Mosquito (film)

Last updated
Mosquito
Mosquito (1995) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Jones
Written byTom Chaney
Steve Hodge
Gary Jones
Starring Gunnar Hansen
Ron Asheton
Steve Dixon
Josh Becker
CinematographyTom Chaney
Distributed by Hemdale Communications, Inc.
Release date
  • May 20, 1995 (1995-05-20) [1]
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200,000 (estimated)
Box office$986,314[ citation needed ]

Mosquito (also known as Blood Fever) is a 1995 American science-fiction horror film directed by Gary Jones. The film features actor Gunnar Hansen, who portrayed the character Leatherface in the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with Ron Asheton, lead guitarist for the band the Stooges. The film has earned a cult following since its release.

Contents

Plot

An alien spacecraft crashes down in a U.S. national park. A mosquito sucks the blood of the craft's deceased extraterrestrial pilot, causing the insect to mutate to an abnormally large size. While driving to a summer camp in the park, lovers Megan and Ray accidentally hit the mosquito. They get out of the vehicle, and Ray finds its severed proboscis in his car's radiator. Meanwhile, a park ranger named Hendricks is ordered by the park chief to spray gaseous mosquito repellent.

Afterwards, three bank robbers, Earl, Junior, and Rex, stop in the park. Rex walks to an outhouse, where he encounters a giant mosquito. He runs from it, calling for help, and is accidentally shot by Junior. Earl kills the mosquito with a shotgun. Later, two park rangers are fishing when they are attacked by mosquitoes. One of the rangers has his eye gouged out by a mosquito; the other ranger falls off the boat into the water, and after swimming back to land, is killed when a mosquito stabs him with its proboscis.

That night, a couple is having sex in a tent. When the man leaves the tent to urinate, one of the mosquitoes enters the tent and impales the woman through one of her buttocks; her lover is then attacked. The next morning, Ray meets a meteorologist named Parks, who drives Ray and Megan to the park. Parks is searching for a meteorite that reportedly landed in the park. Parks' radiation monitor begins detecting radioactivity, and they track the source to the boat containing the dead fishing ranger. They drive to the park to notify the police, where they find the park's rangers and visitors to have all been killed.

They find the carcass of a mosquito, and Megan determines it to be of the species Aedes aegypti . A surviving Hendricks informs the others that the park's electrical and communication systems were destroyed in the attack. The group plan to drive to a city for help, and they take a nearby RV, escaping a swarm of approaching mosquitoes. After night falls, they stumble across Earl and Junior. The criminals unsuccessfully attempt to hijack the RV, and they are tied up and brought along.

A swarm of mosquitoes proceed to chase the RV. As the mosquitoes attack through the windows, Megan accidentally opens a side door and hangs precariously from it, before being saved by Ray. Earl breaks free from his restraints, uses a hatchet to save Junior from a mosquito, and threatens to kill Megan. She stabs Earl with a severed proboscis as another wave of mosquitoes assault the RV, causing it to crash. As the group crawls through a pipe to evade the swarm, Junior is impaled by a mosquito, causing his eyes to bulge and explode.

The mosquitoes follow them into the pipe, and the group sets some of their clothes on fire to deter the insects. While hiding safely in the pipe system, they conclude that the "meteorite" and the mosquitoes are connected. They return outside the next morning and split up; Ray, Earl, and Hendricks investigate a nearby farmhouse while Megan and Parks search for the "meteorite". After regrouping, they board up the farmhouse. After sunset, Parks reveals that he fought in the Vietnam War, and Hendricks reveals that he did as well. The mosquitoes begin to infiltrate the farmhouse, and Earl defends himself with a chainsaw.

