Movie Review - Stung

Stung

2015

Rat Pack Film Produktion / XYZ films : Entertainment One / IFC Films / IFC Midnite

4.75

Giant wasps attacking a garden party; it's a simple premise with a simple story, so what could go wrong...

Everything...

But first, let's address the good issues about the movie.  The wasps are well thought-out and generated and they are also one of the better creations of the writer Adam Aresty who has them able to multiply by injecting something into their victims.  This has the effect of creating ultra large wasps from their hosts.  A tad unbelievable but this is a monster movie horror film.  I even liked the fact that Aresty didn't even try to explain the event with scientific twaddle.

The other good thing about the film is actor Daniele Rizzo who plays the musical entertainment, Larry.  He gets so into his character that he appears to be the only one their intent on earning his wage.  Even veteran Lance Henriksen comes across as being lost and confused for most of the movie.

Now for the bad parts of the movie...

This is listed as a comedy though there's less humour, even dark, here than there are in none comedy flicks,  Only one joke managed to flicker a smile on my face.

The acting; for most of the film the actors, with the exception of Rizzo, look bored and this hinders their performance and portrayal of the characters, which come across as two-dimensional.  This would be a bad thing in just one actor but in ninety percent it had me feeling the same way.

The direction;  Though Benni Diez does try to build some dark and ominous atmosphere, he fails at adding excitement, which is needed when the wasps' attack.  He's also not so good at filming comedy scenes; the beginning of the film is so badly filmed it comes across as monotonous rather than humourous and I wanted to turn off then and there.  But being a monster movie fan I had to wait for the monsters to turn up at least, didn't I(?)

What this film requires is a shot of life and energy.  If it's on telly when there appears to be nothing worth watching (like reality TV) then you could give it a try.

Movie Review - The Hatching

The Hatching

(2016)

Creativity Capitol / Media Pro One / Sabre Films / Spice Factory : Grindstone Entertainment / Lionsgate Home Entertainment

2 / 10

As a lover of B-Movie Monster Movies, I really was looking forward to this one as it's set in England in Somerset and stars Andrew Lee Potts, Thomas Turgoose, and Justin Lee Collins.

On paper, this sounds like it would have been brilliant, however, what we get are an unfunny comedy and a rubber crocodile monster movie.  In this day and age, we should be able to do better with the special effects.  Even if you have to resort to creating an artificial creature, that is pivotal to the plot, at least do it right.  The croc looks like it was built out of leftover Wellingtons and if it took a bite out of you all you would do was laugh, as there's no skull and no jawbones... it's all loose and floppy.

There are also some dismembered body parts that also suffer from the no bone syndrome, I've never seen a floppier leg.  These atrocious effects are the only thing that's funny in this movie as writers, Michael Anderson and Nick Squire, aren't the best at writing comedy and it really shows in this movie.  Apart from the laughable effects, the comedy falls flat on its face - and not in a good way like slapstick.

Michael Anderson who also directed this picture doesn't seem to be able to get the best out of his cast.  Potts and Turgoose are very good actors and I would watch anything they are in but this proves that under poor direction even good actors can come off weak and insincere.

If you like comedic monster movies then stay away from this film.

Movie Review - Zoombies

Zoombies

(2016)

The Asylum : Amazon / The Asylum / Vendetta Films

4.5 / 10

I love bad movies and The Asylum makes some of the worst, just look at the Sharknado saga and the Z-Nation television series, which are both awesome.

Unfortunately, this film doesn't have the same coolness to it.  It should have because the story is sound.  Due to a couple of infected monkeys, the whole of a new zoo is infected with a virus that kills the diseased then reanimates them in a killing frenzy.  However, it's the acting and directing that make this film poor, luckily the tongue-in-cheek style of this film keeps it from failing.

Most of the acting is wooden, with the exception of Kim Neilsen who plays Dr Ellen Rodgers and LaLa Nester, as her daughter Thea, who is actually the best actress on the set.  The award for the best hammed-up over-acting award goes to Brianna Joy Chomer who turns Amber into a maniacal, self-centred hothead.  This character is so way over the top it's as annoying as hell and helps to spoil the movie.

It's a low budget affair so you expect the special effects to be poor, but on the whole, the CGI is passable I especially liked the attacking giraffes.   Though in the same scene the director holds too long on the cutaways of the actors who are being attacked and because there are no Giraffe's in the scene it makes the entire scene implausible.  Since I like bad movies, I loved the man in the gorilla suit.  Sweet.

If the acting were better and the direction tighter then this would have been a more enjoyable and pleasing movie.

If you love B-movie films and The Asylum then this is worth a watch, though not more than once.