Director: Marcus Koch
Year: 1999
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Body-Horror
Plot:
After screwing a corpse in a morgue, a woman inadvertently transmits a disease to her punk boyfriend and find that they’re slowly rotting from the inside out due to the virus, forcing them to embark on a wild campaign of chaos to try to combat the effects of the contagion before they succumb to its effects.
Review:
This was a pretty enjoyable low-budget effort. One of the biggest features here is the wild and bizarre storyline that allows the film to careen from one grotesque sequence to another. After getting an idea of what their relationship is about, the initial montage showing them running wild in the community as lawless punks before turning over to the effects of the virus is a rather fun time here. Generating enough of a setup with the means of how they contracted the virus and passing it along to everyone they come across, this one becomes quite fun with seeing the sequences enabled here with the way this plays out.
However, the main feature on display here is the grotesque and disturbing gore effects featured here which are genuinely gruesome and graphic. The means of showing them physically rotting from the inside out means the film gets away with some fun meltdowns of people in full view where their skin completely disappears until it’s just a chunky skeleton. The gradual descent into the effects of the virus creates some more gruesome images with their bleeding wounds and oozing faces before getting to the classic shot of a disembodied head being attached with duct tape. The creativity and impressive nature of these effects are the best aspects here, giving this the most enjoyable aspects to hold it up overall.
There are some issues on display here. The main issue is the generally confusing manner in which the virus supposedly affects the two. Initially appearing as though the two are barely able to walk the amount of pain they’re in while vomiting all over each other, that not even two minutes later they’re completely fine and able to beat down a man twice their size or outwit a government agent on foot with no ill effects of the virus is quite confusing. This doesn’t seem to be any consistency in how the virus operates which becomes highly distracting and obvious the way this plays out the later the film goes on.
The other real problem with the film is the generally obvious lack of funds on display that some might see as a detriment. The wild, raucous storyline that takes place in the community feels completely guerilla-like in concept and execution where the majority of these scenes feel like just being out in the community stealing shots. With a somewhat improvised atmosphere and generally amateurish presentation with its technical aspects, there’s a charm on display that can make this endearing to some and utterly unappealing to others which is an entirely personal preference. Still, that it’s still present is enough to be worth mentioning.
Overview: ***.5/5
A generally enjoyable over-the-top effort that evokes the best and worst of the shot-on-video scene at the time, this one manages to be quite simplistic in how it’s going down that it’s rather easy to see what’s going on here. Fans of the style, approach, or the creative crew are urged to check this out as immediately as possible while those that don’t appreciate these aspects should steer extremely clear of this one.
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