Mosquito (1994)

A Masterpiece!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This film is not entertaining in any way.It's not cheesy and fun like Samurai Cop. It's not bad and funny like The Room, Birdemic, etc. It's not competent and great-at-what-it-is like Sharknado. And finally it's not as entertaining as AA supernatural insects/whatever attacks.It's just bad. It's weak stuff. The colors are drab and it looks like it was filmed in the 70's or 80's. It's a cheap sci-fi film like many, many others. If you're looking for a movie so bad that it's good, this is not the right place. I did not laugh once. I did not even chuckle. It's not original in any way. This is comparable to the Night of the Lepus.Nothing more to say.

An annoying first half of the film, with the over-emphasis on comedy and stupid jokes, soon gives way to what becomes an enjoyable B-movie monster romp, the kind you thought they'd stopped making but which still crop up every now and then. MOSQUITO must reference about a million horror films (from the inevitable ALIENS to WAR OF THE WORLDS) and has such a sense of jokey fun (including in-jokes such as a reporter's name being Alan Smithee) that you can't help but enjoy it.It's a good, old-fashioned movie brought up to date in the 1990s, but sadly the special effects remain old-fashioned. In fact, I've actually seen better special effects in films from the 1970s. They range from some cool stop motion to some funny close-up models which are shoved through windows and the like, to some totally atrocious animation which pretty much ruins the film when it crops up, and even drawings are used in some scenes.The cast is full of B-movie characters, from the pair of intrepid heroes to the black character in dungarees (who surprising, and happily, survives this film), to the slightly psychotic - yet good - criminal. The criminal in question is played this time around by Gunnar Hansen, the big actor famous for his role as Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Hansen's presence leads to the biggest movie in-joke of all time, when he picks up a chainsaw and remarks "Haven't handled one of these babies in twenty years. Feels good!".Other in jokes include references to EVIL DEAD II amongst other horrors. MOSQUITO is cheesy, cheap, and cheerful. There should be more monster films like this, and less like THE RELIC! For a similar type of giant insect horror (in a slightly gorier fashion) check out TICKS, the spiritual brother of this film.

Drenched in blood, guts, and giant bugs, Gary Jones's Mosquito is so close to being a great horror movie that it's truly depressing the film didn't take itself more seriously and the actors didn't take more lessons. The film opts for a high level of camp, but never drifts far enough into the clever comedy realm of Arachnophobia or Tremors to attain a more prestigious cult classic status.When regular mosquitos begin drinking the blood of dead aliens from a downed spaceship they grow to gargantuan proportions and all hell breaks loose for the vacationers relaxing in the nearby campgrounds. Ray (Tim Lovelace) and his Park Ranger girlfriend Megan (Rachel Loiselle) band together with meteorologist Parks (Steve Dixon) and the nerdy Ranger Hendricks (Ron Asheton) to fend off both the mutated bugs and cantankerous criminals Junior (Mike Hard) and Earl (Gunnar Hansen in fine goofy form mocking his own Texas Chainsaw Massacre performance).Mosquito wastes no time setting up an elaborate explanation for why giant mosquitos roam the grounds (although the reason chosen is likely better than the typical government chemical testing) and gets right into the action and carnage. Borrowing a few cues from Aliens and other imitable horror staples, Mosquito showcases enough impressive action sequences that it's a shame the movie didn't try a little harder to be serious. The threat of the monstrous mutant skeeters, coupled with their bloodthirsty method of feeding creates a tense mood by itself, but much of the hokey dialogue quickly substitutes suspense for eye-rolling laughs. The potential for amazing is there, but the direction the creators insist upon keeps Mosquito squarely in the territory of cheese.Director Gary Jones got his start in makeup and special effects - and it shows. Impressively grotesque practical effects comprise the majority of the monster mosquitos and they look as real as ten-foot insects can. The gore has a classic early 90's feel and scenes of razor sharp proboscises to the chest and eyes provide some cringe-worthy moments. With such a fast introduction to the mayhem only a few bystander deaths are shown, but Jones makes good use of them, most notably in a tent ambush sequence that ably displays the film's overall tone. As his wife is being assaulted by a killer insect, a doltish camper continues to take swigs from his beer as he runs to her aid.With such effort on practical mosquito effects throughout, it's disappointing to see poorly done green screen and a spattering of subpar stop-motion mixed in, but such shortcomings can be forgiven once the bloodsucking bugs return to their brand of fluid-draining in all their puppetry glory. The less-than-admirable acting (and the difficulty in obtaining a DVD of the film) will likely keep this forgotten killer insect classic from the casual horror enthusiast, but few of its genre came so close to cheesy perfection as Mosquito.Joel Massie

I have seen this movie and it is a definite B movie. But I thought it was good for a B. It is pretty cheesy but that is what you come to expect from a B movie. They definitely used some pretty bad actors, but that is a B. You come to expect that. Gunnar was great in this as he was in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They were both about the same quality of films, but we like those kind of movies once in a while. This is a pretty hard to find movie and I think it is out of print. Not too sure. We are looking for it in DVD format. If anyone knows where we can get it. Please let us know at [email protected]. I don't want to spend a ton of money, I would like to spend less that 50.00. Let me know. Thanks