DVD Review: The Millennium Bug

Kenneth Cran wore quite a few hats for his feature-film debut, The Millennium Bug. Not only did he write, direct, and produce the creature feature, he handled the editing, art direction, miniature effects, and more. It seems obvious this was a labor of love for Cran. Now available on DVD from Green Apple Entertainment, the question is whether or not it was worth all the effort. I’m going with a surprised, but enthusiastic, yes. Amongst the crowded landscape of direct-to-video, indie horror movies, The Millennium Bug is an entertaining standout the combines a nasty sense of humor with clever, old school monster movie effects.

The CGI-free flick is something of a period piece. Set on New Year’s Eve of 1999, with Y2K fears at fever pitch, the Haskin family has decided to ring in the new millennium at a remote campground. Byron (Jon Briddell) has decided the Sierra Diablos Mountains is the perfect place to avoid the possible power outages and computer failures that Y2K might trigger. He’s accompanied by his new wife, Joany (Jessica Simons), and his teenage daughter, Clarissa (Christine Haeberman). Two separate situations conspire to make this easily the most memorable New Year’s Eve of their lives.

For one thing, scientist Roger Patterson (Ken McFarlane) is tracking a horrific bug monster that rears its head only once per millennium. In the same woods is the deranged, deformed Crawford family. They’re like something out of Wrong Turn, only there’s more of them. Pearlene (Ginger Pullman), the only comely member of the family, has just given birth to a runty little monster. Uncle Hibby (Trek Loneman) and the rest of the clan decide it needs to be shot immediately. That doesn’t stop Pearlene from carrying the little corpse around, neatly bundled up. But Granny Willow (Sandi Steinberg) knows immediately what the Crawfords need to do: find new blood for more effective breeding. Patterson’s path will eventually cross the Crawford’s, but not before the Haskin family stumbles upon them.

Article Author: The Other Chad

My name is Chaz. A former co-worker (Dave) always misheard my name as "Chad." Complicating matters was a third co-worker, who was in fact named Chad. So Dave habitually called me the "other Chad."

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