6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The late show doesn't get any better than this!", July 2, 2008
This review is from: Mosquito (DVD)
What is your personal criteria for determining what constitutes a "good" horror movie? Is it one that has a big budget? Sensational special effects? A cast made up of big name Hollywood stars or a really well-written, intelligent script that's brilliantly acted and meticuously directed? Yeah, all of that would be nice, but I live in the real world and ultimately all I really ask from any movie is that I enjoy it. Now there are many people who would label movies that lacked those sterling qualities but which they still found enjoyable as "guilty pleasures." Not me, no guilt here. If I enjoyed them, I enjoyed them and all that that entails. So here it goes. I will stand up straight and tall and look everyone right in the general direction of their eyes and declare firmly: I really like MOSQUITO, and, yes, I think its a good movie! There. Its out in the open.
Its acting, script, direction, etc. are all adequate for a movie of this type, but even if they weren't--so what? It still meets MY basic criteria. I enjoyed it! MOSQUITO is a genial and likeable film that succeeds as no big bug film has before or since because its just good natured fun with some nice special effects thrown in on the side. Filmed in the mid 1990's deep in the heart of Michigan (probably for inspiration of the insectoid variety) this little flick is helped along by a cast the includes Gunnar Hansen and Ron Asheton,who I'm told is famous as a proto-punk musician with The Stooges although I know him from his role in FROSTBITER, LEGEND OF WENDIGO, an indie that was released by Troma. For being a low budget production it opens with an effective display of special effects as an orbiting spaceship dispatches a smaller vehicle towards planet earth. This smaller craft crashes and an alien with a physiognomy reminiscent of those in Gene Barry's WAR OF THE WORLDS emerges from the ship only to die before we can see more than an appendage. Unfortunately a mosquito also spots the alien arm and zooms in for an exotic snack. Thus our movie begins.
Our victims du jour include Meg and her boyfriend Ray who are on their way to the State Park where Meg will start her new summer job as a ranger, Parks who was sent by the army to investigate what they believe to be a meteor crash the night before (in actuality, the alien ship), Hendricks the bumbling comic relief ranger (played by Ron Asheton), and a gang of bank robbers who are quickly whittled down to just one, Earl, played by Gunnar Hansen. In true horror film tradition all these characters squabble amongst themselves and try good naturedly to kill each other before FINALLY joining forces against the real threat--those lousy skeeters! Before the film ends our heroes pull a Romero in an old farm house, Gunnar Hanson has a touching reunion with a chainsaw,and we learn that a refrigerator can be your friend.
This is one of those films where even the evil-doers aren't all that bad, and half the fun is trying to guess who, if anyone is going to make it out alive. If you're one of those people who watches horror films, especially comedies, expecting them to make sense then you have my sympathies for you are missing out on all the fun in life. I've done my share of griping--see my review of I AM LEGEND, but that was a completely different kind of film made for a completely different purpose and should thus be held to a different standard than a film such as this. This is just plain fun.
Oh, don't let the dvd price put you off. If you have access to a VHS you can still get a tape for under $5.
There's also some cute stop motion bugs in addition to full size puppets.
MOSQUITO
Directed by Gary Jones
Original story by Gary Jones
Screenplay by Steve Hodge, Tom Chaney, and Gary Jones
Visual Effects Supervisor: Richard Jake Jacobson
Stop-Motion Animation: Animasaur Productions
CAST: Gunnar Hansen, Ron Asheton, Tim Lovelace, Rachel Loiselle, Steve
Dixon
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
King of the creature feature. You're the King out there Mosquito!, February 10, 2010
This review is from: Mosquito (DVD)
Two years after the incomparable
Death Ring was released and witnessed by the Sid brothers a different sort of gem was brought to the table. This masterpiece is know simply as Mosquito and is essential to any true b lover's horror collection. Naturally this is yet another example of why the 90's was our favorite time period for b of all genres. It just seems this era in our lives had everything going perfect especially when it came to the horribly hilarious movies. The typical young Sid weekend was filled with good buddies, good food, and great B like our feature of the week Mosquito.
