1995 science fiction movie
Rating: 7/20 (Fred: 16/20; Josh: 10/20; Johnny: 18/20; Carrie: 8/20: Libby: did not finish; Ryan: did not finish)
Plot: After a big sci-fi alien spaceship special effect, mosquitoes grow to ludicrous sizes and start proboscising visitors of a national park to death. And let me tell you, kids. Dying by proboscis is no way to go. A ragtag group of scientists and tough guys try to survive the mutant mosquito epidemic.
First, that is about the trashiest poster that I've ever seen. Second, there's enough proboscis in this movie to at least make the Motion Picture Association of America give it an X rating. I don't think a person--male or female--should have to see that much proboscis or even hear about that much proboscis until they're in their mid-20's. Of course, I grew up in a religious home, and we weren't even allowed to mention the proboscis in any context but especially a sexual context. It was insect week for us Bad Movie Clubbers, and I'm glad we took on this movie from 1995 because I was in the mood for a movie that seemed like it came straight from 1984. The plot never really evolves past a people-running-from-the-giant-titular-insects thing, but the action starts early and is nearly relentless. We're introduced to a myriad of characters during an exposition that meanders way more than any movie has a right to meander. Fortunately, none of those characters matter and were only around to be sucked dry by the mosquitoes. And the sucked-dry humans look pretty damn good, as do the stop motion insects. Well, unless the special effects geniuses behind this thing are trying to get them to mesh with the scenery or interact with the characters. Then, it looks pretty dopey. I did like the use of bug-cam, first bug point-of-view shots that recalled Evil Dead. Speaking of that, there's more than enough gore, although it's far too cartoonish to take seriously. But if you're into eye-gouging or butt-gouging or other painful-looking proboscis pokes, there's plenty of that. There's also a great scene featuring eyeballs becoming engorged and popping which made no sense whatsoever but nevertheless inspired me to run next door, introduce myself to the neighbors, and tell them all about it. And here's what's really going to make b-movie fans giddy in their nipples: Gunnar Hansen's got himself a large part in this. That's right--Leatherface. And he wields the chainsaw 20 years after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So that's pretty awesome. There's also a scene featuring the token black character and a refrigerator that must have inspired a drunk Steven Spielberg or something. And yes, I realize that's a spoiler, but it's such a stupid scene that it shouldn't matter. Nearly plotless, this is a fun way to pass an hour and a half although the solution to the characters' problem is as ludicrous as it gets and doesn't seem to solve the bigger problem with the aliens. Of course, maybe they were setting it all up for a sequel--Mosquito 2: The Proboscis Returns.
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