Plaguers |
  • USA • 2008 • 86m •   • Directed by: Brad Sykes. • Starring: Steve Railsback, Alexis Zibolis, Noelle Perris, Jared Cohn, Paige La Pierre, Bobby James, Stephanie Skewes, Chad Nell, Maija Polsley, Erica Browne, David P. Johnson, Michael Mori. • Music by: Terry Huud.     When a band of sexy space pirates hijack a fuel-transport vessel bound for Earth, an alien virus known only as "Thanatos" is accidentally released. The contagion mutates its victims, transforming them one after another into ravenous, demonic creatures. Pirates and crew must join together to destroy the undead PLAGUERS as the ship nears Earth, threatening to infect the entire planet.
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Review:
Written & directed by Brad Sykes this low budget sci-fi horror film feels like a cross between Aliens (1986) & Demons (1985) & maybe isn't as bad as expected but it ain't no masterpiece & any pleasure or entertainment value gained from viewing Plaguers comes from a few individual moments & a few half decent ideas rather than the film as a whole which is if I am honest pretty bad. The script feels like it's going to be a zombie film set in space (I personally think there should be more zombie films set in space...) but the infected never eat anyone or do anything particularly note worthy except attack any remaining humans, besides some mutant monster make-up there's not much point to them being there as the main threat comes from this green alien football which wants to get to Earth (once it's in the USS Pandora's system & taken control of the ship why doesn't it open the doors to the rooms where the surviving humans are hiding?) which is alright I suppose but a bad green special effect isn't the most scary of villains is it? I did actually like the concept of Plaguers but it's definitely hampered by it's low budget, I loved the idea of a gang of twenty something babes as evil space pirates, I liked the idea of battling zombies on a spaceship & it certainly moves along at a decent pace but it's repetitive, the dialogue is terrible & there's too many scenes which are directly ripped-off from Aliens like the welding the air vents shut, an early sequence showing two men searching the USS Diana & people back aboard the USS Pandora watching on monitors & there's even an android aboard just like Bishop.
I will give the makers credit for such an ambitious project but the budget just wasn't there & most of the sets are cast in shadow & you can barely see them apart from the grate like flooring which are probably just pallets from a factory somewhere. The gore is disappointing with very little on screen blood or violence, there's some bullet wounds, half a head chopped off, someones stomach is ripped open & someone gets a knife through their throat but little else. The special effects are reasonable, the CGI computer effects vary from alright to rubbish while the zombie creatures get more & mutated as the film goes which leads to some decent monster make-up effects. The action & attack scenes are poorly staged with the zombies deliberately slowing down so they don't catch up to the main character's & bad fight scenes in which they just sort of stand there & let people by. Despite having many very good looking ladies here there's absolutely no nudity of any kind. The costumes of the female pirates make them look like they have stepped out of the 60's with short purple dresses & sliver knee high boots, they do look sort of sexy though.
Apparently this won an award for best screenplay at some Spanish festival & best sci-fifantasy film at some other festival in Ohio, all I can say is that I shudder to think how bad the competition was if Plaguers won awards for best screenplay & best overall film. The acting is poor, Steve Railsback is the name actor here while space pirate leader Noelle Perris is seriously hot in this.
Plaguers is an OK watch I suppose, it has it's moments, an attractive cast, enough mutant monsters & a fast enough pace to make this slightly better than the usual low budget horror crap out there these days.
Review by poolandrews from the Internet Movie Database.
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