Ticks (1993)

A group of troubled teenagers are led by social workers on a California wilderness retreat, not knowing that the woods they are camping in have become infested by mutated, blood-sucking ticks.

Director:

Tony Randel

Writer:

Brent V. Friedman

Stars:

Rosalind Allen, Ami Dolenz, Seth Green

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rosalind Allen	...	Holly Lambert
Ami Dolenz	...	Dee Dee Davenport
Seth Green	...	Tyler Burns
Virginya Keehne	...	Melissa Danson
Ray Oriel	...	Rome Hernandez
Alfonso Ribeiro	...	Darrel 'Panic' Lumley
Peter Scolari	...	Charles Danson
Dina Dayrit	...	Kelly Mishimoto
Michael Medeiros	...	Jerry
Barry Lynch	...	Sir
Clint Howard	...	Jarvis Tanner
Rance Howard	...	Sheriff Parker
Timothy Landfield	...	Mr. Burns
Judy Jean Berns	...	Dr. Kates
J.D. Stone	...	Young Tyler

Storyline

Problem teens in Los Angeles join an inner-city wilderness project in and attempt to get back in touch with life's priorities, led by do-gooders Holly and Charles. When they get to the campsite, they begin having problems adjusting to the wild life, particularly local marijuana growers using herbal steroids to accelerate plant growth, and the mutated ticks that the leaky steroid system has created.

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Plot Keywords:

teen | mutant | drug dealing | giant insect | male underwear | 

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Taglines:

It's not nice to mess with mother nature.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Infested

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Look Pictures, Republic Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

After filming wrapped in Big Bear, California, Seth Green and Ami Dolenz bonded by driving home together.

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Goofs

When Dr. Kates anatomizes the Tick, an audio recorder appears at the left top of the picture.

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Quotes

Dr. Kates: [steps on a huge tick] When in doubt... squish!

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Ticks (2011)

User Reviews

Mother nature bites back at Movie Executives who commission this kind of rubbish.

The English video cover makes this look like some 'Alien' clone, but instead it turns out to one of those irritating man-tampers-with-nature half-baked horror films.

A group of inner-city delinquents are taken out to the woods on a survival holiday. They find themselves attacked by blood-thirsty ticks which have grown to the size of large spiders as a result of steroids used on the local marijuana crop. Needless to say the film is derivative garbage, with no attempt to haul itself onto the lowest rung of the ladder.

The cast seem to have a degree of ability but the script and storyline give them absolutely nothing to work with, and things stumble along to the inevitable conclusion as most of them escape BUT what is clinging to the underside of their van ??

This may have worked better with some 'Tremors'-like humour - the horror elements are too weak because of the one-dimensional characters; this is a film where you really do not care about anyone and the whole experience is like watching a cartoon. As such it is watchable to a degree, but leaves not the slightest lasting impression.

If the horror genre continues churning out this kind of formulaic drivel for the empty-headed teenager heaven help us. I was rooting for the Ticks all the way.