I'm reviewing these movies together because they're both from writer/director Brett Piper, both involve a group of young people stumbling into a house with something monstrous and both utilize similar practical F/X. They're also both currently available on Amazon Prime.
Drainiac! was originally released in 2000, but the credits suggest that some improvements were made to the movie since then. I'm not sure what those improvements are, but I really liked this movie, flaws and all. Haunted pipes might sound corny (and it should), but once you embrace the concept, it's great fun. The fun factor is mostly due to the retro approach to the F/X. Much like my own Lumber vs Jack and Alien Vengeance: Bad Morning movies, this movie makes use of miniatures and tentacles and slime. Piper, however, does a better job with the F/X than I ever did. Even the "car eating scene" is pretty amazing, if only by 80s standards. It takes awhile to get going and there are one or two weak performances, but overall the movie is either grossing you out, weirding you out or making you laugh. So, entertaining once the plot is established. Lots of monster action toward the end too, which is always a treat.
Bacterium uses the same premise of young adults in an abandoned space, but this one takes a more science fiction approach to the monsters. If you like movies like "X: The Unknown" or old episodes of the original series of "Doctor Who" you'll get a kick out of Bacterium. Some cool contamination suits, more practical F/X monsters, lots of ooey, gooey blobulous creatures and some very well placed jokes. Also, if you enjoy the tentacle whipping in the "Alien Vengeance" series of movies, you'll be blown away by the F/X here.
The IMDB trivia states that this was Alison Whitney's film debut. She did an excellent job of leading a pretty strong core cast through this sci-fi horror comedy. A few strong performances and none that stood out as truly weak.
The practical F/X don't let us down either. One reviewer complained that the monsters were shown plodding around for too long, but I spent that whole time trying to figure out how they gave those little slime balls life. Stunning retro F/X work. (I'm repeating myself.)
A.J. Khan makes a brief, but worthwhile appearance as her character adds some dry humor to a scene that's essentially a set up for a very odd action packed "finale".
There is a scene in the movie involving bikers and I think, as I did in "Stopped Dead", actual motorcyclists were used as opposed to actors. This is evident in one particular shot where a biker can be seen making "pow-pow" noises while pretending to fire a gun. Or maybe that was characterization and I need know to the biker's backstory for it to work.
In conclusion, if you have Amazon Prime and wish they still "made 'em like they used to", then these two retro inspired monster movies are for you. I would watch them in the order they were created as I feel like Bacterium is a slightly stronger movie. Of course, that might just be because I enjoy science fiction more than ghostly influences.
Drainiac! was originally released in 2000, but the credits suggest that some improvements were made to the movie since then. I'm not sure what those improvements are, but I really liked this movie, flaws and all. Haunted pipes might sound corny (and it should), but once you embrace the concept, it's great fun. The fun factor is mostly due to the retro approach to the F/X. Much like my own Lumber vs Jack and Alien Vengeance: Bad Morning movies, this movie makes use of miniatures and tentacles and slime. Piper, however, does a better job with the F/X than I ever did. Even the "car eating scene" is pretty amazing, if only by 80s standards. It takes awhile to get going and there are one or two weak performances, but overall the movie is either grossing you out, weirding you out or making you laugh. So, entertaining once the plot is established. Lots of monster action toward the end too, which is always a treat.
Bacterium uses the same premise of young adults in an abandoned space, but this one takes a more science fiction approach to the monsters. If you like movies like "X: The Unknown" or old episodes of the original series of "Doctor Who" you'll get a kick out of Bacterium. Some cool contamination suits, more practical F/X monsters, lots of ooey, gooey blobulous creatures and some very well placed jokes. Also, if you enjoy the tentacle whipping in the "Alien Vengeance" series of movies, you'll be blown away by the F/X here.
The IMDB trivia states that this was Alison Whitney's film debut. She did an excellent job of leading a pretty strong core cast through this sci-fi horror comedy. A few strong performances and none that stood out as truly weak.
The practical F/X don't let us down either. One reviewer complained that the monsters were shown plodding around for too long, but I spent that whole time trying to figure out how they gave those little slime balls life. Stunning retro F/X work. (I'm repeating myself.)
A.J. Khan makes a brief, but worthwhile appearance as her character adds some dry humor to a scene that's essentially a set up for a very odd action packed "finale".
There is a scene in the movie involving bikers and I think, as I did in "Stopped Dead", actual motorcyclists were used as opposed to actors. This is evident in one particular shot where a biker can be seen making "pow-pow" noises while pretending to fire a gun. Or maybe that was characterization and I need know to the biker's backstory for it to work.
In conclusion, if you have Amazon Prime and wish they still "made 'em like they used to", then these two retro inspired monster movies are for you. I would watch them in the order they were created as I feel like Bacterium is a slightly stronger movie. Of course, that might just be because I enjoy science fiction more than ghostly influences.
Hi friends, good piece of writing and good urging commented here, I am actually enjoying by these.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're enjoying them. Hopefully in spring we'll be able to bring you more.
ReplyDelete