HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2019: Ticks (1993)

Our Sponsor

Today’s sponsor is horror boffin and fellow New Yorker Mondo Vulgare, who expounds on all things scary at his website, Mondo Vulgare.  He also asked me to invite all of you to follow him on Twitter at @MondoVulgare! 

Mondo's choice provided me with something I haven’t had a chance to talk about so far in this year’s Horrorfest...a Giant Bug Movie in the form of 1993‘s Ticks.

Let’s get this out of the way right now: Ticks is a Rock Stupid Film, and it’s because of its Rock Stupidness that I enjoyed it.  I take great joy in films like this that acknowledge their low-brow intentions and revel in them, being proud of what they are without winking at the audience or nudging them in the ribs.  Tony Randel, Doug Beswick, and Brent V. Friedman know they’re a low budget monsta movie, don’t try and pretend it’s being done ‘ironically,’ have fun without demeaning the fans watching it, and as such, succeed in what they set out to do.

Tyler (a very young, floppy haired Seth Green) was traumatized by being lost in the woods when he was eight...so his father signs him up for a program for troubled youth run by Holly (Rosiland Allen, whose part consists mainly of tugging clothing on over her sleepwear) where they spend time in what appears to be an abandoned campsite.  This particular campsite is a little too near a pot farm which has been using a herbal steroid to grow its crop faster....and has inadvertently mutated the local wood tick population into embiggened monstrosities that eat Clint Howard, and are still hungry.

There is a peculiar cast for such a film; in addition to Green, we’ve got Alfonso ‘Carlton’ Ribiero playing the Tough Kid From The Hood, Peter Scolari playing the...Adult I Guess Goes Along To Fuck Holly, Ami Dolenz (Mickey’s daughter, who was poised to be something of a scream queen for about a minute in the 90‘s) as The Spoiled Rich Kid Who’s Stuck In The 80‘s, and Clint’s dad Rance as the local sheriff.  They’re all playing broad types (I haven’t even mentioned Ray Oriel’s Latino Stereotype Guy, who I wanted to see et by ticks something fierce), and they wisely play everything more or less straight--which I think helps make the film land better than if they decided to camp everything up.

Doug Beswick conceived of this film, and it’s obvious that his special effects for the film are the true star.  It’s slow going before we start seeing these mega-ticks, but by the time we’ve gotten to a Giant Fuck-Off Tick bursting out of one of cast members like a stripper out of a birthday cake our monster itch has been scratched.  The effects are all practical--most of the ticks seem to be stop-motion except when handled by the actors, which are puppets--and that warmed my blackened little heart.  The one thing that is strange, though, is that if you removed a couple of swear words and some sloppy gore effects, I could see this being a ‘Gateway Horror’ film like The Gate or Gremlins.

...or maybe it’s not so strange given that the film was directed by Tony Randel.  Randel’s biggest claim to fame is not only his first feature, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, but the films he contributed visual effects to prior to him becoming a director, like Escape From New York and the one-two punch of Galaxy of Terror and Forbidden World.  Hellbound is justifiably considered an exceptional horror film...but instead of moving forward, Randel dove right into the depths of direct-to-video filmmaking with titles such as Children of The Night (the first film, if I recall, released by the short lived Fangoria Films), Amityville 1992: It’s About Time and the notoriously, gloriously violent Fist of The North Star before slowly reinventing himself as a specialist in kid’s pictures like A Doggone Adventure and The Hybrids Family.  Knowing where Randel ended up makes the tone of this film make sense.  If we keep in mind that he has interest in a younger audience, some of the choices in this film are logical.

I was pleasantly surprised by Ticks.  It is not a serious film, nor was it meant to be.  It’s a fairly quick watch at ninety-two minutes, has acting that is appropriate for its broad nature, and has some good special effects.  I enjoyed my time with it and, while I’m not going to recommend it as enthusiastically as Pontypool or The Exorcist, I certainly recommend it.

We’re without a sponsor tomorrow, so the Randomizer is dragging me back to the 40‘s.  Unlike Voodoo Man, however, I’ve heard of this film and know it has a bit of a rep as a pretty good film. Join me as I delve into arguably the most famous film in the small but distinctive ‘severed hand’ horror subgenre, 1946‘s The Beast With Five Fingers.

There are still two slots open for this year’s Halloween Horrorfest.  Anyone who joins the Domicile of Dread Patreon at the $3 or more slot not only gets bits of writing and exclusive podcasts (like the upcoming Pacific Rim Rialto and maybe a little surprise at the end of this month), but can sponsor one of those slots and choose the film I have to watch and report on!