Infestation

Icon Film Distribution 2009

R4 DVD

Once again it’s the End of the World. This time Earth has been taken over by huge mutated bugs that have cocooned everyone so their juices can be sucked out later. The film is reminiscent of the old B grade Sci Fi films but with an element of humour that makes it well worth watching.

The hero is Cooper Flynn, immature son an ex-military Dad who treats him with contempt. Cooper has just been fired from his current job when the bug attack arrives. The bugs use sonic waves to stun their prey then cocoon them. In Cooper’s case he is able to break free from his cocoon and then free others in his workplace. The few survivors have a steep and fatal learning curve before they come to grips with their new world. Their only advantage is that the bugs are blind – stand still, make no noise and they will ignore you. There are, of course, those who don’t learn the lesson in time. We find also that the bugs can lay an egg into a human or animal body that can turn them into a bug mutant.

Cooper leads the small group to his father’s house where there is a fully stocked bomb shelter. On the way a girl who seems to be forming a liking for Cooper is taken by the bugs. There is a huge hive just out of town and Cooper decides he must rescue her – for the first time in his life he is showing some responsibility. Dad, of course, tries to take over and dissuade Cooper from doing this but he quickly learns that Cooper knows more about the bugs than he does. He seems to have trouble dealing with an enemy that he can’t shoot (the noise of gunfire will only attract more of them).

Cooper is arrested by a small group of local vigilantes who lock him up until they can be sure he won’t turn into a hybrid. The next people they capture are Dad and his friend. Dad points out that the bug must sting you in the small of your back to lay its egg – it’s a surefire way to tell if someone’s going to turn into a bug hybrid. He then shows them his back - and there is a sting mark. In the resulting shock they escape from the vigilantes. Dad takes some explosives from the police station and announces that they will blow up the hive. It’s not going to be that easy.

Although Cooper’s character is rather grating at first because of his immaturity he seems to adapt quickly and becomes more likeable. Dad (Ray Wise) has perhaps the best part and he plays it to the hilt. One of the more memorable scenes is when his pet dog is stung and hybridises into a fluffy many-legged bug. It’s all a lot of good fun and if you want your horror to be not-too-horrible, you will enjoy this one.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 4 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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