the way the scene was set up. However, as far as gore is concerned, this movie strikes at a 8 or 9. Some scenes, after Mosquito Man attacks, seem like a slaughter with missing limbs, dismembered bodies, blood splatter and overall carnage. When Mosquito Man attacks somebody and shoves that proboscis of his down somebody's throat or into somebody's stomach, it can get a bit gritty and gory. The design of Mosquito Man was also pretty frightening, and obviously heavily influenced on Cronenberg's The Fly, but nonetheless, it was till pretty creep. It resembled a man, by means of walking and holding, but it also had the anatomy of an upright mosquito.
As far as the technical aspects of this film are concerned, they were truly amazing. If I did not know what a B-movie looked like, I probably would have thought this was an A-movie. The lighting was surprisingly excellent, it didn't seem over saturated or too dimly lit. It had great portrait lighting as well as great night and stale lighting. The camera angles where so amazing, steady and incorporated some great pans and zooms. There where great establishing shots that reminded me of some 80s b-movie flicks. There were some great sweeping shots and quality of the picture was really great, and did not seem anywhere near B-movie quality. The special effects for the Mosquito Man were very obviously CG, but for a movie of this caliber, it was really good CG and motion effects.
Overall, this was an average "B"- movie, with A-movie technicalities. The acting was average and at points it was really bad, but that's what you get when you enter this territory. The scares where not abundant, however, the gore and splatter effects were and it really shows. This is one of those B-movies that is a hidden gem or it could be a guilty pleasure. You'll probably end up passing it up on the DVD rack, but I recommend this movie to those who enjoy cult classics or B-movies. If you are one of those people who enjoy a high quality of horror movie, you'll be surprised how much reputation this movie might hold up. Either way, I enjoyed it and hopefully you'll see what I'm talking about when it comes to movie quality and not acting.