Customer Reviews

Mosquito [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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

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.

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

Wow, what can I say? This has been my favorite movie since it came out back in '95. Before it was released I had a copy because I was doing dialogue transcription and I got to watch it over and over and over, to my delight. Speaking of dialogue, the first time I saw this movie, I could guess what they were going to say before they said it, just think of the cheesiest dialogue for any movie, and there you have it! I have to admit, the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" reference was always one of my favorites. The giant 6 foot mosquitos have always held a special place in my heart and I can't believe how much the DVD's are going for these days. I have a VHS and DVD version of this movie and whip it out whenver I get a chance. This movie is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it to anyone. Don't expect high dollar special effects though. I wish I had a giant mosquito to hang in my home as a decoration.

I give this movie 5 stars for the entertainment factor alone. No other movie makes me laugh as much as this one does, there's action, green gooey mosquito blood, eye popping special effects (hee, hee), goofy dialogue and of course dialogue's nothing without the acting. What can add that has not already been said but "Bravo!". If you want to forget about how the economy is or how "scary" the election is, then take a little camping trip to Michigan, via Mosquito, kick back, enjoy and don't forget the repellent!

When taking time to taste the wonders and woes of a nice campground experience, nothing is worse than those run-ins with Mosquitos. While trying to have fun, those little monsters assail you and yours, taking little sips whenever they feel like it simply because they're trying to do what they can to stay alive. Blah. When put on tap a few dozen times, itching and wondering why you took a trip to the middle of nowhere, you find yourself wondering how things could get any worse. To answer, imagine a night spent watching the sky and seeing falling stars. Now try having one of those lovely comets turn out to be that UFO experience you've always wondered about, the driver of that vehicle get killed when that UFO turns out to be out-of-control, and then some mosquitos find the body and feed. Yeah, things get really big and really ugly from there.

When dealing with this film, one shouldn't make a mistake and think that they're dealing with something that isn't going to be cheesy. Big Bug movies always turn out that way, always having some strange sideplot to go along with the main flow of monstrosity, and the doom they offer is always campy. So, instead of going in expecting anything, you should think of your atypical bad acting, death, some gore effects to take the place of a plot, and a nice laughtrack to make the day go along better. And, if that sounds good, then Mosquito would be a tale for you.

Personally, the "who is going to live, who is going to die" tales always make me happy and I've always loved Mosquito. Within its brand of sordid humor, nobody is truly safe from the touch and the feel of the threat, with most of the people met along the way succumbing to the alluring beasts and their thirst. Its comedy, only nobody gets to stand up in the end and tell jokes (unless you count Gunnar Hansen - The original Leatherface). And that's what I like about it, truth be told. Every movie and social stereotype mastered by the mosquito.

Owing Much to the past, to the atomic age movies of the 1960's, this film is an enjoyable and amusing. Played more as camp than as horror I feel, it is worth a watch but do not expect any great horror film moments. The plot and characters play to the ideas and rules of a dozen other earlier movies, young couple in peril, scientist looking for what is happening, bad men who take them prisoner and get them right into the middle off trouble and of course the one on one against man and monster. A lot of fun, bit wooden at times and predictable, but well worth a watch.

"My God! It looks like a proboscis!" One of the many great lines in this hilariously badly written, badly acted, cheesily photographed little gem of a film. You're in for a treat when you realize that the action is funnier than the comic relief. The scientists and much of the plot is lifted right from "Food of the Gods;" the climax is reminiscent of "Night of the Living Dead" or "The Birds;" and the dialogue is delivered with all the emotion of the funeral attendees from "Plan Nine From Outer Space." You gotta see it to believe it!

"Mosquito" is the type of film that not only hits you over the head with its sheer badness; it continues to beat you after you have lost consciousness. The whole thing is an atrocity, a roaring, shrieking train wreck of a film that even the hardiest souls will have a tough time taking seriously. Everything fails on a metatectonic level with this movie: the acting, the plot, the pacing, most of the special effects, and everything else you have come to associate with a motion picture. "Mosquito" is such a miserable movie that you will draw flies if you don't quit gaping at the disaster unfolding onscreen. Have I made myself clear about the total ineptness of this movie yet? Good, because I now need to say watching "Mosquito" is a lot of fun for the lover of trash cinema. Why? Because the whole thing is an atrocity, a roaring, shrieking train wreck of a film that even the hardiest souls will have a tough time taking seriously. Because everything fails on a metatectonic level with this movie: the acting, the plot, the pacing, most of the special effects, and everything else you have come to associate with a motion picture. Because "Mosquito" is such a miserable movie that you will draw flies if you don't quit gaping at the disaster unfolding onscreen. And Gunnar Hansen plays one of the primary characters.