In case you couldn't sum up what this one would be about we have taken the liberty to inform you of it's superior plot. In an area dense with hillbillies an alien craft crashes in the middle of the woods. After the crash some of the local mosquitos feed on the dead aliens turning them into giant man-eating creatures. From here we're introduced to an exceptionally bad cast that will keep you captivated for the next 90 minutes with ease. You'll meet Hendricks the park ranger, Parks the black Meteor chaser, Earl the bank robber-portly yes..but smart as a whip, Ray the main character, and Megan his way below sub-par girlfriend as they embark on a survival mission against the over sized mosquitos. We don't want to give any further details away because this one MUST be viewed by anyone who loves the art of unintentional comedies.
By this portion of the review you can obviously tell we give this one the full and absolute seal of approval promising the best viewing outcome. Our only gripe is that we waiting this long to revisit this classic. We've seen it at least 3 times prior to this viewing and always let it stay in our back pocket until now. There was really no better way to close out our weekly Thursday B shenanigans. It had everything we needed bringing lots of laughs, memories, and plenty of sentimental value. Despite a decline in the weekly b department, we've made it a future mission to view Legion of the Night which was released a year past Mosquito starring Ray and Park who both play bums. When you hand us that line up along with a plot consisting of mafia killing zombies we have no choice but to move forward.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mosquito Review from The Massie Twins, October 31, 2008
This review is from: Mosquito (DVD)
Drenched in blood, guts, and giant bugs, Gary Jones's Mosquito is so close to being a great horror movie that it's truly depressing the film didn't take itself more seriously and the actors didn't take more lessons. The film opts for a high level of camp, but never drifts far enough into the clever comedy realm of Arachnophobia or Tremors to attain a more prestigious cult classic status.
When regular mosquitos begin drinking the blood of dead aliens from a downed spaceship they grow to gargantuan proportions and all hell breaks loose for the vacationers relaxing in the nearby campgrounds. Ray (Tim Lovelace) and his Park Ranger girlfriend Megan (Rachel Loiselle) band together with meteorologist Parks (Steve Dixon) and the nerdy Ranger Hendricks (Ron Asheton) to fend off both the mutated bugs and cantankerous criminals Junior (Mike Hard) and Earl (Gunnar Hansen in fine goofy form mocking his own Texas Chainsaw Massacre performance).
Mosquito wastes no time setting up an elaborate explanation for why giant mosquitos roam the grounds (although the reason chosen is likely better than the typical government chemical testing) and gets right into the action and carnage. Borrowing a few cues from Aliens and other imitable horror staples, Mosquito showcases enough impressive action sequences that it's a shame the movie didn't try a little harder to be serious. The threat of the monstrous mutant skeeters, coupled with their bloodthirsty method of feeding creates a tense mood by itself, but much of the hokey dialogue quickly substitutes suspense for eye-rolling laughs. The potential for amazing is there, but the direction the creators insist upon keeps Mosquito squarely in the territory of cheese.
Director Gary Jones got his start in makeup and special effects - and it shows. Impressively grotesque practical effects comprise the majority of the monster mosquitos and they look as real as ten-foot insects can. The gore has a classic early 90's feel and scenes of razor sharp proboscises to the chest and eyes provide some cringe-worthy moments. With such a fast introduction to the mayhem only a few bystander deaths are shown, but Jones makes good use of them, most notably in a tent ambush sequence that ably displays the film's overall tone. As his wife is being assaulted by a killer insect, a doltish camper continues to take swigs from his beer as he runs to her aid.
With such effort on practical mosquito effects throughout, it's disappointing to see poorly done green screen and a spattering of subpar stop-motion mixed in, but such shortcomings can be forgiven once the bloodsucking bugs return to their brand of fluid-draining in all their puppetry glory. The less-than-admirable acting (and the difficulty in obtaining a DVD of the film) will likely keep this forgotten killer insect classic from the casual horror enthusiast, but few of its genre came so close to cheesy perfection as Mosquito.
- Joel Massie
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