Larva (2005)

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.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* It's amazing the things I learn from B-movies. "Larva" taught me an important lesson in larva evolution. Little did I know that larva evolve into flying bat monsters. The townspeople feed their cattle some cheap feed and some larva. The creatures incubate and pop out as bat monsters. Much larva killing follows.I have seen this movie a hundred million trillion times before. Everything I would expect from a movie called "Larva" is here on display. From the evil corporate guy who wants the nosy scientist to shut his big fat yapper to the hot blonde lawyer who only wants to help and kill lots of flying larva, I have seen this movie before. I keep renting them on the off chance that they might have something a wee bit different to hold my interest. While there is nothing unique about "Larva", it does what it's supposed to do. Larvas explode from bellies and kill lots of people. There are plenty of bloody scenes as larva like to leave the intestines as messily as possible. If you're an undemanding monster movie lover, you'll probably get into it. It's worth a look.

Predictable, but really a pretty good Sci-Fi flick. Eli Rudkus(Vincent Ventresca)is the new veterinarian in Host, Missouri. Host is a small ranching community where your business is everyone else's business. Most of the ranchers make their living providing beef for Host Tender Meats owned by millionaire Fletcher Odermatt(David Selby). Odermatt provides the ranchers with his own formula of feed. Long time cattleman Jacob Long(William Forsythe)needs the new vet to take a look at a couple of his animals. This will not be your routine house call. Dr. Rudkus discovers a deadly cattle infestation that just could be an epidemic putting the towns populace in grave danger. The special effects are real good and there is enough action to hold your interest. The visuals are borderline stomach turning. Also in the cast is Rachel Hunter, who plays a PR person for the meat company...that ends up teaming with Rudkus and Long trying to convince the community of the seriously dangerous situation. Better than your typical creature run amok features.

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.