Infestation - A B-movie gem

Yes, 'Infestation' is truly a classic film.  And, no, that doesn't mean that it's up there with the 'cinematic greats' such as 'The Godfather' and 'Empire Strikes Back.' 'Infestation' is a classic in a different sense.  To appreciate it you really need to be into B-movies where you're in a totally forgiving mood.  If you can do that, you'll have a lot of fun.

The first thing I noticed is that the story starts really quickly (a rarity these days, even in the horror movie genre) - the staff in an office building wake up in cocoons, only to find that giant bugs have pretty much taken over everywhere and are snacking on the helpless employees.  From there on, it's a case of fending for their lives.

Yes, you can probably tell which of the group are purely there to become chow for our new insect overlords, but even the lesser characters are actually reasonably memorable (even for the clichés that they inevitably are).  The obligatory hero and his love interest are pretty generic, but that's not really a criticism.  After all... this whole film is - kind of generic - but in a good way, of course!

But, you didn't really sit down to a film about giant, hungry bugs to see detailed character development and story arcs, did you?  You came here for the bugs!  And, yes, they do look a little computer-generated in places, but, like I say, the key to this movie is being forgiving!  However, and I don't know whether this was just me, but after the initial viewing of the bugs and how CGI they look, either the special effects got better, or I just got used to them, as the interaction between insect and victim looked a lot more 'real' as the film went along.

If the movie has a (human) 'high point' it's the inclusion of Ray Wise ('Twin Peaks' fans will know him straight away).  No, he's hardly 'A-list,' but he always puts in one hell of a performance and can elevate a pretty run-of-the-mill affair to something greater.  Yes, he does that here, but it's also the action and general fun this film generates that carries the whole thing along.  Yes, it does feel a bit like a 'made-for-TV' movie on the Sci-Fi channel at times, but, if you love good, fun, monster-munching B-movies then this one should definitely be added to your collection.  It really is a classic (for what it is, obviously).

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one