Ticks

I don't really understand the criticism about this film ; maybe if it had a 50 millions $ budget, everybody would find it "cool"? Tony Randel did his best and the movie still boasts good production value despite the numerous troubles they had on the set. This one's mean, politically incorrect (no "back-to-the-nature" crap) and without the shoddy humour and cute one-liners everybody seems obliged to include in his horror just because Freddy said so (c.f. "Nightwatchers"). I saw it three times with friends who enjoyed it as much as I did. And I don't care if some of the actors ended up in some moronic TV fodder for brainwashed teenagers. Not a great movie (unlike Brian Yuzna's "Return of the living dead 3"), but strong, however.

While I was watchng this movie I couldn't help but think that while Peter Scolari was filming this "Friday the 13th meets Arachnaphobia" low budget horror, his "Bosom Buddies" co-star, Tom Hanks, was off earning an oscar for Forrest Gump. Don't get me wrong...I like Peter Scolari; he just seems so out of place in this movie. That aside, if you're a fan of this genre, especially of the straight-to-video variety, you won't want to miss this one. It has everything for you: two-dimensional characters, gore, bad dialogue, gore, cheesy special effects, no plot or storyline what-so-ever, and, oh yeah, I almost forgot...gore. My only real complaint is that there is little to no camp. It's those moments of overdone camera work and melodramatic line delivery that make these "B-movie" romps real gems to have in one's video collection. The closest we get to any kind of decent camp is in the characters of Sir and his sidekick henchman, Jerry. Only these two offer us that overly theatrical style of acting that has the viewer thinking, "they've got to be geniuses!"

You will also want to check this one out if you're a fan of Seth Green. Much of the action centers around him as he has quite a bit of screen time. A very talented actor, Seth is the only cast member that actually attempts to flesh out his character and add some dimension to the role. Unforunately, this venue won't allow him to do that. It is also fun to watch Seth not take the whole thing too seriously. Watch him carefully in the vet's office during the autopsy scene–he's actually trying to hold back some laughter! All of this put together does make Ticks a worth while 85 minutes to spend watching it.

A jaw dropping 1990s anti-drug movie, Ticks is infested with genre and period typical cliches. With its ridiculous story and awkward script, the film is clumsy in its approach to serious issues like trauma, racism, and black market crime. However, it excels at gross out horror and intentional camp and improves (in entertainment value) as it blunders toward its over the top finale.

I know this is a low budget horror film, but I liked it anyway. Not a lot of gore by today's standards, but the make-up and special effects were good. It was also enjoyable to look at Ami Dolenz, and to watch the bad guys get "ticked". Two thumbs up!

Insects make good horror movie material due to the fact that a lot of people are scared of them. There have been movies about giant spiders (Kingdom of the Spiders), scorpions (The Black Scorpion) and ants (Them!), and while ticks aren't exactly the most exciting insects around; their bloodsucking nature does make them a good subject for a film such as this. As you might expect considering the fact that this film was a direct to video release, most things about it aren't exactly brilliant. However, it's obvious that the most important thing about a film like this is the gore and Ticks certainly isn't lacking in that department! The story is obviously just a means to an end and sees a class of delinquents going out into the forest for some sort of moral building exercise. However, their little trip is interrupted by a bunch of bloodthirsty ticks that have grown to massive sizes because of chemicals put on weed plants to accelerate their growth. Unfortunately for the kids, the ticks' appetites have grown with them; and now they are on the menu...

The film has a good basis for gore, as it's directed by Hellraiser 2 director Tony Randel (who also directed the less than impressive Children of the Night) and the executive producer is one Brian Yuzna, who every gore fan should recognise. The plot doesn't contain a lot of surprises, although it deserves some plaudits for staying interesting for most of the way through. The story progresses in the usual way for this sort of film - i.e. there are a few clues that something bad is going to happen, then bad things do happen and eventually everything gets out of control. The film doesn't pay a lot of respect to it's insect star as there aren't many references to real life ticks, but then again I didn't go into this movie expecting a natural history lesson. The cast is only notable for the fact that it stars a young Seth Green, although he really isn't that much of a highlight. Alfonso Ribeiro, who is more famous for playing Carlos in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, also makes an appearance (which is completely unlike his TV persona) though he is underused. The film ends well, though too many people survived for my liking, but all the same this is good fun and recommended.