Ray tears off a mosquito's wings to save Hendricks, and Megan sets one of the mosquitoes on fire using a stove. In the house's basement, Parks and Hendricks discover a colossal nest of mosquito eggs. The group rigs the house to explode by breaking its gas line and opening up the windows, and Ray and Megan escape to the roof by taking turns in a dumbwaiter. Upon Hendricks' turn, the dumbwaiter breaks and falls lethally to the basement. Ray and Megan jump from the roof, and the house explodes with Earl, Parks, Hendricks's dead body and the mosquitoes inside. After sunrise, Ray and Megan find Parks alive, having protected himself from the explosion by hiding in a refrigerator.

Cast

Gunnar Hansen is featured as the character Earl. Gunnarhansen.jpg
Gunnar Hansen is featured as the character Earl.

Production

Director Gary Jones originally planned for the film to revolve around group of criminals, beginning with a large bank heist and ending with a violent shootout, but this was deemed too expensive. [2] The script was subsequently rewritten by Tom Chaney, and the film's original title was Skeeters. Upon learning that a film named Skeeter , which had a similar concept about killer mosquitoes, was already recently produced, the title was changed to Blood Fever. [2] During post-production, the film was renamed Nightswarm—appearing as such in the April 1994 issue of Fangoria [3] —before its title was later finally changed to Mosquito. The film was shot entirely in Michigan, near the city of Detroit. [4]

The effects for the film's mosquitoes were created through a mix of stop-motion animation and puppetry, and some shots, such as when the swarm of mosquitoes is shown to be converging on the farmhouse, were generated using traditional cel animation. [5] [6] [2] The mosquito that explodes when shot by Earl was a rubber puppet that contained the film crew's leftovers from their lunch break, in order to simulate the insect's internal organs and fluids. [2] The film's original special effects artist supposedly left the set during production to smoke cigarettes and never returned. [7]

The scene in which the RV crashes onto its side was created using a scale model of the vehicle; the spacecraft in the film's opening scene was also a model, and was filmed using a forced perspective technique. [2] The most expensive shot in the film was stock footage of a mosquito being born, shown in the opening scene. The footage was purchased for $1,500. [2]

Release

Mosquito was intended to have a wide theatrical release in November 1994 but their distributors, Hemdale Communications, were forced to file for bankruptcy before the release date. [2] Though the film received a brief and limited theatrical release, with a premiere at the Michigan Theatre and at least one screening in Los Angeles, it was released on home video on May 20, 1995. [8] The film was released in the VHS and LaserDisc formats, and in 1999 was released on DVD.This film was released on the DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2004. [9] Copies of the DVD were at one time considered rare, and reached asking prices of $400 on websites like eBay and Amazon.com. [10] After its release, the film was often shown on the USA Network and on the Sci-Fi Channel. [10] Synapse Films reissued the film on DVD and released a Blu-ray edition on October 13, 2015 for the film's 20th anniversary. [11] [9]

The film was nominated for the category of Best Horror Film at the 21st Saturn Awards.

Reception

Mosquito received generally negative reviews at the time of its release, but has since grown a cult following. [1] [10] The film holds a rating of 60% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.2/10 based on 5 reviews. [12] Brett Gallmann of the website Oh, The Horror! praised the film's special effects and called it "what the platonic ideal for what cable-TV monster movies should be". [11]

Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed gave the film a mostly positive review, writing that "Mosquito is a classically bad monster movie with a low budget, and a neat idea. It delivers giant mosquitoes sucking on humans regardless of its limitations, and amounts to a very memorable guilty pleasure." [13] TV Guide awarded the film 2 out of 4 stars, calling it "a simplistic but energetic B-movie." [14] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a positive B+ rating and called it "certainly the best of the recent spate of mutant insect movies," and "Mosquito is a giant-creature film made by giant-creature fanatics...with good performances." [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>Night of the Living Dead</i> 1968 American horror film

Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.

<i>28 Days Later</i> 2002 UK horror film by Danny Boyle

28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover the accidental release of a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus has caused the breakdown of society. Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson appear in supporting roles.

<i>Tremors</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Ron Underwood

Tremors is a 1990 American monster comedy horror film directed by Ron Underwood, produced by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson, written by Maddock, Wilson, and Underwood and starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire.

