20140313: Horror Review--Scourge

Scourge

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American/Canadian live action feature length film, 2008, rated R, 89 minutes, horror.
2. IMDB: 4.2/10.0 from 693 audience ratings.  Estimated budget: 1.5 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet...' and 11% liked it from 358 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 2.9/5.0 from 125,515 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Jonas Quastel.
6. Starring: Russel Ferrier as Sheriff Durst, Robyn Ledoux as Jesse, Nic Rhind as Scott, Jason Harder as Sam, Marina Pasqua as Lydia.


2. Setup and Plot
1. In a small Washington town, a church from the 18th century burns down, releasing a trapped parasite.  The parasite infests a fireman who had the bad luck to fall down at the scene.  The parasite induces the host to connect with other people.  The parasite kills the host and travels to the next.


2. The sheriff is Jesse's uncle, and Scott is recently out of prison.  Even worse, the uncle framed Scott's father with the crimes that sent him to prison.  Scott and Jesse have to research the parasite and stop it.


3. Will Scott and Jesse stop this public hazard?  Will either of them survive?  Will the endless sequence of belches ever end?


3. Conclusions
1. High on my fecal roster for movies viewed in 2014.
2. One line summary:  Low budget parasite-based horror film set in Washington state.
3. One star of five.  Two black holes for acting and screenplay.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 8/10 Good looking except for a regular smidgen of shaky cam.


2. Sound: 6/10  Music was used to no effect.


3. Acting: 0/10 Terrible.  No competent actors, and the direction seemed to be just as weak.


4. Screenplay: 2/10 Not much of a story, badly told, with absurd dialog and wobbly logic.  The actors did not have much to work with.  The cliches at the end did not help.