Infestation

2009, US, Directed by Kyle Rankin
Colour, Running Time: 91 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Icon; Image: 1080p 24fps 1.85:1, Audio: DTS HD

The contemporary monster movie can boast much more credibility than its 50s grandparents, thanks to a combination of significantly improved special effects technology and the enhanced sophistication of film-making generally. However, modern films of said genre can also attract accusations referring to a lack of the charm or soul that the hand-crafted creatures of yesteryear would frequently lend to their productions. It’s therefore quite pleasing if a product of the millennium onwards can come along and, er, bite you on the ass to surprise/shock/thrill you. Infestation bears noticeable resemblance to the previous 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist, at least on paper. The obvious difference being, evident from the Blu-ray cover or any marketing material that might catch your eye, is the injection of a large dose of humour - which can work strongly in favour of or against a film, pretty much mostly dependent on who you have watching it. Office boy Cooper is the loser you’ll find milling around most organisations: bit of a joker, part waster, not much of a contributor, but somehow they get on in life anyway. Destined to remain in trouble for one thing or another with his lady boss he’s about to get a telling off which will probably result in his dismissal when everyone including him suddenly blacks out. When he regains consciousness he finds himself wrapped up in a web-like substance, and briskly attacked by some nasty giant beetle-thing of some species. Managing to fend the creepy-crawly off he proceeds to wake his similarly oblivious colleagues before undertaking confused conversations/arguments about what to do. They quickly realise the whole surrounding locale is in the same situation, and there are hundreds of the giant bugs going about their genocidal business, too many of them in flying swarms. Losing some of the team to that fatal affliction known as death, and gaining a few others they head out on the road towards various relatives of theirs in order to find survivors amongst them and possibly discover what the hell is going on.

As mentioned, there are some conceptual similarities to The Mist - a mysterious bug invasion of Earth, a group of survivors thrown together, etc - but the overall feel is quite different. Firstly there is the aforementioned humour, applied quite liberally to Infestation and for the most part working very well to make its creepy-crawly world a fun place to be (from an outsider’s perspective!). Secondly, whilst the main bunch in The Mist remain trapped within one location for much of the film’s duration, the survivors here escape from their initial prison in the story’s early stages, essentially turning this into a minor road movie as they move from place to place hoping their relatives are okay while looking for some answers or revenge. Repeatedly coming under threat from roaming or flying bugs there is a persistent edginess to their adventure, and the fundamentally horrible nature of the creatures - beetle-like things expanded to human size - brings genuine gooey tension to these sequences of conflict. I frequently found myself cringing as these lethal insects attempted to despatch as many humans as possible in their evident quest for colonisation. An added dimension to the takeover of Earth becomes apparent when a hybrid insect-human monster is discovered, a bastard juxtaposition that is sinister both conceptually and in its onscreen manifestation. The humour is something that’s likely to divide the enjoyment of viewers but in my opinion it was a suitable updating of the comedy horrors that proliferated during the eighties, with mainman Chris Marquette (Cooper) handling the cool script rather well. Despite the marketing emphasis on the funnier side of the film there are a few moments of mild and touching drama that help to flesh out the characters and rope in our sympathies to a certain extent. A good example of this is Kinsey Packard’s Cindy, a weatherwoman appearing to be a bit of a hottie on the surface, but turning out to be a tragic loner with numerous complexes going on under the bonnet.

With suitable measures of terror, smiles, and engaging thrills plus drama, Infestation is for me a very successful foray into sci-fi comedy horror, something which I’ll be looking forward to visiting again. The Blu-ray Disc is a great way to experience the film, with consistently bright, chromatic and detailed images embellished by a thumping DTS Master Audio surround track. With most modern films seemingly being rendered in a 2.35:1 ratio, it’s also a welcome change to be watching movies in 1.85:1, a ratio that inherently contains more detail on home video due to its close approximation of the 1.78:1 standard (i.e. full HD resolution). Anyway, for those who feel that this film contains ingredients that appeal to them, I recommend picking up this disc pronto.