<i>From Dusk till Dawn</i> 1996 horror film

From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and Juliette Lewis, the plot follows a pair of American criminal brothers who take a family as hostages in order to cross into Mexico, but ultimately find themselves trapped in a saloon frequented by vampires.

<i>Scary Movie 2</i> 2001 film by Keenen Ivory Wayans

Scary Movie 2 is a 2001 American supernatural parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to Scary Movie and the second film in the Scary Movie film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, as well as Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, Chris Elliott, Chris Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, David Cross and James Woods. The film is the last in the series to feature the involvement of stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and director Keenan. Marlon would eventually go on to produce a similar horror-themed parody, A Haunted House, and its sequel, both starring himself. In the latter film, Wayans pokes fun at the Scary Movie series' decline in quality after his family's departure.

<i>Creepshow</i> 1982 horror comedy anthology film by George A. Romero

Creepshow is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, making this film his screenwriting debut. The film's ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E. G. Marshall, and Viveca Lindfors as well as King himself. The film was primarily shot on location in Pittsburgh and its suburbs, including Monroeville, where Romero leased an old boys' academy to build extensive sets for the film.

<i>Bride of Re-Animator</i> 1991 film by Brian Yuzna

Bride of Re-Animator is a 1990 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, Rick Fry, and Woody Keith. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Re-Animator and the second entry in the Re-Animator film series. Like its predecessor, it is loosely based on the serialized story "Herbert West–Reanimator" (1921-1922) by H. P. Lovecraft. Unlike its predecessor, it was released direct-to-video.

<i>Silver Bullet</i> (film) 1985 film by Dan Attias

Silver Bullet is a 1985 American horror film based on the 1983 Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, and Corey Haim, with Megan Follows, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon in supporting roles. The film is directed by Dan Attias, written by King and produced by Martha De Laurentiis.

<i>Leprechaun</i> (film) 1993 American horror film

Leprechaun is a 1993 American comedy horror film written and directed by Mark Jones, and starring Warwick Davis in the title role, with Jennifer Aniston supporting. Davis plays a vengeful leprechaun who believes a family has stolen his pot of gold. As he hunts them, they attempt to locate his gold to mollify him.

<i>Atomic Train</i> 1999 American television miniseries

Atomic Train is a 1999 American made-for-television disaster-action-thriller miniseries about an accidental nuclear explosion destroying the city of Denver, Colorado. It was originally broadcast on NBC in two parts on May 16 and 17, 1999.

<i>The Monolith Monsters</i> 1957 film by John Sherwood

The Monolith Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by Howard Christie, directed by John Sherwood, and starring Grant Williams and Lola Albright. The film is based on a story by Jack Arnold and Robert M. Fresco, with a screenplay by Fresco and Norman Jolley.

<i>Mirror, Mirror</i> (1990 film) 1990 American film

Mirror, Mirror is a 1990 American supernatural horror film directed by Marina Sargenti, based on a screenplay by Annette Cascone and Gina Cascone. It stars Karen Black, Rainbow Harvest, Yvonne De Carlo and William Sanderson. The film follows a teenage outcast who finds herself drawn to an antique mirror left in the house she and her mother have moved into. A soundtrack was released in 1990 through Orphan Records. Three sequels followed in 1994, 1995 and 2000.

<i>Trilogy of Terror</i> 1975 television film by Dan Curtis

Trilogy of Terror is a 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a college professor who seeks excitement with her students; the second is about twin sisters who have a bizarre relationship. These two segments were adapted by William F. Nolan. The third, adapted by Matheson himself, focuses on a woman terrorized by a Zuni fetish doll in her apartment. Black stars in all three segments, and plays dual roles in the second.

<i>Scarecrows</i> (1988 film) 1988 film by William Wesley

Scarecrows is a 1988 American slasher film written, produced and directed by William Wesley. Its plot follows a group of mercenaries who hijacked a plane in California, and after making an emergency landing in a cornfield, find themselves stalked by murderous scarecrows possessed by spirits.

