‘Prepare for global swarming!’
Infestation is a 2009 American comedy horror film about a slacker who awakes in an office to find himself weak and wrapped in a cocoon; after realizing that the world has been taken over by giant alien insects, he wakes a ragtag group of strangers and together they fight for survival.
Written and directed by Kyle Rankin (Run Hide Fight; The Witch Files; Night of the Living Deb).
The Heavy Duty Entertainment-Icon productions movie stars Chris Marquette (Freddy vs. Jason), E. Quincy Sloan, Brooke Nevin, Kinsey Packard, Deborah Geffner and Ray Wise (Big Ass Spider!; Jurassic City).
Plot:
A slacker named Cooper awakes to find himself nauseous, weak and covered in webbing in the office where he does the least amount of work as an office clerk. As Cooper struggles out of the building, he comes face to face with a grotesque, powerful, angry bug—the first in an infestation of monstrous proportions.
As Cooper discovers what is happening, he befriends a ragtag group of survivors. Although the situation is dire, Cooper cannot help trying to solve his dating problems while also saving his life…
Reviews:
“As good as Marquette and Wise are, it’s the bugs that make Infestation so damn entertaining. During the course of the movie, a few people are carried off by huge flying insects, and we even get to witness a transformation […] With its smart, witty script and better-than-average CGI, Infestation was a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be.” 2,500 Movies Challenge
“Infestation is a cracking rollercoaster ride of a movie that throws you straight into the action and barely lets up until its genius final shot […] The special effects are surprisingly minimal considering the subject matter but this all adds to the B-movie mayhem, and some lightning-quick editing manages to keep the pace up throughout. Highly recommended.” Ancient Slumber
“There’s only one way to make a low budget movie about giant bugs without it seeming silly, and that’s to make it as silly as possible. Acknowledge the fact that the premise is ridiculous and the CGI is shitty, and then run with it as fast and as far off the plane of credibility as you can. Combine it with a snappy, spoofy script and a likeable cast of realistic characters and Infestation just may be the most fun you’ll ever have with a biblical proportion-sized plague of insects.” Brutal As Hell
“Essentially, this is a straight-ahead horror/sci-fi film where we watch characters try to survive an insect invasion. However, there are some humorous moments as well, some of which border on camp. And every time that a bug explodes and covers someone with their innards, the moments are clearly being played for laughs. The bug violence and comedy just don’t mix well at times in the movie.” DVD Sleuth
“Wisely, writer/director Kyle Rankin […] chooses to stylize the movie so that the buggy villains look appealingly cartoonish (especially their amusingly foamy white blood, which looks to be approximately the consistency of Cool Whip or shaving cream). Rankin also stages a reasonably impressive amount of mayhem given the obvious constraints on the movie, without just blindly trying to overcompensate with faux-Raimi madness.” DVD Talk
” …most everything one would want in a giant bug movie is present in that we have a reasonably palatable hero played by Chris Marquette, an attractive heroine in Brooke Nevin, and the narrative is firmly tongue-in-cheek but not overtly so to the point it becomes too silly to watch. Plenty of screen time was given to the bug menace, the story moved quickly and we even had a completely unnecessary and gratuitous titty shot.” Film Critics United
“The effects are very good, and I’ll buy both the practical insect animatronics and the CG stuff. A lot of the action is set in daylight, so expect to see a lot of insects in different shapes and moods. A very charming movie that brings laughs, slime and father/son-relationship into our living rooms. Buy it!” Ninja Dixon
” …the bugs themselves are well done: while there are only a few basic types, the design is quite good, and they have a bit of personality to them. While there’s a lot of CGI, it’s backed up by plenty of gross bug splatting practical effects and even a few gruesome transformation scenes (and don‘t forget that cute little dog!). The end result is light-hearted and comic, scary at the right places and well-supplied with a few nice surprises.” Rivets on the Poster
“Marquette does fine in the lead, he’s a smart ass and at times a bit obnoxious but it works in the context of the film and most of the time his humor works […] Once you look past the sheer lack of originality and the CGI effects, it’s easy to enjoy Infestation. It’s got a fun retro monster movie vibe to it and it’s entertaining as hell.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
Choice dialogue:
Cooper: “Even post-apocalypse I am the drunken @sshole.”
Cast and characters:
Christopher Marquette … Cooper
Brooke Nevin … Sara
Kinsey Packard … Cindy
E. Quincy Sloan … Hugo
Wesley Thompson … Albert
Linda Park … Leechee
Deborah Geffner … Maureen
Jim Cody Williams … Jed
Bru Muller … Roger
Ismael Carlo … Puerto Rican Man
Diane Gaeta … White Trash Girl
Ray Wise … Ethan
Atanas Srebrev … Wildeyes
Vlado Mihailov … PJ
Mike Straub … Chad
Todd Jenson … Skinny Cop
Dale Simonton … Ed
Rhoades Rader … Brian
Efram Potelle … Tom
Daniela Tonova … Susan
VJ Kewl … Pretty Woman
Todd Jensen … Bathroom Cop
Filming locations:
Sofia, Bulgaria
Technical details:
91 minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Trailer:
