Larva (2005)

So much average

Memorable, crazy movie

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Arriving in a new town, the local veterinarian finds that a local conglomerates' need feed for the animals contains a dangerous parasite that grows into a ravenous mutant being that starts preying on the populace and tries to find a way of stopping the creatures.This one here wasn't all that bad and had some decent parts to it. One of the main parts here is that it's a monster film ripped from the headlines as the story revolves around genetically altered parasites spawning from the feed for cattle that is accidentally spread into the town's water supply. In the wake of stories like the mad cow disease, this type of film has been a long time coming, and it's surprising it has taken as long as it has to come out. Even with this, it still follows the tried-and-tested formula for a killer creature film by using a company testing a chemical that is dangerous and accidentally gets out of hand infecting a member of the wildlife and making it vicious, but the topical approach by this one is certainly refreshing. This all serves as a strong base for the remaining fun to be had here with the parasites as they don't look like normal CGI creations. They also don't look like a normal creature, almost part bat, part slug, and part manta ray all rolled together into one really imposing threat and brings about plenty of exceptionally fun action scenes to give this a strong overall feel. The first encounter in the barn where they discover the creature is a lot of fun, as is the extended encounter in the hospital basement where the scene of it bursting out in the operating room and escaping down is the start of the fun as the multitude of searching around finding bloodied bodies before engaging in the enjoyable gunfights gives this plenty to like and the attack on the family house is another chilling action-packed sequence. The ending is simply impressive as the survivors have a giant shoot-out in the sewers as they engage in a long gunfight killing as many parasites as possible then set off a giant explosion that kills everything. These here give this one a solid pace without a dull moment in the film, which is really rare in a movie like this and really makes this one hold up incredibly well. There isn't a whole lot really wrong here. The main concern here is the clichés of the film have all been seen before. This one goes for all the usual elements in the company boss that wants to cover everything up because he doesn't want to be ruined, the corrupt cop that plays into his pocketbook, the hero who's right and no one believes him, and the single female that is drawn into the other side by the hero's plight forcing her to reorganize her priorities. It isn't that hard to follow those stereotypes, but yet here they are here in this film all in their familiar glory and makes for quite a familiar and overall run-of-the-mill effort. This is the main problem with the film alongside some shoddy CGI that pops up for the creatures in this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, a few brief scenes of animal violence and a scene of child violence.

Finding out that a film is a 'Sci-Fi Original' is usually enough to put me off and indeed that is the reason I haven't seen many of them; but to my surprise, Larva is actually a well made and entertaining film that delivers the thrills along with an interesting storyline. The plot focuses on a small town somewhere in America in which the farmers are getting a good deal from a meat company as they're getting free food for their cattle. The free food also increases their productivity; but there's a side effect because it contains a parasite that eats the cattle from the inside out. This is discovered when a new vet comes to town; but it's not long before the parasite has gotten out of the control and has become a problem for the whole town. Naturally the story has holes and the acting is not the best you'll ever see; but Tim Cox's film gets over this by focusing on the storyline. Obviously it's not completely original and has been seen in many films before, but nevertheless it works well in this one. The special effects are decent when the parasite is in its first stage; although it does have to be said that the quality takes a bit of a downturn once the parasites start to grow a bit larger. However, it's not a big problem really; you've got to expect cheap effects from a film like this and it delivers the goods in other areas. Overall, this is certainly fun entertainment and I would recommend giving it a look.

Larva is set in the small Missouri town of Host where slimy businessman Fletcher Odermatt (David Selby) runs 'Host Tender Meats' beef company, he supplies the local farmers with free cattle feed & they supply him with cheap cattle he sells at an inflated price. Dr. Eli Rudkus (Vincent Ventresca) is the new vet in town & his first call is to Jabcob Long's (William Forsythe) farm where one cow is dead & another is ill, Eli takes a sample of cow sh*t & back at his lab examines it & discovers an entirely new breed of worm like parasite which gestates in a living host feeding on it's blood before it reaches adulthood & bursts out in search of more blood, all caused by genetically altered cattle feed from Fletcher's company. It's not long before every cow in Host is dead & the huge mutated flying parasitic creatures have turned their attentions to the human population, Eli must find a way to stop the parasites & prevent a worldwide epidemic...This made-for-TV German American co-production also known as MorphMan internationally was directed by Tim Cox & I thought it was a pretty good creature feature considering the crap Nu Image Films usually put out. The somewhat predictable script by Dave Goodin, Kevin Moore, J. Paul V. Robert & T.M. Van Ostrand (did it really take four credited screenwriters to come up with this?) certainly moves along at a nice enough pace, it has enough gory monster mayhem to keep most Sc-Fi channel regulars happy & overall I thought it passed the time harmlessly enough even though it wasn't anything I would describe as spectacular. The character's are alright, the story is OK & like a lot of these types of films it has the moral message about us humans tampering with nature & it turning into some hideous monster that will bite us on the bum. This isn't exactly going to win any awards or anything & is far from a masterpiece but as 90 odd minutes of gory fun I didn't think it was half bad & that's what it boils down to & it's one of the few horror films that I have seen which has the balls to kill off an annoying blonde haired young boy.Director Cox does alright but the film is just too dark & dull, even scenes set during the day or in building which are supposedly well lit there's not much colour or picture information in the frame. The films looks OK, the most stylish moment is near the start as there are close-ups of beef burgers being cooked on a barbecue & then the camera pans up & reveals a cow standing in a field opposite & it lets out a loud moo! It's a scene which just made me smile. There's some OK gore although it never becomes excessive, there are various mutilated cows & dogs, a few stomachs exploding & a fair amount of blood splatter. The CGI special effects on the worm like parasites are good but once they reach adulthood & turn into what can only be described as flying blobs of browny black stuff they aren't so impressive.With a supposed budget of about $1,500,000 this is well made & has decent production values although some of the CGI computer effects look a little poor. The exterior shots were actually filmed in Springfield in Missouri. The acting is alright, Forsythe is slumming it & 80's fashion model Rachel Hunter turns up as the obligatory love interest.Larva is a perfectly decent way to pass the time if your a creature feature fan, it's not the best example of it's type but it's far from the worst either. I thought it was worth a watch if you can find a copy going cheap or watch it on the Sci-Fi channel for free.

From the 70's style score to the tobacco filters to the gore that pushes the envelope on what's allowed on broadcast television, this creature-feature delivers in a way most SciFi channel movies don't even try.The acting is superb, especially the comic interplay between Forsythe and Ventresca. The SFX are superior to anything I've seen on this channel. The smooth, deft pacing creates the kind of tension most directors have either forgotten about or never learned in the first place.The story (Corproate greed destroys yet another small town, go figure) isn't Shakespeare, but is endearing for the simple fact that it never takes itself too seriously. I'd like to see more of this kind of TV movie, especially more from its director - Tim Cox - he's obviously one to watch.