Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: A mutant bug released to eat roaches has now evolved into something entirely new and deadly.
Biased, pithy comments: Bug movie. BUG MOVIE! That's what this film is---a big, sticky bug movie. Unlike ``Aliens,'' which was essentially a bug movie on speed, this is a more leisurely paced walk through the standard Frankenstein-horror cliche. You know, walks through slimy, water-soaked dank hallways filled with roaches, comments like ``We have no idea what the impact of this is!'', damsels in disress menaced by big things with wings, and lots of sticking people's hands inside the guts of dead roach-things. The creature shop was pretty good, and the digital FX were nice, and del Toro is a talented filmmaker. There were some neat touches (like a chalked outline of a bug-man near where the bums were seen faintly in the background), unexpected character deaths, and even some pretty acting from Sorvino (odd to find good actors in bug movies), but except for a few del Toro moments (Jesus wrapped in plastic, beautiful pans, some good mood near the beginning), I wasn't thrilled, just grossed out. Horror is a difficult emotion to find, and some filmmakers opt for action-packed action with glimpses of evil to hide the fact they aren't scary, but del Toro hasn't gone that route and as such, I had fun but was bugged out by the end.
Other Notes: This isn't the del Toro movie to start with; see ``Cronos'' instead.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini, Charles Dutton.
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro