•

At Home, BluRay/DVD Reviews

PARASITES

By • Feb 22nd, 2017 •

Share This:


It’s THE NAKED PREY, or APOCALYPTO, and considering it’s grindhouse budgetary level, it’s just as good as those classic titles – except that this time it’s set in modern day, in empty down-town LA, and instead of Mayans or African natives, it’s the blood-thirsty derelict community in pursuit of a hapless college student.

As in THE NAKED PREY, the pursued victim is forced to run naked through the concrete jungle trying to stay ahead of his enemy’s forces. Except that this time Sean Samuels, a black athlete, is really running completely nude, which is a raucous liberation from the Hollywood rules that had Cornell Wilde wearing a loincloth throughout his deadly pursuit story. With Samuels in the buff, it’s amusing at the same time that it’s harrowing.

Though the exact nature of the twists are surprising, we do know they’re coming. What is unexpected, however, is how good the casting is. Director Chad Ferrin really held out for top talent among the indie scene. Robert Miano as the grizzled marauder leader is a completely believable villain.

To give just one example of a far less successful casting choice, Wes Craven’s hiring of James Whitworth as Papa Jupe in the original HILLS HAVE EYES was unsatisfying at best, and Wes lamented the lack of truly frightening choices available to him. With the exception of Michael Berryman, none of the savage family was spine-chilling in HILLS. But Ferrin has found an excellent actor/antagonist in Miano who has us genuinely fearful for the runner’s fate.

People have compared aspects of PARASITES to a film I produced called STREET TRASH, and there are similarities, but the very mise en scene would have to be common to both films. I take the comparison as a compliment though.

Tagged as: , , ,
Share This Article: Digg it | del.icio.us | Google | StumbleUpon | Technorati

Comments are closed.