NEW Infestation (DVD)

I was fortunate enough to attend the US premiere of Infestation, a nifty science fiction story with just the right amount of comedy, terrific performances by stars new and old, and snappy dialogue. Although it was made on what amounts to a "shoestring" (less than $5 million), you'd never know it from the great cinematography (by Thomas Ackerman of Beetle Juice and Anchorman fame), silky (no pun intended) special effects (from newcomer/phenom Efram Potelle), and a crisp, fast-moving script (by director Kyle Rankin).

Chris Marquette (as main character, Cooper) is by turns endearing and heroic. At times seeming to channel Shia Labeouf (without the "no, no, no, no, no's"), he comes across as both real and genuinely charming, and his transformation from phone rep (today's factory worker) to an against-all-odds hero holds the center of the movie. Ray Wise gets off some great one liners as his dad, Ethan, and Dale Simonton is memorable as a boss who's up to his ears with telemarketing slackers. (Oddly and disappointingly, Simonton's character simply disappears after a dramatic entrance.)

Of course, Infestation isn't perfect. The underlying story has "echoes" from quite a few other films, and sometimes it's hard to distinguish between an "homage" and a copy. For example, there's more than a bit of Alien (and Aliens) in the mix, both in terms of visual imagery and the presentation and organization of the "things" doing the infesting. Yet, Infestation comes across as a charming spoof that incorporates notions from a variety of science fiction films in a playful and knowing nod to serious stuff that's come before it. In addition, the groups' journey from the city to the scene of their final encounter wasn't as suspenseful as it should have been. If it had a bit more of the out-of-control sense of danger in Shaun of the Dead, I think it would have been a better film for it.

I can't review this movie without a nod to the ending. Of all the ways Infestation could have, shall we say, landed, the final scene -- which I won't give away -- is pretty damn perfect. I'll just let you experience it.

A low budget, B-movie blast that ends up being a surprisingly good modern monster movie, Infestation is plenty enjoyable. Chris Marquette (Freddy VS Jason, The Girl Next Door) stars as Cooper, a slacker office drone, who becomes an unlikely hero when mutant alien bugs invade and begin to kill and cocoon everything and everyone in sight. Eventually, Cooper teams up with a handful of survivors (including hottie Brooke Nevin) as they fight off the hordes of giant bugs, with a good amount of tongue in cheek humor filling everything out in between. For a low budget flick, Infestation boasts some pretty good special effects work, and with genre stalwart Ray Wise along for the ride as Cooper's militant father, what's not to like here? All in all, Infestation is definitely something that is worth your time and attention.

This blu ray is a all region blu ray so it's ok to play on a blu ray player anywhere in the world. I can't understand why they didn't put this one out here in the states though because this is alot of fun. The story concerns people waking up and they are cacooned by big bugs and they must fight to survive. The film uses both effective cgi ( computer generated images) and old fashioned style electronically worked bugs , remember ET even used this and it's often better than cgi in some cases. The cgi here is loads above what other low budget b movie sci fi flicks often are stuck with. They aren't a level but mostly they are close! the acting is fine and has the excellent ray wise leading off as the frustrated father of a slacker son. The son is the stories hero which is a twist. The film jumps right into the story and due to this we don't get to the predisaster characterizations of some films: I really didn't mind though as this one is alot of fun. On blu ray , (this one is made in the uk) the picture looks great with no dirt , scratches or softness that older catalog movies can have. However some extra features may not come through because they are region b, which is why I want a all region blu ray player! It's just a romp in some ways and it does have a few extra features. I love b movies and this is close to a A movie in some ways , but like all of these types of movies the regular critic (non b movie lover, might pick this apart in some ways) still this one seems higher budget than it is! unlike lets say some scy fy movies you might enjoy but still effects wise are way behind this. So grab this one if you love bugs on loose movies or even fun ones like "them" (1950's) "mars attacks" or "night of the lepus" ,this is worth owning on blu ray. Even though the ending wasn't my cup of tea it didn't spoil the fun I had watching this film which takes place in colorado but was filmed overseas somewhere.