Bite (film)

Last updated

Bite
Bite 2015 poster.jpg
Theatrical film poster
Directed by Chad Archibald
Written byChad Archibald
Jayme Laforest
Produced byChad Archibald
Cody Calahan
Christopher Giroux
StarringElma Begovic
Annette Wozniak
Denise Yuen
Jordan Gray
Lawrene Denkers
Barry Birnberg
Daniel Klimitz
Tianna Nori
Caroline Palmer
CinematographyJeff Maher
Edited byNick Montgomery
Music by Steph Copeland
Production
companies
Black Fawn Films
Breakthrough Entertainment
Distributed byBlack Fawn Distribution
United Front Entertainment
Release date
Running time
88 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Bite is a 2015 Canadian body horror film written and directed by Chad Archibald, and starring Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray, Lawrene Denkers, Barry Birnberg, Daniel Klimitz, Tianna Nori, and Caroline Palmer. It was produced by Black Fawn Films, MGM Productions and Scream Factory, and Breakthrough Entertainment. The plot is about a young woman who is bitten by a waterborne insect whilst in Costa Rica and suffers horrifying and transformative consequences.

Contents

Plot

Casey (Elma Begovic) celebrates her bachelorette party with her friends Kirsten and Jill in Costa Rica. She is second-guessing her impending wedding to her fiancé Jared Kennedy and is exasperated with Jared's mother, who happens to be Casey’s landlord. Casey gets bitten by an insect at one point during the trip but is too preoccupied to take note, thinking of it as an ordinary bite. After returning home, her body mutates gradually, her senses get worse, she is no longer able to feed herself, and she is plagued by nightmares. When she wakes up one day, there are insect eggs in her apartment. Jared's mother invades Casey's apartment to angrily challenge her about her plans to marry her son, but Casey kills her by spitting acid. Her friend Kirsten is very worried and visits Casey, but Casey also kills her when Kirsten finds the body of Mrs. Kennedy and panics.

Casey's friend Jill is actually in love with Jared, and she stole Casey's engagement ring in Costa Rica, letting Casey believe that she had a one-night stand. In fact, Casey was forced into sex while drunk against her will, and Jill recorded the act. Jill shows Jared the pictures of Casey kissing the other man and seduces Jared into sex in her car. Casey overhears the two of them due to her mutating sense of hearing. Jill enters Casey's apartment and is overpowered by Casey and tied to a chair. When she wakes up, a heavily transformed Casey forces her to watch the videos of her rape. She also forces Jill to call for Jared, who then enters the apartment. Casey kills Jill, causing a fight between her and Jared. Although Jared is able to kill Casey, he is seriously injured by a sting. He drags himself back to his apartment and tries to make an emergency call from his mobile, but fails.

A week later, the entire house is quarantined. The police raid the house and find the bodies of Mrs. Kennedy, Jill, and Kirsten in Casey's apartment. They find Jared In his own apartment, seriously-injured and already-mutated in a kind of cocoon. When they try to help him, many eggs and insects swell from his body and attack the police. At the end of the film, two joggers are talking about an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. One of them is bitten by an insect, but she dismisses it as "just a bite".

Cast

Release

Bite was released in 2015 at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Fantasy Filmfest, Film4 Fright Fest, Mile High Horror Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Tucson Terrorfest, Night Visions Film Festival, Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, Monster Fest, Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival, and Texas Frightmare Weekend. A subtitled version was released in Madrid, Spain on June 7, 2016.

