Snatchers

I was a little apprehensive when I screened this. Wasn't sure what to think but I was not disappointed at all. It's a fun ride, not meant to be taken seriously at all. The production team embraces the lunacy and the director/actors execute the formula flawlessly. Plenty of laughs to be had here. Even though the premise is outlandish as its meant to be, it still has a coming to age feel about it that's easy to like. I think Mary Nepi is worth following, she's wonderful.

When horny teens have sex for the first time then the girl accidentally gets pregnant and gives birth, it's a tragedy. But what if it all happened in just two days and the offspring was a resurrected Mayan monster? That's the whole idea of the film and, spoiler alert, the title does not refer to a verb. But it's fun, with the usual tropes of the horror movies all present, but contextualized in an entertaining way. Is it perfect? Hell no! But I've seen a lot of horror comedies that are not even close to the level of hilarity of this. If it have had just a little bit more budget, the gore would have complemented perfectly the plot. As such, it was just a lot of blood and two horrifying monsters.

If you like tongue in cheek horror, this is a film you should probably watch.

Comedy horror Snatchers' patently silly premise promises to be a lot of fun: after pretty teen Sara (Mary Nepi) has sex for the first time, she finds that she is pregnant with an alien. An enthusiastic cast give it their all and some decent creature effects help immensely, but a hit and miss script means that the film is only a partial success.

It didn't come as much of a surprise to learn that Snatchers started life as a short: it definitely feels as though writers Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman and Scott Yacyshyn struggled to stretch their initial six minute project to feature length, with much of their material failing to have the desired comedic effect. Nepi makes for an appealing lead, and she is given able support by Gabrielle Elyse as Hayley, the schoolfriend who helps Sara with her unusual predicament; it is largely thanks to these two girls that Snatchers is as enjoyable as it is, even with its flaws, their likeable characters sharing a breezy rapport that prevents the film from completely stalling during its more awkward moments.

A nifty alien spider creature gives the film a much-needed lift towards the end, but it is short lived, being dispatched in a disappointingly unspectacular fashion.

5/10. Passable fun, but ultimately fails to fulfil its potential.

Remember when movies were fun and didn't preach present day politics with varying degrees of woke narratives? I didn't mind it at first, but eventually it became the norm. Crafting a story filled with fun likable characters seemed to be a chore and a burden to get through, after peppering social messages throughout.

By simply having a story that stays away from that made this movie refreshing and delightful. Every one of the diverse cast of characters were likeable and fun & the story was simple escapism reminding me of teen comedies of the early 2000s.

Yes the story is silly but it's well acted and all the cast has good chemistry together. I'll be following them all in the future.

I honestly don't know why this doesn't get more love. I thought the cast were perfect, the cinematography and clever use of direction was superb (a word there I've used maybe 3 times in my life) and the plot plays out fantastically well.

OK sure, the story is actually a bit basic, and the second half completely ruins the pace of the film but, it works for a film that doesn't take itself seriously and the 'monsters' were a bit "meh" but still, this is a film driven by the characters rather than the creatures.

I love it. I also now love Mary Nepi. Mary Call me.

Note: I'll also accept marriage from Halle Berry. Just in case.