Plot Outline
An isolated outpost in the wilderness becomes a battleground between humankind and morphing microscopic monster in this gross-out shocker from horror master Brett Piper (Screaming Dead, Shock-O-Rama, Arachnia). When a handful of friends stumble upon the abandoned building, they come face to face with a biological weapons experiment gone catastrophically wrong. They also confront a maniacal scientist who predicts life on Earth will end in 48 hours if the accelerated bacterial mutation cannot be halted. As the virulent, flesh-hungry contagion spreads from person to person - rendering each host into a pile of infectious ooze - it begins to multiply and increase in size. A covert military force sent in to contain the spread and destroy the organism discovers the extent of the slithering mutation, but by then it’s far too late for conventional tactics. Extreme measures are required...if anyone is left standing in one solid piece to do battle.Review Summary
Bacterium is a movie that borrows its story from countless 1950’s Atomic age movies, and is made like a very bad 1980’s action flick ala Commando – it just didn’t work.The Review
Movies like Bacterium have been around since the 1950’s during Ed Wood’s era, but that doesn’t mean they are good. I do have a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Wood, but his approach to film making was passionately bad and lacking in talent. Nowadays films can be made in someone’s bedroom with some creativity, a decent camera, and a computer; some actually turn out pretty good. Unfortunately, Bacterium is not one of those films. I will officially give it the worst film I have seen this decade award, anticipating that it will hold that title for the next two and a half years.
The production standards were too low, with unnecessarily choppy camera work and editing. The effects were done on the cheap with some early 1980’s style video treatments; and if I am not mistaken, the gun shot effects were from paintball guns. The melting face effects from the exposure to the deadly bacteria have all the appeal of hot oatmeal dripping off a child’s face. I don’t want to rag on the actors too much for their poor performances; the script was weak as was the storyline, so there wasn’t much to work with.
If this was a tribute film to bad 1980’s films, it wasn’t even successful at that. I am getting tired of bad genre films lacking in any spark of originality, I mean at least there could be an effort to try to make a decent movie.