Ticks(1993)(Review)[Weirdo Wednesday]

Large ticks. Blood, pus, and slime. Violent marijuana farmers. Need I say more?

‘Ticks’ is a 1993 insect-monster movie where a marijuana farmer (played by the always enchanting Clint Howard) is using a chemical steroid to grow his plants at a greater rate, but the machine begins leaking through the floor boards and directly on to a ticks nest. The ticks then grow up to 50x their size – averaging about the size of a football. We follow a group of youth and two adult volunteers who are embarking on a wilderness revival program – which includes a young Seth Green.

The story is very simple but the playout is just plain fun. The bugs do the scarab-thing from ‘The Mummy’ where they burrow under people’s flesh, and they also grow big enough to bite victims and inject them with a type of venom that causes hallucinations. It becomes a bloody, slimy mess all over the forest and within their rental cabin.

There is in fact a dog death – and it’s a little disturbing – so spoiler warning on that shit. It does prove to be a good point in the plot where it triggers a revelation, so it’s not done in vain but it could still be a little distressing if you’re just trying to watch a goofy, gory movie and chill. But the movie is super fun with lots of great creature effects, music, acting, and a few fun ‘twists’ that keep the story moving in one direction or another.

It’s kind of like ‘Critters’ meets ‘Eight Legged Freaks’, but on a smaller and simpler scale. You can tell that most of the money went into the creature and gore effects. A great film to just laugh at and enjoy some gross imagery with a friend.

3/5
‘Ticks’ is currently streaming on Tubi, Amazon Prime, Vudu, & Roku TV.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra