So, let's look at what humans have been turned into over the years. Human-like Alligators made an appearance in the "Alligator People," John Agar fought against "The Mole People," man turns into giant mutant-thing in "War of the Colossal Beast," and now we have man turned radioactive mosquito in the hideously titled "Mansquito." Nothing more than standard Sci-Fi Channel fare, this is a basic creature feature that's only going to be enjoyed by those who found any of the above-mentioned films enjoyable or those looking for a few laughs.
The West Nile virus was bad enough. Now a new virus has begun spreading via mosquitoes, killing everyone who gets it. At a research lab, a team works to produce a breed of the insect that is unable to carry the disease and then breed with those that can. Things go awry when a death row inmate is brought to the lab for testing escapes. Exposed to the chemicals and radiation used to alter the bloodsuckers, he mutates and begins searching for blood... and a mate.
"Mansquito" plays out more like a murder mystery or an episode of "CSI" than a typical monster-run-amok flick. That would be all well and good if there was any mystery involved. It's not particularly difficult to figure out who the killer is after the full reveal occurs in the first half hour.
Corin Nemec ("Stargate SG-1") plays the detective leading the case. His problems don't seem to be so much with Mansquito as it does with his wife, uh, Missquito? See, his wife was involved in that lab incident and though her exposure was limited, she's slowly beginning to have a bit of thirst. Oh, and Mansquito wants some lovin' and she is all he has (yes, that kind).
Ok, it's all ridiculous, totally absurd, and off the wall. However, director Tibor Takacs has some experience in the genre (pulling off the criminally under appreciated "Killer Rats" a few years back) and there are a few effective scenes. Gore picks up as the movie goes on (the SWAT team slaughter is brutal) and watching the creature sneak up on people can be creepy.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
this obviously is the best title in cinema history. "mansquito!!!!" how has it taken so long?
Thank you Matt. this made my evening, most likely. "He's more man than mosquito now" hahaha
2 - Matt Paprocki
Ok, yeah, see.. sometimes I go on like these dyslexic fits and royally screw things up. That line must've came during one of those moments. It should be:
"He's more mosquito than man now."
There we go. Never seems to fail either. I re-read the damn thing 15 times and I always miss the obvious stuff.
*bangs head on wall*
I'm chaning that right about.... now.
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
ha! no probs, man. iwas actually thinking if it was a typo, but then i wasn't sure... maybe it was getttin all tender and they were gonna kill it, but no, you can't kill it. "why not?" "it's more man than mosquito now".
note to developers of sequels - maybe a mosquito could undergo a horrible transformation, and by the end of the film it's a civil servant working in Soho.
4 - DrPat
The title almost drew me in to watch -- thanks ever so much, Matt, for saving me from wasting time with this.
LOVE the main link item, BTW. If only they'd had a few BUG-OFF wristbands, the viewing public might have been saved...
5 - SFC SKI
Two hours of your life you don't get back, thanks for the warning.
Why is it SCI-Fi's programmers are so unimaginative in programming blocks of one shiow while ignoring others? Why does it even support obvious crap like this? Cheesy junk like this only adds to the disdain many have for SCi-Fi, and take away limited programming hours for better shows. For every rare great SCI-FI channel show, they hve a lot of filler, SCI_FI has never lived up to its promise.
6 - Chris Beaumont
That really is a great title. I couldn't bring myself to watch it. Sci-Fi's movie offerings are really slapdash, mostly goofy junk, but occasionally the gem will slip through, like Cube or Dog Soldiers.
7 - ZMethos
How surprised was I when I clicked on a link from Dave Barry's blog and found that he had linked to Blogcritics! Cool!
8 - Eric Olsen
great to hear! we are popping up all over these days
9 - jenthepartygirl
Okay, I have to admit it- I watched Mansquito not once, but twice. Was it scary? No. Was it well written and produced? Oh, no. Was it incredibly funny? You'd better believe it. It was definitely MST3K worthy, and was simple, silly entertainment. And really, that's all I ask of a movie sometimes. Every aspect was absurd and bizarre, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
10 - Alana
Classic Mansquito lines include:
Corin "Corky Nemic": "Hey, Mansquito!" in the hallway of the hospital
Corky, just before a member of the SWAT team (yuk, yuk) gets thrown through a plate glass window: "You don't know what you're up against!"
Pre-Mansquito'ed bad guy, while running across an open area brandishing and firing a handgun: "Die!"
It truly was as bad as it sounds.