Infection: The Invasion Begins

INFECTION: THE INVASION BEGINS is a really, really cheap version of the usual alien takeover storyline in which killer slugs get inside people and proceed to control them. Surprisingly enough, this is quite a well populated genre, with stand-out films like THE DEADLY SPAWN, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, and latterly SLITHER, all proving to be good examples of that kind of storyline. INFECTION suffers from being much cheaper than those films (well, apart from THE DEADLY SPAWN), but it still provides a few chuckles here and there.

The film's biggest problem lies with the untalented cast members, with only a few familiar faces like Lochlyn Munro propping up their parts. The rest are pretty horrid, it has to be said. Still, the execution is adequate, and there's a fast pace to take your mind off the deficiencies of the plotting. The cheesy CGI effects are about what you'd expect from the genre, and this is at least as fun as one of the better Asylum or SyFy channel movies, so you could do worse.

I honestly can't believe that this managed to get released at all, straight to DVD or otherwise. I think that they spent the entire budget on the cover art for the movie, which could easily fool you into wasting 95 minutes of your life that you can never have back, as it did to me.

There acting is sub-par, the makeup is horrendous, there are huge holes and incongruencies in the story, the character interaction is not believable, strained, and at times nonsensical, and the dialogue is badly written and badly delivered. The real icing on the cake are the effects. I think that I could have done better with a couple of hours and some kind of freeware program.

Watcher beware. If you are a fan of really, really terrible movies, still watch with extreme caution. Everyone else avoid at all costs. F's all around.

It was certainly (or just about) worth every penny, lol.

If you've read any of the other reviews there's no need to go into a discussion of plot.

I've seen better acting on community theater stages.

There's no T&A. The best body is that of Bryan Brewer and though our female lead notices when he takes his shirt off to use as a tourniquet, they never even kiss. Which leads one to wonder what else we don't know about his time in prison.

There are more holes in this story than a block of swiss cheese - which would be a lot more satisfying.

The credit show that this epic was edited on a Mac. Well I won't judge the capabilities of editing on a Mac by this. (Although the house fire was more than lame)

I gave it 3 stars because it wasn't so horrible I couldn't watch it all the way to the end. But if I had known how badly the end was written I'd have stopped before the flashback.

Unless you just want to see Bryan Brewer with his shirt off (briefly), find another movie to watch.

I recently watched Infection: The Invasion Begins (2011) on Tubi. The storyline centers on a small town with a troubled past. A reporter arrives on the anniversary of the latest incident to uncover more about what happened and soon stumbles upon a government coverup and the early signs of a possible outbreak.

Directed by Howard Wexler (Loving Lulu), this film stars Kelly Pendygraft (Good Kids), Lochlyn Munro (Scary Movie), Alice Amter (The Big Bang Theory), and Brian Guest (The Oath).

Unfortunately, the cover art and soundtrack are the only highlights of this movie. It has a made-for-TV feel, with poor writing, acting, and CGI. The concept is weak, and the execution is even worse. There's an awkward subplot with a random old man whom the main character tries to protect, though he comes off as a bit creepy, making it unclear why he's worth saving. It's also oddly amusing to see Lochlyn Munro, who seems to be reprising his role from Scary Movie, but in a serious tone.

In conclusion, Infection: The Invasion Begins is a bad movie and not worth your time. I'd score it a 2/10 and recommend skipping it.