Product Details

• Actors: Vincent Ventresca, Rachel Hunter, William Forsythe, David Selby, Robert Miano
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: First Look Pictures
• DVD Release Date: April 26, 2005
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007LBLXM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,084 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Larva" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

LARVA - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't Beat That Meat!, August 10, 2005

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Larva (DVD)

In a small rural company town where just about everyone raises cattle for the local meat company, strange things have started to happen. Kids out cow tipping one night discover a dead cow. Soon there are others. The new local vet gets called in to look at the mysterious deaths. He can not see any problem until what looks like a normal parasite comes in contact with a drop of his blood. It grows and he sends it of for testing.

Soon the vet is convinced that something is very wrong and the cattle should be quarantined, an idea not met with much approval by the locals. Unfortunately the vet has a reputation for yelling fire prematurely.

The plot develops nicely and the suspense builds steadily. Effects and acting are better than most. The ending leaves a little unanswered but most won't notice it. All in all it was a very nice tribute to the great monster films of a few decades ago. Check it out.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy That Steak While You Still Can, May 21, 2006

By 

K. Fontenot "Prairie Cajun Lives!" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Larva (DVD)

If any film can convince you to become a vegetarian, "Larva" is the flick. I actually saw this little spooker about a year ago, but it wasn't until I caught up with it on SciFi recently that I decided to review it. Starring the well-on-his-way to B-movie greatness Vincent Ventresca, goddess Rachel Hunter and William Forsythe, "Larva" is the cuddly tale of the small town of Host, where the local meat plant is testing new hormones in the feed for the local cattle. Little do the townspeople know, but there's a parasite in the feed, and once inside the cattle they grow, eventually bursting out of their host and into the world. They look for any source of blood, and get bigger with each meal. It's sort of like the critters in the first "Critters" flick. Unlike the "Critters," they look like a cross between a bat and a slug, making for a wickedly funny-looking monster.

Ventresca, along with a few buddies, does his best to stop the parasites from escaping into the food chain. How does he do it? Does he succeed? Check this flick out to see if he's successful.

It's a top-notch B-flick, intentionally trying to be serious and fun at the same time. The effects are somewhat silly, but the actors try very hard to make them believable. The story moves at a nice trot, and it never really gets boring or sluggish.

If you want to see an above average B-spooker, pick up "Larva." Fans of the genre will get most of the nods to other films, but you don't have to have a deep knowledge of bad flicks to grasp the humor and the horror of "Larva."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "This ain't no time for belly-achin' now", April 6, 2008

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Larva (DVD)

The town of Host really lives up to its name, with first its cattle and then its very own citizens serving as the warm hosts necessary for a bunch of mutated larvae to grow into the crawling, leaping, blood-sucking, body cavity-decimating mother of all parasites. It sounds like a 21st-century version of a classic B-movie, and in many ways I guess it is - but it's definitely more impressive than I expected it to be. This thing even succeeded at maintaining the seriousness of the whole larva plague mess all the way to the end. It helps, of course, to have a pretty decent cast and some bold and impressive special effects, and Larva is blessed with both. I'm not saying the giant parasites look all that impressive once they're all grown up, but they really put on a show each time they exit a host human body. I would highly advise you not to sit down to this film with a hamburger or any other meat-related product - not unless you're man enough to handle the sight of nasty little larvae crawling in and out among stacks of uncooked beef destined for mass consumption by a whole town full of picnickers.

Fletcher Odermatt (David Selby) pretty much controls the town of Host, as almost everyone there is dependent upon him and his company, Host Tender Meats, for their livelihood. Sure, the cattle farmers have to sell him their meat to Fletcher at a discounted price, but the man is generous enough to give them free feed, and no one thinks about complaining when he starts talking about the profits sure to come from the heartier, healthier cows his new feed will produce. And if anyone should think about complaining, he'll just sic his lawyer (Rachel Hunter) on them. Fletcher's influence doesn't extend to an outsider like Dr. Eli Rudkus (Vincent Ventresca), who just so happens to be the area's brand new veterinarian. He can't just dismiss the fact that cows are dying in horrible ways (with their abdomens exploding from the inside out) or that the stream water is teeming with unknown parasites. Unfortunately, the good doctor's efforts to address the situation are all thwarted by Fletcher and his lawyer. You would think the first eyewitness account of a giant parasite eating its way out of someone's stomach before heading off in search of more blood might change things a little bit, but it doesn't - not until the proverbial cow patty truly hits the fan all over town.

I really have to applaud the makers of this film for all of the gory goodness they deliver. Whether bovine or human, the victims of these blood-sucking parasites are not a pretty sight to behold. Having a giant parasite eat its way out of your abdomen is a pretty nasty experience, and the effects guys weren't afraid to throw plenty of blood and guts around every time it happened. It's just too bad they wimped out a little bit on the giant parasite attacks, though - these can be borderline comical.

Obviously, the story isn't wholly original, nor is the outcome every really in doubt, but Larva has one thing going for it that similar films do not: William Forsythe. The surly character of Jacob Long pretty much makes the whole movie for me. He's the only man in town brave enough to dare stick it to the man, and he's not about to let a bunch of mutant freak parasites get away with killing some of his cattle - not as long as his guns and ammo hold out, anyway. Heck, though, I'll bet he would tear `em apart with his bare hands if he had to. He also cared about his cows, whereas all the other farmers only cared about the money their herds would bring in. Gun-Crazy Farmer Dude, as he has been dubbed by at least one other reviewer, is the real deal, and he made sure that I enjoyed the heck out of Larva.