Mansquito

undoubtedly you've seen the previews on sci-fi which show the sexy scientist tearing off her blouse-- that and the title tell you all you need to know about how cheesy and ridiculous this picture is-- but I hate to admit I found it strangely watchable. Corin Nemec plays a positively Beowulfian cop who tussles repeatedly with the mansquito but somehow survives each time, while(numerous) lesser men and women die within a few tenths of a second of their 'squito encounters. The story hurtles forward at a breathless pace,which is undoubtedly a good thing considering how silly it is. The heroine is also infected by radioactive skeeter juice(hence her need to disrobe(?), and she figures out that Only She can lure Mansquito to his doom...and you can probably guess the rest.

Look: obviously no one watches a teevee movie called "Mansquito!"(it needed an exclamation point, don't you think?) expecting King Lear, unless they have neurological problems or something. Mansquito! is the cinematic equivalent of cheese nachos: you hate to admit you occasionally crave because you know they're nutritional gargbage-- good in a bad way. And gee, I didn't know mosquitos growl.

I am a horror fan. That means I like to be scared and I also enjoy horror flicks that bring me to laugh (like really bad ones) or that make a reasonable effort while failing. This one doesn't even try.

I stopped looking at it after the man transformed into a giant mosquito. In a minute or so, what was a man transformed into a fleshy insect, something that seems to haunt the nightmares of every person that dreamed of seeing a decent movie. Meanwhile there is a girl that begs the transforming man to stop transforming. After he obviously doesn't, she begins to beg the fleshy insect that used to be a man not to hurt her. It works just as well as the first attempt.

If I'd had more time I would have seen the whole movie and probably really be upset by it. I mean, they took every possible animal or plant and made a movie about it attacking humans, humans transforming into it, then attacking humans, etc. But mosquitoes?! They are really deadly, I agree, but not when people transform into them! No, this is a really bad movie. Stay away from it.

And I apologize for bringing The Fly into this. After all, at its time it was close to original in both idea and effects. Not the mention Jeff Goldblum that made the movie a good one.

A convict is scheduled to be used in tests involving the west Nile virus, but escapes and is bitten by a mutant mosquito, transforming him into a hideous insectile humanoid. It's up to cops to track him down as he makes his way through a city, sucking his victims dry. This is one of those "Made for Sci-fi channel" films, which, lets face it, more often than not turn out to be stinking cesspools (See Dinocroc, King Snake, Boa vs. Python, etc.) or, putting it more kindly, on the "lower end of the horror spectrum". However, "Mansquito" actually manages to transcend most of the other films sci-fi produces. It's got decent enough acting, plenty of nasty gore scenes, cool creature effects, but lots of problems too. To start, the plot is carp. I'll admit that. It's got lots of 1-D characters whose sole purpose is to be killed off in horrible gruesome ways by the monster. The science behind the creature is non-existent. It's also very, very predictable. Director Tibor Takács—who was responsible for 1987's effects-laden cult hit, "The Gate", and the really cool "I, Madman"—has since done some not-so-great low-budget horror films like Killer Rats (2003), but he redeems himself somewhat with "Mansquito". He gives the film a fun feel and never lets the pace drop. He also gives us just what we paid for—gore and a slimy, ugly monster. At first the gore is rather tame, but it really picks up towards the end, check out the "SWAT team dismemberment" for some real nasty stuff! As I said before, the creature effects are really cool. The effects are handled by Tony Garner, who also worked on "Seed of Chucky". Thankfully the monster isn't CG most of the time, just a good old man-in-a-suit (Except for shots of the creature running or flying, in which the makers implored so truly awful CG).

If you're looking for a fresh, original sci-fi film, look elsewhere, 'cause "Mansquito" is anything but that. However, it IS a fun, gory monster movie for a boring, rainy Saturday afternoon.

6/10.

SciFi has been doing a little better with their films lately. I enjoyed Frankenfish, this, and Species III. THey are making some ones better than Raptor Island...Ugh, I shudder to think of that crap. Anyway, this is Mansquito. SciFi usually uses bad CGI effects, but in this they managed to have GOOD effects! GO figure! The effects really impressed me, some CGI, but not much at all. THe Mansquito looked real good, and there were some nice gore effects. Hopefully there will be more gore in the DVD release hehe. ANyway, this film is not too original, but it is entertaining. Very entertaining. Good way to waste 2 hours of your time. Def. one good monster/killer bug film. Recommended if you want to have some good fun. 7/10

Creepy looking convict gets some genetic engineering stuff on his hand and rapidly morphs into an even creepier looking creature. Mansquito is outrageous, but actually gets in a few scares on you. Watching that thing drink is pretty gross, what with blood being the implied soft drink of choice.

He starts finding victims immediately, some at random, others for revenge. He takes particular interest in seeking out a female doctor at the genetic engineering lab, who herself may be contaminated with the stuff. You suspect this because she starts liking sugar and raw meat. Plus, she gets a bad case of "red-eye."

Enter the stock plot coincidences. The aforementioned doctor is romantically involved with the only cop who seems able to figure out the horrible truth about the rampaging mansquito. A predictable finale that you see coming for about half the movie is delayed for the usual routine of an unending stream of trigger-happy cops taking turns futilely shooting at the armor-plated beast, with the obvious results. You won't believe the venue they choose for this high-body-count carnage.

Not bad, for a Sci Fi channel low rent quickie. A few scares, a few laughs, and good fun. Just remember to turn your brain off before viewing this.