ORGANIZM - DVD review

All you really need to know going into "Organizm" is the movie was produced for the Sci Fi Channel. Concerning the fight against an unstoppable biological growth, high school biology teacher Frank Sears (Johnathon Schaech) and AWOL military germ researcher Carrie Freeborn (Erica Leerhsen) piece together a puzzle going back forty years as a small town is targeted for destruction not only by the enemy, but also the Army.

As far as cheap cable movies go, this one (also known as "Living Hell") isn't too bad. Sure, it borrows heavily from the likes of "Tremors" and "Aliens." Some of the acting is circumspect and internal logic is all but forgotten. But it turns out to be a fun, quick ride, so I can forgive just about any story concerns. Writer/director/producer Richard Jefferies does as effective a job as he can in bringing both Sears and Freeborn to life as three dimensional people. In fact, the first half hour or so is devoted to Carrie's relationship with her husband Glenn (Jason Wiles), as well as backstory for Frank, contrived as it might be, to make the leads something more than plot pawns. To a limited extent, it works, though with a short running time and prime scheduling spot on Sci Fi, relationship and character isn't really a priority for anyone.

Because it runs only 92 minutes with end credits, there isn't time for unnecessary detours or subplots. In essence, there is only an "A" plot. There is no time to create a romance between Carrie and Frank, leading Jefferies to create a scene which can be construed as a sex scene, yet is simply about protection. It is a gratuitous sequence, with Carrier becoming lubed up with blood in preparation for the final battle.

Why blood, you might ask? In short (and, yes, this is a spoiler), the only way to stop the infestation is with Frank's blood. He has a natural immunity going back to his father, a Russian scientist who worked with his mother on the military base back in the late 1950s. Because the create was designed to be the ultimate weapon, nothing can stop it. No nuclear attack, no rifles, missiles, guns…nothing. It's a lesson the Colonel Eric Maitland (James McDaniel) learns as his troops retreat to town, yet his higher ups-who take over later down the line-don't seem to take any mind to it.

That's the greatest downfall of the script, the intent of showing the military as little more than gun-toting, violence happy brutes to whom science is a four letter word. Jefferies even mentions it in the commentary track; it's almost as if he has an ulterior motive in writing the script. Despite "Organizm" being a monster movie, this is a moment of social consciousness…or perhaps even social tweaking.

In creating the setting and mood, Jefferies paints each character broadly in generalities and stereotypes, for ease more than anything. There's the hard headed commander (admittedly, he doesn't enter the picture until late), the subordinate with a change of heart, the obligatory "stunning" death, the child, the female heroine and the unlikely hero. In using this shorthand we can identify without too much work, Jefferies is able to leave most of the exposition behind, creating a leaner and meaner screenplay.

When Jefferies just goes with trying to scare the bejesus out of us, he does a fairly good job, even if the proceedings bear more than a few resemblances to the "Alien" franchise. It's no more obvious than in the finale, as Sears and Freeborn throw themselves into a dark corridor littered with slimy tentacles on every side. I guess if you're going to pay homage (or steal, depending on the viewpoint) to another film, you might as well go with the best. Not that "Organizm" can hold a candle to the Ridley Scott or James Cameron films.

It can be argued there isn't time to create a comprehensive narrative with any more than two characters for us to care about or an elaborate rationale for the monster. Our antagonist isn't allowed to have a mind of its own, feelings or backstory. Just an unstoppable killing machine with no hope of gaining audience sympathy. In a way, this approach works the best since every cinematic monster has been given human qualities. Even the "Jaws" shark is defending a family. Nothing here. The tentacles were created as the last option for the United States to use against an enemy. In that respect, it is Frank's father who is the villain and not the creepy crawlies. Yet he is never given anything more than a cameo to explain what's going on.

Even if the narrative gets us to the eventual explanation too soon, leaving the action for the second half of the film, at least it gets there in a decent enough manner. For this type of production, of course. It's specious reasoning based on glances and gut instinct, but, honestly, does anyone care? This moment of exposition is nothing more than a mere formality. No one tunes into Sci Fi Channel films for the narrative or the acting, only for the visual effects.

About those visual effects…they look cheap in some shots and decent enough in others. Aside from the titular organism, many other shots were created in a computer, according to Jefferies. It caught me by surprise every time he mentions a skyline or innocuous shot being digitally composited. For a movie shot in 20 days on a relatively small budget ($4.5 million, according to reports), a great deal was done without the benefit of practical effects.

VIDEO:
One major problem here which has little to do with the actual look of the film. Along the top edge of the screen is a broken white line of distortion throughout the film. It fades in and out in certain sections, yet remains there for the duration of the movie. Otherwise, the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is good enough for a film of this kind, considering the look Jefferies was going for. Most of the outdoor day scenes contain a considerable amount of mosquito noise while the night shots appear considerably better. Almost everything has a washed out look to it, by design, while several types of film were used to capture various scenes, lending to different looks. (And thereby harder to accurately judge.)

AUDIO:
Both the English 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are serviceable enough, neither of which blow the doors off of anything we've heard before. The tracks sound eerily alike, with the 2.0 coming across slightly louder than its counterpart. There isn't any noticeable distortion in either track and the sound is generally contained to the center channel.

EXTRAS:
A group of trailers begin the disc, including "Taxi to the Dark Side" (2:28), "Love and Other Disasters" (1:46), "Careless" (2:09) and "Banshee" (1:49). This film's trailer (1:57) is also included in the Special Features section. The only other feature is the aforementioned commentary with Jefferies, Schaech and Leerhsen. The three rarely allow a moment of dead space and have the knowledge to share stories ranging from working without visual effects to the inspiration for the film and general snafus on set. They're an amiable bunch, content to laugh it up in one moment and then becoming serious in the next.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
A decent enough way to spend 92 minutes, "Organizm" isn't going to win any awards or be critically lauded. Then again, it was never designed to.