Using a familiar formula, Growth tried to squirm its way into the hearts of horror fans and ultimately succeeded. This is a flawed horror movie with a couple of redeeming qualities. And if you’re a fan of creature features, it should be a decent watch. I thought that it would be much like Slither or Splinter, two excellent horror movies that also feature some comedic elements. Although I must admit that special effects here are surprisingly good. They look positively unnerving and at times even disturbing. It reminded me of The Thaw that came out just one year earlier, in 2009.
However, Growth forgot to develop its characters properly and we add clunky storytelling to the mix, the whole thing starts looking worse and worse. So, if you’re not a fan of these movies, maybe you should skip this one and stick with the classics. If, however, you’re looking for your daily dose of nasty creatures, and they are nasty here, feel free to check out this movie. I wonder how we will feel about it in twenty or thirty years. Mostly because some of these indie horror movies from the eighties have become cult classics after a decade or two. Parasite from 1982 comes to mind as one of those still in the process of getting famous.
Researching parasites in an effort to enhance humankind, a group of scientists nearly makes it, but a terrible accident freezes their work. Now, a group of young people (why is it always the young, I think it would be very refreshing to see some old folks fighting with creatures from nightmares) revisits the island where those unfortunate experiments happened.
As it usually happens with indie horror movies like this, there are some unintentionally hilarious scenes. So, if you want to crank up your cynicism to the max, I’m sure you’re going to have some fun. The acting was competent for most of the time, I mean, it’s not the actors fault that the script is sometimes too contrived. In the end, if you’re looking for a decent timekiller, you’ve found one in Growth. And if you want to continue in the same direction, check out some of the movies mentioned here. Enjo
Director: Gabriel Cowan
Writers: Gabriel Cowan, Devin Adair, John Suits
Cast: Mircea Monroe, Christopher Shand, Brian Krause, Robert Pike Daniel, Ian Patrick Williams
Fun Stuff: The film currently has no distribution company in the United States, but has been distributed by Free Dolphin Entertainment in France, SP Films in Argentina, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for Australia.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300159/