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 50% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 5.81/10. [2] Metacritic reports an aggregated score of 57 based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [3]

The beginning of the film and character development in particular were criticized, with the relationships and acting being described as unconvincing and generic to the point of being parodic, while the complex themes and body-horror elements were generally viewed more favorably by critics, Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com called it "one of those early career horror entries in which the filmmakers don't quite nail the set-up or the landing, but the gooey center of the film works for those with a high tolerance for things that might make a majority of the population queasy." [4]

Phil Wheat from Nerdly had a slightly more positive takeaway after seeing the Frightfest 2015 screening: "Bite is a strange and claustrophobic tale of sexuality, horror, and bodily fluids that recalls the best of David Cronenberg (Rabid, Shivers, The Fly), even echoing of Roman Polanski's Repulsion in the isolated madness of Casey's condition. And as such is unmissable" [5] and Matt Boiselle from Dread Central stated that "Bite definitely has the chops to be the Fly of the new age and simply shouldn't be missed, especially if you're a gorehound on the prowl." [6]

Many audience members were apparently unprepared for the gruesome content of the film however, as Fantasia Film Festival co-director Mitch Davis said on Facebook, "I leave the BITE premiere for all of ten minutes and the following text lights up my phone: "2 people fainted. One girl is puking and another hit his head on the stairs". Truth." Davis also had special Bite branded barf bags handed out to the audience. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>SARS Wars</i> 2004 Thai film

SARS Wars is a 2004 Thai action fantasy comedy horror film directed and co-written by Taweewat Wantha.

<i>Rec</i> (film) 2007 film by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza

Rec is a 2007 Spanish found footage horror film co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film stars Manuela Velasco as a reporter who, with her cameraman, accompany a group of firefighters on an emergency call to an apartment building to discover an infection spreading inside, with the building being sealed up and all occupants ordered to follow a strict quarantine.

<i>Quarantine</i> (2008 film) 2008 found footage horror film by John Erick Dowdle

Quarantine is a 2008 found footage horror film directed and co-written by John Erick Dowdle, produced by Sergio Aguero, Doug Davison, and Roy Lee, and co-written by Drew Dowdle, being a remake of the 2007 Spanish film Rec. The film stars Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Šerbedžija, and Johnathon Schaech. It follows a reporter and her cameraman assigned to a pair of Los Angeles firemen who follow a distress call to an apartment building where they discover a deadly mutated strain of rabies spreading among the building's occupants; escape becomes impossible once the government descends upon the building to prevent the virus from spreading beyond it, and the pair continue to record the events that unfold inside, of which the film itself is the result. Quarantine features no actual musical score, using only sound effects, and differs in its characters, dialogue, and explanation of the virus from its source material.

<i>Bitten</i> (film) 2008 Canadian film

Bitten is a 2008 Canadian black comedy vampire film directed by Harv Glazer. It stars Jason Mewes as a paramedic who rescues Danika, a female vampire, from an alley way.

Rabies has been the main plot device or a significant theme in many fictional works. Due to the long history of the virus as well as its neurotropic nature, rabies has been a potent symbol of madness, irrationalism, or an unstoppable plague in numerous fictional works, in many genres. Many notable examples are listed below.

<i>Quarantine 2: Terminal</i> 2011 American horror film sequel

Quarantine 2: Terminal is a 2011 American horror film and a sequel to the 2008 film, Quarantine. It was written and directed by John Pogue and produced by Marc Brienstock. The film stars Mercedes Mason, Josh Cooke and Mattie Liptak as passengers on an airplane where the mutant rabies virus from the previous film is now spreading, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at a terminal that is promptly surrounded by the government, trapping the passengers and crew as they search for answers and a means of escape.

<i>Thanatomorphose</i> Canadian horror film by Éric Falardeau

Thanatomorphose is a 2012 Canadian body horror film directed by Éric Falardeau. It was his directorial debut. it was first released on October 2, 2012, in Spain and has been shown at several film festivals since then, including the Fantasia Film Festival. Thanatomorphose stars Kayden Rose as a young woman that finds her body slowly rotting from a mysterious ailment.

<i>Missionary</i> (film) 2013 American film

Missionary is a 2013 drama thriller film by Anthony DiBlasi. It received its world premiere on July 25, 2013 at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Dawn Olivieri as a single mother caught up in one man's obsession with her.

<i>Scary or Die</i> 2012 American film

Scary or Die is a 2012 American anthology horror film directed by Bob Badway, Michael Emanuel, and Igor Meglic. The film was released on video on demand on May 1, 2012 and on DVD on September 11, 2012. Initially titled Terror Bytes, the film's name was later changed to coincide with a horror website by the same name that Emanuel ran with his co-director Igor Meglic and two other filmmakers.

