Larva is set in the small Missouri town of Host where slimy businessman Fletcher Odermatt (David Selby) runs 'Host Tender Meats' beef company, he supplies the local farmers with free cattle feed & they supply him with cheap cattle he sells at an inflated price. Dr. Eli Rudkus (Vincent Ventresca) is the new vet in town & his first call is to Jabcob Long's (William Forsythe) farm where one cow is dead & another is ill, Eli takes a sample of cow sh*t & back at his lab examines it & discovers an entirely new breed of worm like parasite which gestates in a living host feeding on it's blood before it reaches adulthood & bursts out in search of more blood, all caused by genetically altered cattle feed from Fletcher's company. It's not long before every cow in Host is dead & the huge mutated flying parasitic creatures have turned their attentions to the human population, Eli must find a way to stop the parasites & prevent a worldwide epidemic...
This made-for-TV German American co-production also known as MorphMan internationally was directed by Tim Cox & I thought it was a pretty good creature feature considering the crap Nu Image Films usually put out. The somewhat predictable script by Dave Goodin, Kevin Moore, J. Paul V. Robert & T.M. Van Ostrand (did it really take four credited screenwriters to come up with this?) certainly moves along at a nice enough pace, it has enough gory monster mayhem to keep most Sc-Fi channel regulars happy & overall I thought it passed the time harmlessly enough even though it wasn't anything I would describe as spectacular. The character's are alright, the story is OK & like a lot of these types of films it has the moral message about us humans tampering with nature & it turning into some hideous monster that will bite us on the bum. This isn't exactly going to win any awards or anything & is far from a masterpiece but as 90 odd minutes of gory fun I didn't think it was half bad & that's what it boils down to & it's one of the few horror films that I have seen which has the balls to kill off an annoying blonde haired young boy.
Director Cox does alright but the film is just too dark & dull, even scenes set during the day or in building which are supposedly well lit there's not much colour or picture information in the frame. The films looks OK, the most stylish moment is near the start as there are close-ups of beef burgers being cooked on a barbecue & then the camera pans up & reveals a cow standing in a field opposite & it lets out a loud moo! It's a scene which just made me smile. There's some OK gore although it never becomes excessive, there are various mutilated cows & dogs, a few stomachs exploding & a fair amount of blood splatter. The CGI special effects on the worm like parasites are good but once they reach adulthood & turn into what can only be described as flying blobs of browny black stuff they aren't so impressive.
With a supposed budget of about $1,500,000 this is well made & has decent production values although some of the CGI computer effects look a little poor. The exterior shots were actually filmed in Springfield in Missouri. The acting is alright, Forsythe is slumming it & 80's fashion model Rachel Hunter turns up as the obligatory love interest.
Larva is a perfectly decent way to pass the time if your a creature feature fan, it's not the best example of it's type but it's far from the worst either. I thought it was worth a watch if you can find a copy going cheap or watch it on the Sci-Fi channel for free.
This made-for-TV German American co-production also known as MorphMan internationally was directed by Tim Cox & I thought it was a pretty good creature feature considering the crap Nu Image Films usually put out. The somewhat predictable script by Dave Goodin, Kevin Moore, J. Paul V. Robert & T.M. Van Ostrand (did it really take four credited screenwriters to come up with this?) certainly moves along at a nice enough pace, it has enough gory monster mayhem to keep most Sc-Fi channel regulars happy & overall I thought it passed the time harmlessly enough even though it wasn't anything I would describe as spectacular. The character's are alright, the story is OK & like a lot of these types of films it has the moral message about us humans tampering with nature & it turning into some hideous monster that will bite us on the bum. This isn't exactly going to win any awards or anything & is far from a masterpiece but as 90 odd minutes of gory fun I didn't think it was half bad & that's what it boils down to & it's one of the few horror films that I have seen which has the balls to kill off an annoying blonde haired young boy.
Director Cox does alright but the film is just too dark & dull, even scenes set during the day or in building which are supposedly well lit there's not much colour or picture information in the frame. The films looks OK, the most stylish moment is near the start as there are close-ups of beef burgers being cooked on a barbecue & then the camera pans up & reveals a cow standing in a field opposite & it lets out a loud moo! It's a scene which just made me smile. There's some OK gore although it never becomes excessive, there are various mutilated cows & dogs, a few stomachs exploding & a fair amount of blood splatter. The CGI special effects on the worm like parasites are good but once they reach adulthood & turn into what can only be described as flying blobs of browny black stuff they aren't so impressive.
With a supposed budget of about $1,500,000 this is well made & has decent production values although some of the CGI computer effects look a little poor. The exterior shots were actually filmed in Springfield in Missouri. The acting is alright, Forsythe is slumming it & 80's fashion model Rachel Hunter turns up as the obligatory love interest.
Larva is a perfectly decent way to pass the time if your a creature feature fan, it's not the best example of it's type but it's far from the worst either. I thought it was worth a watch if you can find a copy going cheap or watch it on the Sci-Fi channel for free.