Bug Buster |
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 • USA • 1998 • 93m •   • Directed by: Lorenzo Doumani. • Starring: Randy Quaid, Brenda Epperson, Katherine Heigl, James Doohan, George Takei, Meredith Salenger, Ty O'Neal, David Lipper, Bernie Kopell, Anne Lockhart, Downtown Julie Brown, Dennis Fimple, Allen Lulu. • Music by: Bobby Caldwell, Sidney James.     In the small lakeside town of Mountview, in California, the Major decides to pulverize a dangerous substance to protect the local plantation. Thirteen years later, a harmful and lethal species of cockroaches appears nearby the lake, threatening and killing the local dwellers. The famous exterminator General George S. Merlin is called to fight against the bugs.
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Review:
The Good News: This one actually surprised me and I quite enjoyed it. The main asset to that is it's sense of fun. It's one of the few that strikes the hard to master task of striking a balance between being cheesy and being serious. The situations may be cheesy, but they are taken seriously, putting them into a better sense of urgency. That mixes with the cheesiness of the situations makes for some pleasant viewing. It also moves along quite rapidly and doesn't really get bogged down in useless subplots, making the majority of the focus on the bugs, which is what should happen in this type of movie. The few subplots it has eventually comes around to the main one, providing very few weak links in the story, another great plus. In addition, it can also be a good horror film when it wants to be, such as the early parts of the film. The dream sequences are pretty creepy, echoing some Gothic elements in there with the candle-lit rooms, flowing nightgowns on the women, and the low lighting in the room that gives it that atmosphere. Then when it shown that the bugs are there, it adds to a great moment that is pretty creepy. The beginning half of the film is exactly like that, being creepy enough to sustain a horror movie, then the second part descends into cheesy B-movie territory that strangely doesn't feel too out of place. The gore isn't out there, but toned down and more appropriate, being relegated to a couple mangled and stripped corpses. All in all, this wasn't all that bad of a film.
The Bad News: For as good as it is, there's still a few problems with the film. First and foremost, the ridiculousness of the final creature. It doesn't inspire fear, it looks very laughable, and comes across fairly badly. There is also a big problem with the gore in this film. Nearly every single kill is off-screen, making the gore in here reliant on the bloodied corpses. It gets a little frustrating when that's all we're provided, as the on-screen ones aren't that bloody. The cheesiness can be a problem for some, and it is an obstacle for those to overcome if it is. That includes all the traditional elements, which don't need repeating here. But there wasn't a lot in here that wasn't all that bad.
The Final Verdict: I actually enjoyed this one, and thought it was pretty good. It goes by the book and doesn't really break any new ground in the genre, so that can be a factor for those who aren't that big into it. It's tolerable and certainly fun, so those interested are certainly advised to check it out.
Review by slayrrr666 from the Internet Movie Database.
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