<i>The Drownsman</i> 2014 Canadian film

The Drownsman is a 2014 Canadian horror/fantasy thriller that was directed by Chad Archibald, who co-wrote the script with Cody Calahan. The film had its world premiere on 2 August 2014 at the Fantasia Film Festival and stars Michelle Mylett as a hydrophobic young woman that finds that the cure might be worse than the fear itself. Filming took place in Guelph, Ontario during winter of 2013.

<i>Suburban Gothic</i> (film) 2014 American film

Suburban Gothic is a 2014 American comedy horror film directed by Richard Bates Jr. It had its world premiere on July 19, 2014, at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Matthew Gray Gubler as a young man who returns home only to find himself faced with the supernatural. The film was released in select theaters and via video on demand platforms on January 30, 2015.

<i>Dementamania</i> 2013 British film

Dementamania, also stylized as DementaMania, is a 2013 British horror film that was directed by Kit Ryan. The film had its world premiere on 23 August 2013 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and stars Sam Robertson as a software analyst that finds himself possibly going mad after receiving an insect bite.

<i>The Dead and the Damned 2</i> 2014 American film

The Dead and the Damned 2 is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Rene Perez. It was released direct-to-video on October 7, 2014, and is the sequel to the 2010 film The Dead and the Damned.

<i>Excess Flesh</i> 2015 American film

Excess Flesh is a 2015 American horror film directed by Patrick Kennelly, written by Sigrid Gilmer and Kennelly, and starring Bethany Orr and Mary Loveless. Orr and Loveless play the gorgeous new roommates who share an obsession with food.

<i>Slaxx</i> 2020 horror comedy film

Slaxx is a 2020 Canadian horror comedy film directed by Elza Kephart, who co-wrote the film with Patricia Gomez. The film is produced by Gomez with Anne-Marie Gélinas, and stars Romane Denis as a cashier in a clothing store who, with her fellow employees, is terrorized by a possessed pair of jeans.

<i>The Dark and the Wicked</i> 2020 American horror film

The Dark and the Wicked is a 2020 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino, starring Marin Ireland, Michael Abbott Jr., and Xander Berkeley. It follows two siblings who encounter a demonic entity at their familial farm after the suicide of their mother, who had long been caring for their infirm father.

<i>I Am Lisa</i> 2020 American film

I Am Lisa is a 2020 horror revenge film that was directed by Patrick Rea, based on a script written by Eric Winkler.

<i>The Honeymoon Phase</i> 2019 American film

The Honeymoon Phase is a 2019 sci-fi horror film that was written and directed by Phillip G. Carroll Jr., marking his feature film directorial debut.

Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires is a 2018 British stop-motion animated action comedy horror film written and directed by Mike Mort, who also stars the titular lead role. The film follows Chuck Steel, a no-nonsense maverick renegade cop who is pitted against a horde of vampire-like beings who feast upon the blood of those who are drunk. The film parodies and pays homage to live action films of the 1980s. It had its premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on 12 June 2018.

<i>The Sadness</i> 2021 film by Rob Jabbaz

The Sadness is a 2021 Taiwanese body horror film written, edited and directed by Canadian filmmaker Rob Jabbaz, produced by Machi Xcelsior Studios and producer David Barker. The film depicts a couple played by Berant Zhu and Regina Lei who attempt to reunite amidst a viral pandemic that turns people into homicidal maniacs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cast https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4264426/fullcredits
  2. "Bite (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. "Bite Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  4. Tallerico, Brian. "Bite Movie Review & Film Summary (2016)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  5. "Frightfest 2015: 'Bite' Review". Nerdly. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  6. Boiselle, Matt (28 July 2015). "Bite (2015)". Dread Central. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  7. Barton, Steve (4 August 2015). "Bite Screening Spews Bodily Fluids at Fantasia". Dread Central. Retrieved 23 November 2016.