Infestation - DVD

Film: At the Fantasy Filmfest 2009 genre fans could already get an idea of the entertaining bug horror "Infestation". Now, almost a year later, the amusing flick finally comes to us on DVD and Blu-Ray.

The last thing Cooper (Christopher Marquette) remembers is how his boss fired him. Now he wakes up wrapped in a cocoon in the middle of the office, barely able to remember ANYTHING. But one look out the window is enough to see that nothing is right here: apparently the city has been attacked by giant bugs and all the people wrapped in cocoons. With a small group of liberated comrades-in-arms, Cooper sets out to find his father (Ray Wise), whose house contains a secure bunker. But along the way, several dangers lurk, causing Cooper's following to dwindle more and more...

.Director Kyle Rankin had once gained a foothold in the film business with fellow director Efram Patelle, who was responsible for the CGI effects in "Infestation" and also makes a brief guest appearance, through Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's reality show "Project Greenlight". With "Infestation", he proves that he was right to win at the time. Because Rankin has created an extremely entertaining fantasy horror film with very little resources, which does not even try to make film history, but simply wants to make good fun.

Similar to "Arac Attack" or "Tremors - In the Land of Rocket Worms", "Infestation" works not only as a nice horror fun, but also as a charming homage to the B-horror movies of the 1950s. With a mixture of handmade and computer effects and with a lot of refreshing self-irony, the fun film can convince over long stretches and also comfort over minor weaknesses. The cast also pleases. The chemistry between lead actor Chris Marquette and Brooke Nevin is perfect and Ray Wise ("Twin Peaks") delivers another wonderful performance - even though his father passed away shortly before filming began.

Although Kyle Rankin doesn't really like movies whose endings all too clearly open the gates for a possible sequel, he decided on exactly such an ending for "Infestation". By cutting out the last, already shot moment that would have ended the whole thing a bit too sweetly, he creates a completely open ending that will surely divide minds - especially since at the moment it looks like there won't be a second part, unfortunately. But who knows, as we all know, hope dies last.

Either way, "Infestation" offers 90 minutes of good entertainment, though thankfully the film doesn't take itself too seriously. Good-humored actors, nice effects and a bit of horror - these are the best ingredients for an enjoyable DVD evening. No milestone in film history, but in its own way a great fun - and therefore absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: The DVD is in terms of technical implementation on a good to very good level. The colors are coherently mixed, the picture overall sharp, clean and free of glitches. That Kyle Rankin praises the sound effects in the audio commentary again and again, is also understandable - especially with the English soundtrack, where the effects still spread a little more dynamics, as in the overall but also very good German soundtrack. The whirring of the beetles, the omnipresent humming, but also the nice "Splash" sounds that a beetle gives off when it bursts, come really well to bear.

Extras: Let's go here with a very interesting audio commentary by director Kyle Rankin, who has many interesting stories to tell about shooting on a fairly low budget in Sofia, Bulgaria. For instance, he first had to check Wikipedia to find out where Bulgaria even is, and he was very grateful that friends' announcement that he would hate the food there but love the women actually turned out to be true. The commentary, however, is not only amusing but also refreshingly self-critical. Again and again Rankin highlights scenes that in hindsight he would shoot differently or not cut out, as happened.

In addition to the optional German subtitled commentary, there is also a very worthwhile Making of on the disc, where the viewer witnesses, among other things, an enormous cloudburst that upset the entire shooting schedule or gets an insight into the work of the special effects team.

In addition, there is the trailer and more DVD tips. All in all not much, but really good bonus material.

Conclusion: "Infestation" is an amusing B-horror film, which can convince with some very nice ideas, a good cast and a lot of charm. The DVD is technically on a good level and has with an entertaining audio commentary and a Making of worth seeing also good extras in the program. Therefore: for genre fans absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp