SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
SincereFinest
disgusting, overrated, pointless
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
knuckles03
I cringe at any movie released on the SciFi channel, but I felt an inborn need to watch this since it was set and filmed in my home state of Missouri (which almost never happens) if for no reason other than to get mad when they messed it up. I went in with the lowest of expectations of this and I'm happy to report that I was was very surprised by this.Right off the bat I got hit with 3 good points: 1)Vincent Ventresca is the lead. I've loved Vincent's work ever since The Invisible Man, so seeing him as the star definitely brought my hopes up. 2)The effects weren't terrible. The CG is a little dodgy in spots and it's obvious that it is CG, but these still look really good for a low budget straight-to-DVD affair. 3) They actually got the people right. I was so pleased to see that none of the actors were talking in Southern accents, people seem to think that any state that fought for the south is full of people with deep Carolina drawls, but fortunately the accents are appropriately neutral and the culture reflects a non-Southern rural culture which pleased me to no end.William Forsythe is surprisingly great in this and manages to capture the demeanor of a Missouri cattle farmer pretty much spot-on. Granted he fulfills the trope of having an armory hidden away in his barn but that's pretty much par for the course at this point.The story is pretty straight-forward genetic testing causes bad effects that result in the mutation of indigenous species, causing them to grow large/dangerous and wreak havoc on a small town and only our hero, a mild-mannered veterinarian and a local gun-nut farmer can stop the evil corporate CEO and warn the town in time.This movie misses a few cues, for one thing there's only about 4 characters that matter and everyone else is 100% expendable and the story barely acknowledges anyone else. There's a few plot threads that appear only to just disappear with no explanation later on. And there's not much going on in the way of build-up until the monsters arrive.But once the monsters do get there there's a fair amount of blood and gore, the movie's never really suspenseful or scary but it doesn't disappoint in the action department and has a suitably explosive and violent finale.The acting is good for what this is and a few people like William Forsythe and Vincent Ventresca do a very good job with their characters even though they're not given much to do with them.This movie isn't going to be remembered for generations to come, but as a bargain-bin monster movies go it ranks up there with Komodo as a surprisingly good and fun movie that's good for a rental or even a buy. It's worth watching more than once and I plan to pick it up myself.
tyranid_slayer
Ugggggghhhhhh.Why did i watch this.One night, very bored i decided to watch a thing on the sci-fi channel called; The Scariest Night On TV. First film showing was Larva.What a waste.The film starts off with a new vet arriving in a town called host. But a parasite is lurking in the towns meat and cows. People who have eaten infected meat soon start growing the parasite within them, when the parasite is fully grown they burst out the chest. (No i actually don't see any resemblance to alien what-so-ever.) First of all the CGI is crap. It's clunky,fuzzy and drab.The creature design was a mess like c'mon, the parasites look like drapes or rugs.The acting is hammy.Ladden with plot holes.
Phillemos
The opening, pre-credit scene in this movie features two guys and two girls late at night in a field where they spot a cow. The girls offer to strip naked and do lap dances if the guys tip the cow. So the guys knock the cow over, and to their horror realize that the cow is dead and has some "things" crawling inside it. So off we go, to learn about parasites. We learn that if the parasites are REALLY nasty, they turn into flying, bat-like creatures with the capability of swarming a small Missouri town. We also find out what we already knew: 1) All companies in sci-fi movies are run by morally bankrupt CEOs who don't care about human life; 2) All medical experts who move to a small, rural community in sci-fi movies are mistrusted as quacks by the townsfolk; and 3) all rural townsfolk in sci-fi movies are complete morons. Great fodder for your run-of-the-mill SciFi Original. But the pair of guys and girls disappear, never to be seen again after the opening credits. Where is my lap dance?!?!? Just for that, I'm giving this movie a 3.
freakhouse
From the 70's style score to the tobacco filters to the gore that pushes the envelope on what's allowed on broadcast television, this creature-feature delivers in a way most SciFi channel movies don't even try.The acting is superb, especially the comic interplay between Forsythe and Ventresca. The SFX are superior to anything I've seen on this channel. The smooth, deft pacing creates the kind of tension most directors have either forgotten about or never learned in the first place.The story (Corproate greed destroys yet another small town, go figure) isn't Shakespeare, but is endearing for the simple fact that it never takes itself too seriously. I'd like to see more of this kind of TV movie, especially more from its director - Tim Cox - he's obviously one to watch.
