Infestation (2009)

Now this is exactly how a Scifichannelmove should be! Infestation is a good example on how you can shoot a good creature feature in Bulgaria on a low budget, using clichés in a good way. Why cant all the other hacks that produce all those crappy monstermovies at least try?

Our hero in this movie is a bit of a loser. His dad is a rather strict and exmilitary, which means the son is a big dissapointment and when the movie begins he is just about to be fired from a job that Dad got for him. But just before that is about to happen a highpitched sound makes everyone in the nearby surroundings fall unconcious. Six days later he wakes up inside a coocoon. All around him people have suffered the same fate, in fact everyone seems to be in a coocoon and it does take long until our hero realizes that some sort of weird insect is behind all of this. Now he must try to lead a bunch of people to safety, including the girl he has a bit of a crush on and the psychoblonde who tends to strip naked in front of him. Not a bad situation really?

So, the story is simple but inventive and effective, much unlike the normal scififodder. It is obviously made on a low budget with Bulgaria working just fine as a double for Colorado or where ever the movie is set. Most of the sfx are of really high quality with only a few poor integrations between humans and insects to moan about but those are only on a few occasions and it is the completed product that matters. The director, Kyle Rankin, is in love with what he is doing and it shows on screen, very much helped by a solid cast and a good script that only fumbles a bit towards the end where the rather obvious "into the hive" bit serves up some setpieces that we've seen a bit too many times before. But that's it. I have nothing more to complain about. This is a solid humanity vs insects movie with lots of thrills, violence and nudity and I recommend it to everyone out there who is a fan of the genre. I look forward to Mr Rankins next adventures into filmmaking.