Mosquito

aka Blood Fever, Nightswarm

D: Gary Jones (1995); with Gunnar Hansen, Ron Asheton, John Reneaud, Margaret Gomoll, Josh Becker. Get the Deep-Woods Off! It’s a mosquito the size of a German Shepherd, armed with a proboscis as big around as a carrot, which it jabs into various eye sockets, chests, thighs, and even butt cheeks! When a UFO crashes into a swamp, swarms of the above-described bugs go out looking for victims. A hapless couple smacks one of the outsized insects (filled with what appears to be stewed tomatoes, Alpo, and leftover snacks from the catering table) with their car, disabling the auto and leaving them stranded. They soon hook up with a government scientist (what a lucky break!) run afoul of two half-wit militia types, commandeer an RV, and make a break for it. The uneasy allies eventually make it to a farmhouse where they board up the windows à la Night of the Living Dead (or Assault on Precinct 13) to make a last stand against the marauding bloodsuckers. It all adds up to proof that the giant-bug genre made popular with Fifties gems like Them!, The Giant Leeches, The Giant Gila Monster, etc., is still not dead. If it all sounds goofy, that’s because it is. On the down side, the dialogue is rotten and the acting is all rather casual (except for the scientist, who pours it on thick enough to make up for the rest of the cast’s slack performances). On the up side, there’s no cheesy computer animation to be found; it’s all done with cheesy Sixties-style miniatures and puppets instead. And, of course, when the bugs go down, it’s with a satisfyingly wet and disgusting splat. Horror fans will recognize Gunnar Hansen, Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s Leatherface; he’s even given a chance to do battle with the bloodthirsty bugs with his old weapon of choice, a 24″ Homelite!! Hansen co-wrote the screenplay for this epic. Also, rock fans should notice Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton! Just don’t take this big-bug business too seriously (nobody involved does). Shut down a few sections of your brain and go with it. Suggestion: Get your friends together, figure out which characters are going to die (it’s not hard), and devise a drinking game, like maybe a drink for every boom-mike shadow.

This article appears in June 16 • 2000.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US