SKEETER (1993) Reviews of giant mosquito movie

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‘Earth is the final breeding ground.’

Skeeter is a 1993 American science-fiction horror film about giant mutant mosquitoes attacking a desert town. The infestation is a result of a corrupt businessman’s illegal dumping of toxic waste.

Directed by Clark Brandon (Dark Secrets) from a screenplay co-written with Lanny Horn, based on a storyline by Joe Rubin, the movie stars Tracy Griffith, Jim Youngs, Charles Napier and Jay Robinson. It was produced by James Glenn Dudelson, John Lambert and Kelly Andrea Rubin. Don Edmonds (director of Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks; Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS) executive produced.

Reviews:

“Not much new, but it is fun to watch big cheesy looking mosquitos latch on to everybody’s ass that doesn’t have sense enough to just leave town […] Some of the effects were o.k. too. Not nearly as classic as other killer bug films, but a decent effort overall.” Buried.com

“The dialogue is clunky, there’s a long dull stretch and the special effects are cheap, but this is a much more enjoyable film than most of its ilk.” Down Among the “Z” Movies

“As the stupid, struggling story slowly slips into a decidedly creepy-crawly-less coma, we get more scenes of underhanded schemes, shots of Napier getting nookie, and the occasional proposed POV of those damn marauding mosquitoes.” DVD Talk

” …the titular monsters — Chihuahua-size mosquitoes — aren’t very convincing. The square-jawed Charles Napier is droll as a sheriff with impure allegiances, and Michael J. Pollard, as the town wacko (so what else is new?), seems to be doing a Yoda impersonation.” Entertainment Weekly

” …at the heart of Skeeter’s failure are poor pacing, pitiful acting, lazy storytelling, and hopelessly flimsy mosquito props. If it weren’t for a couple of unintentionally hilarious moments of bad filmmaking (such as Boone stopping by his house to do some last-minute welding rather than rushing to the rescue of his abandoned girlfriend, seconds away from being consumed by ravenous insects), Skeeter would be utterly unwatchable.” Gone with the Twins

“Mosquitoes the size of small cats are terrorizing a small southern town. But forget about that, what you really wanna see is the love lives and trials and tribulations of the country folk. Right? Yeah me neither […] Bad effects mixed with a terribly boring plot makes this one a definite pass. Watch Mosquito instead.” Kaijuman

“…to say that there are big gaps between attacks, Skeeter seems to even make this time seem like an eternity with a pedestrian pace which just hinders any attempts to get any momentum injected into proceedings when the mosquitoes do attack. That said, when they do appear they look poor..” Popcorn Pictures

Skeeter, like so many awful B-grade movies, just doesn’t make any sense. How does bulldozing a few acres of land create enough toxic waste to fill hundreds of shiny tanker trailer trucks? […] How does toxic waste cause mosquitoes to grow to 50 times their normal size and make them want to kill all humans?” Something Awful

” …Brandon probably feels he’s slumming in the genre on his way to dealing with more “serious” material. There’s nothing wrong with trying to inject real humanity and characterization into a low-budget genre piece, of course, but this is supposed to be a horror film, after all. It doesn’t help that, thanks to occasionally cheesy special effects, the skeeters are more silly than scary.” TV Guide

Choice dialogue:

Gordon’s Boss: “I’ll see to it you’re checking toxicity levels in service station toilets from here to Tijuana.”

Cast and characters:

Tracy Griffith … Sarah Crosby
Jim Youngs … Roy Boone
Charles Napier … Ernie Buckle
Jay Robinson … Drake
William Sanderson … Gordon Perry
Michael J. Pollard … Hopper
Eloy Casados … Hank Tucker
John Putch … Hamilton
Saxon Trainor … Doctor Jill Wyle
Stacy Edwards … Mary Ann
John F. Goff … Clay Crosby
George ‘Buck’ Flower … Filo (as Buck Flower)
Michael D’Agosta … Bo
Eric Lawson … Frank OConnell
Lindsay Fisher … Chrissy OConnell
Joe McCutcheon … Wil
Barbara Baldavin … Dorothy OConnell
Jane Abbott … Esther
Larry Stevens … Trevor OConnell
Robert Snively … Luther
John Ingle … Preacher
Mia St. John … Charlie
Warren A. Stevens … Man #1
Travis McKenna … Man #2
Jefferson Wagner … Man #3
Michael Lee Baron … Man #4
Richard Herd … (uncredited)
Joseph Luis Rubin … Townsperson #3 (uncredited)

Filming locations:

Santa Clarita, California

95 minutes
Audio: Ultra Stereo

Image credits: Gone With the Twins

Related:

MOSQUITO (1994) Reviews and overview

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