<i>Critters</i> (film) 1986 film directed by Stephen Herek

Critters is a 1986 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by Stephen Herek in his directorial debut, and co-written with Domonic Muir. It stars Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy "Green" Bush and Scott Grimes in his film debut. The plot follows a group of small, furry aliens with carnivorous behavior escaping from two shape-shifting bounty hunters, landing in a small countryside town to feast on its inhabitants.

<i>Mansquito</i> American TV series or program

Mansquito is a 2005 American made-for-television monster movie directed by Tibor Takács, and stars Corin Nemec, Musetta Vander and Matt Jordon. It shares many similarities with the 1986 adaptation of The Fly, and was conceived by Ray Cannella, Manager of Program Acquisition for the Syfy Channel. He and other two colleagues began producing films for the channel feeling that they could do better than the films they bought from independent producers.

<i>Evil Toons</i> 1992 film by Fred Olen Ray

Evil Toons is a 1992 American live-action/adult animated comedy horror B movie written and directed by Fred Olen Ray. The film is a light spoof of traditional haunted-house films.

<i>Just Before Dawn</i> (1981 film) 1981 American slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman

Just Before Dawn is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman and starring Chris Lemmon, Gregg Henry, Deborah Benson, Ralph Seymour, Jamie Rose, and George Kennedy. The film follows a group of hikers who travel into a mountainous region of Oregon to visit property inherited by one of them, only to be hunted by a ruthless backwoods killer.

<i>The Unseen</i> (1980 film) 1980 film by Danny Steinmann

The Unseen is a 1980 American slasher film directed and written by Danny Steinmann, and starring Stephen Furst, Barbara Bach, Sydney Lassick, and Lelia Goldoni. Its plot follows three female news reporters who arrive in Solvang, California, to cover the town's annual Danish festival, and end up staying in the Victorian home of a middle-aged couple harboring a dark secret in their basement.

<i>The Pirate Fairy</i> 2014 American animated fantasy film

The Pirate Fairy is a 2014 American animated fantasy film directed by Peggy Holmes. It is the fifth direct-to-video feature-length animated film in the Disneytoon Studios' Tinker Bell film series and the Disney Fairies franchise, based on the character Tinker Bell from J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy. The film features the voices of Mae Whitman, reprising her role of Tinker Bell, Christina Hendricks as a dust-keeper fairy named Zarina, and Tom Hiddleston as James.

References

  1. 1 2 Molgaard, Matt (June 30, 2016). "Mosquito (1995) Review". HorrorFreak News. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Trachenburg, Cecil (23 November 2015). "Exploring 'Mosquito' (Episode 221)". GoodBadFlicks. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Kauza, Mary (April 1994). ""Nightswarm"—More Bugs for Fewer Bucks". Fangoria . No. 131. Starlog Group, Inc. pp. 32–33. ISSN   0164-2111.
  4. ↑ Klein, James (13 December 2015). "Mosquito (1995)". UnratedFilm. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Mosquito (1995)". Theater of Guts. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ↑ N., Eric (4 June 2008). "Guilty Pleasures: Mosquito". Bloody Good Horror. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  7. ↑ William, Paul (14 February 2016). "Film Review: Mosquito (1995)". Horrornews.net. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Mosquito (1995) Release". Gonewiththetwins.com. 21 May 1995.
  9. 1 2 "Mosquito (1995) - Gary Jones". AllMovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Jackson, Gordon (17 October 2013). "All The Most Revolting Mosquitoes from Science Fiction and Fantasy". io9. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 Gallmann, Brett (21 November 2015). "Horror Reviews - Mosquito (1995)". Oh, the Horror!. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "Mosquito (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes . Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Vasquez, Felix (7 October 2014). "Mosquito (1995) » Cinema Crazed". Cinema Crazed.com. Felix Vasquez. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Mosquito - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Taylor, J.R. "Mosquito (1995) Review". Entertainment Weekly.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.