Ticks is another entry in what seems to be an ongoing competition between B-grade film-makers to produce movies featuring the most harmless and innocuous of creatures turned into monsters- frequently made gigantic or at least larger than they normally are. Killer Ticks aren't the most ridiculous menace ever created in one of these movies as anyone has seen Night of the Lepus (killer bunny rabbits) or various 50's B-movies will attest but they certainly aren't convincingly threatening enough to be the monster in any movie. That is the main problems with Ticks, which is basically a serviceable B-movie. The Ticks are certainly icky little creatures which have gross-out value which is used to good effect here and the prospect of having one of them attached to you and sucking your blood is not a pleasant thought. The SFX used to portray the Ticks are actually pretty good and they are suitably gross little critters, a case of practical special effect doing a better job than CGI ever could and the gory scenes of them burrowing into the flesh of their victims are quite well rendered. My favourite scene was that of a Tick with a syringe stuck into it skittering across the floor, complete with the silly movie skittering sound. However, the Ticks could only be seen as a real threat in the most contrived of circumstances, which the movie does it's best to provide, via an area selective forest fire toward the end of the movie and are certainly not enough of a threat to pad out a 90 minute movie.
It is clear the makers realised this and added in other elements such as the some human bad guys, in this case some gun wielding dope growers to generate some more conflict and danger (Not to mention running time) into the proceedings. None of this is particularly interesting nor is the clichéd character interaction between our group of main characters, some troubled teens from LA out in the woods with their counsellors on some kind of bonding. get back to nature program (The details are never made clear). The characters are barely sketched in and their interactions and conflicts are painfully hackneyed e.g. the teenage daughter of the lead counsellor who resents her father for dragging her along on these excursions and hates her step-mother. We don't even get a lot of detail about what the problems of these trouble teens are, in some cases none at all. The acting is pretty average and you get the impression that nobody is trying too hard.
Despite this there is some fun to be had. The Ticks are actually pretty cool little creatures even if they aren't a believable threat and there is enough blood and goo around to liven things up between the bad character stuff. There are some really bizarre plot twists which succeed in making the movie more entertaining, such as the contrived circumstances in which the forest fire is started and the uber-ridiculous way in which an even bigger monster tick is created in the movies climax. I didn't know steroids could do that. I also liked the fact that the ticks became the way they were not because of government experiments or evil big companies dumping waste but because of weird growth agents being used by the Marihuana growers. It doesn't make much more sense but it is at least one lame cliché avoided. Then again it still has time for the lame clichéd kicker ending. I also got some entrainment from seeing a young Seth Green on screen, before he developed much personality and Alfonso Ribiero AKA Carlton Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Anyone familiar with the character he is on the show will find his performance as the tough guy from the streets here most amusing.
It is clear the makers realised this and added in other elements such as the some human bad guys, in this case some gun wielding dope growers to generate some more conflict and danger (Not to mention running time) into the proceedings. None of this is particularly interesting nor is the clichéd character interaction between our group of main characters, some troubled teens from LA out in the woods with their counsellors on some kind of bonding. get back to nature program (The details are never made clear). The characters are barely sketched in and their interactions and conflicts are painfully hackneyed e.g. the teenage daughter of the lead counsellor who resents her father for dragging her along on these excursions and hates her step-mother. We don't even get a lot of detail about what the problems of these trouble teens are, in some cases none at all. The acting is pretty average and you get the impression that nobody is trying too hard.
Despite this there is some fun to be had. The Ticks are actually pretty cool little creatures even if they aren't a believable threat and there is enough blood and goo around to liven things up between the bad character stuff. There are some really bizarre plot twists which succeed in making the movie more entertaining, such as the contrived circumstances in which the forest fire is started and the uber-ridiculous way in which an even bigger monster tick is created in the movies climax. I didn't know steroids could do that. I also liked the fact that the ticks became the way they were not because of government experiments or evil big companies dumping waste but because of weird growth agents being used by the Marihuana growers. It doesn't make much more sense but it is at least one lame cliché avoided. Then again it still has time for the lame clichéd kicker ending. I also got some entrainment from seeing a young Seth Green on screen, before he developed much personality and Alfonso Ribiero AKA Carlton Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Anyone familiar with the character he is on the show will find his performance as the tough guy from the streets here most amusing.