"Mosquito" begins with the crash landing of an extraterrestrial object from space. The craft splashes down in a swamp with disastrous results for the surrounding ecosystem. Well, at least it is for the mosquitoes since it seems only these nasty little buggers suffer any ill effects from the spaceship. The skeeters soon grow to frighteningly huge proportions although no one in the area knows about this impending disaster as of yet. We soon meet four disparate groups of people that we just know will wind up together in the end. There are two young folks--a man and his girlfriend--driving out to a local recreation area so the girl can assume her post as a park ranger. There is an idiotic, whiny male ranger at the park who may rank as one of the worst actors in cinematic history. How do we know he is an idiot? Because he sprays the park for mosquitoes without worrying about poisoning the campers. Somewhere down the road three militia guys with a bag full of money and a bad attitude have a nasty encounter with a giant mosquito in the forest. After suffering a casualty, the two survivors attempt to get out of the area at all costs. Finally, some guy checking out a report of a falling meteor in the area provides the scientific information we need to understand how giant mosquitoes could possibly exist--not really, of course, but he's there to do what he can.

The ravenous mosquitoes make quick work of any people they find out in the open with the exception of our gang of heroes, who soon come together to fight for their lives. They attempt to flee from the malevolent skeeters in an RV, attempt to run from them through a sewer drain, and attempt to escape by barricading themselves in an abandoned house. Predictably, the mosquitoes manage to thin the herd along the way, with a few of our stalwart souls collapsing under the onslaught of the winged hordes as the various methods adopted to deal with the rascals fail miserably. Victims of the mosquitoes tend to shrivel up at an alarming rate, probably due to the rather rapid blood loss accompanying a bite. The idea of falling prey to the mosquitoes is so bad that it requires Gunnar Hansen's character to ally himself with people he doesn't really trust, and to later heft a chainsaw in a futile attempt to rescue one of his imperiled companions. Strange events make for strange bedfellows, apparently. It is almost redundant to say that the conclusion involves a final confrontation with the mutated mosquitoes, one that requires personal sacrifice if our heroes are to save the world.

The flaws of "Mosquito" are as numerous as, say, a swarm of mosquitoes. All of the actors hired for the production uniformly tank in their respective roles, but John Reneaud as the thickheaded ranger Tony is arguably the worst actor in the world. He spends every scene complaining and whining about the situation, so much so that I fervently prayed he would fall victim to the mosquitoes in an especially gruesome fashion. Reneaud is the worst actor in a cast of painfully wooden thespians. Gunnar Hansen, for example, looks awfully stiff in his role as Earl, one of the militia guys with a secret. Put these terrible performances next to the cheesy effects, the gory attack sequences, the ham handed script, and you have a movie sure to alienate most of the viewing audience. "Mosquito" did not alienate me; I liked the movie overall and laughed repeatedly at the antics unfolding onscreen. This one has "so bad it is good" written all over it.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the movie attained cult classic status. I do know it appears on basic cable from time to time, so apparently there is an audience out there for this type of garbage. The biggest questions I had as the final credits rolled concerned the alien spacecraft. Whatever happened to the ship? Moreover, why would the Air Force send out one guy with experience about meteorites to investigate what is probably the biggest event in the history of the human race? Doesn't the U.S.A.F. have fancy radar and satellite systems designed to detect foreign objects from space? As I wondered about these questions, I realized I was wasting my time. Don't question, just simply sit back and enjoy this immensely entertaining low budget junk heap.

This movie is not to be confused with Skeeter. Skeeter I have only seen bits and pieces of, but I guarantee that it has nothing on this fine piece of cinema. Mosquito made me wonder who the person was that felt sorry enough to give these fools the change out of his/her back pocket to make this high budget film. I tell you, I about peed in my pants over this one. First of all the special affect were about the worst I have seen.....ever, not counting Simbad stop motion. I suspect that they had a total of two mosquito props being that you only ever saw two rubber mosquitoes on at any one time. In addition, there is a car chase scene where the mosquitoes looked like they were draw on the film with crayon. Granted the special effect were better than Matchmaker, their not giving high fives behind the scenes. Second, the plot (as if I need to bring up that word) was absent minded to say the least. I don't think you want the suprise factor in this movie so I'm going to spoil it for you. The beginning starts off with a wrecked space ship accompanied by an alien dangling his arm out of the space craft. The mosquitoes drink his blood and mutate. Interested yet? So you have a recreation camping ground in distress, lots of people die, and they run. With me so far? They come up with the idea that there is s breeding ground somewhere. "Ding" or so you think. But no, the movie winds up them cornered in the house with a bunch of eggs and they burn it down. What the hell happened to the alien ship. You upset I spoiled it for you now? Well, my apologies. Last, the acting and dialog is beyond supreme. I've got some spare change, I could easily fund a better group of actors than those master thespians. It seemed like many of the actors were doing their impression of a dear in headlights. The thing that made me laugh most was the dialog. They would say things like "Take a nap pal." followed by a knock out punch, and "This isn't science fiction. This is science fact." You can't beat that folks. Not even the Hercules series has those hip hop lyrics. So are you sold yet? This is my absolute no.1 recommendation. I'm sure after you see this you'll be banging on the almighty afro's doorstep cryin for more. Afro out.

its a good four star, lots of action and few funny scenes but mostely scary big mosquitos. they team up with a few bad guys to out fightthe mosquitos