The "nature strikes back" sub genre was particularly big in the 1970s after the success of "Jaws", but it's proved to have real staying power ever since, as evidenced in this no-fooling- around, gleefully gory mutant killer insect flick. The title insects have increased in size and become more vicious than usual. This is all thanks to local marijuana growers who have used herbal steroids to speed up the growth of their crops; their system has developed a leak and contaminated the resident ticks. Now a group of troubled kids and their two chaperones have come to the woods for a getaway and will serve as a potential smorgasbord for the ravenous blood sucking beasts. You know you'll be in for a good time perusing the cast list of this one: Rosalind Allen, Ami Dolenz, Seth Green, Alfonso Ribeiro, Peter Scolari, Barry Lynch (younger brother of Richard Lynch), and Clint *and* Rance Howard. The assorted young ladies are all quite attractive to look at, and the performances are all pretty entertaining. As many others before me have noted, it's hard NOT to be amused by the prospect of Ribeiro, otherwise known as Carlton from TVs' 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', unleashing his inner gangsta. Green is a likable enough young hero, Clint H. is an absolute hoot as always, and Lynch is, like his sibling, good at creating a suitably scuzzy villain. Director Tony Randel ("Hellbound: Hellraiser II") keeps everything moving at a good clip, and gets things off to a truly juicy start. The KNB makeup effects group create lots of wonderful visuals bound to get the audience going "Ewww..." on a regular basis. The highlight involves a sort of giving-birth type gag, and people are sure to love it. Things build nicely to a fairly exciting climax with the characters confined to a small rural location in the "Night of the Living Dead" tradition, and a forest fire raging out of control. All in all, this is very acceptable "turn your brain off and enjoy" gooey and grisly mayhem done with style and humour, and an unsurprisingly "it ain't over yet" kind of ending. Seven out of 10.
Review of Ticks
