Starring - Roselind Allen (Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Freddy's Nightmares), Ami Dolenz (Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Stepmonster), and Seth Green (Weird Science, Idle Hands)
Release Date - 1993
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Something hungry is about to hatch"
Format - UHD (Personal Collection)
Rating (out of 5):
I love Vinegar Syndrome for the fact that they put so much time and energy into films that most of us have never heard of before yet alone seen. However, on the very rare occasion they release something that I had seen before and the release is a must own. I collect Vin Syn as it is but on these rare occasions this release is a do or die buy. When Vin Syn announced the release of the 1993 horror film Ticks I was beside myself. Ticks is a childhood favorite of mine that I watched many times growing up after snagging the VHS from a local video store. The movie was released for a limited time on blu from Olive Films but quickly went out of print like another film under the Vin Syn umbrella, Boardinghouse. I couldn't wait to revisit this one especially on UHD.
The film follows a group of inner city youths who go deep in the woods as part of a camping trip. An idyllic camping trip turns deadly when a chemical being used by marijuana growers finds it's way into a hermit's water supply mutating a nest of ticks into giant versions of themselves. Out of their element and surrounded by woods, the youngsters but fight off the blood thirsty creatures while the two gun wielding pot farmers try to kill them to keep their farm a secret.
I know a lot of horror fans love Ticks but I also know just as many people that dislike it. I can see why some may not like it as much as I do but I find it impossible to completely hate this film. This is one of the many films I reference to genre fans that often bash horror titles from the 90s. It's bloody, violent, and well acted while still paying tribute to the fantastic creature effects that made 80s horror so much fun. Honestly, this is easily among my top favorite 90s horror titles and in my top five favorite Vin Syn releases. The acting in this one is great. We have Idle Hand's Seth Green and Carlton himself Alfonso Ribeiro. Genre fans can find Green in several horror titles but the fact that we find Ribeiro in this gem makes it a stand out performance from his long career. What makes his performance so much fun is not only is he great with his character but the fact his character is part of the gooiest scene in the film. It was unexpected and I love how far he was willing to go for the film. Green's performance is just as fun along with most of the cast. We also get a small performance from cult icon Clint Howard who also joins in on the bloody fun. The cast is fantastic with no weak links throughout. The story for this one is pretty much straight forward and falls into a wave of nature based animal/bug mutation films that would spawn throughout the 90s with Ticks and 1994's Mosquito being the more popular films. We follow a group displaced in the woods when nature is mutated and attacks. It's a formula that had been done before and would be used again and again after. However, the effects and characters makes this one a lot of fun. While it may be unoriginal, the characters and effects carry it on it's back. Finally, this film is a bloody and gooey mess. We have some seriously underrated practical and make-up effects. I fucking loved the look of the ticks and the transformation scene is nothing shy of brilliant. The effects alone in this one is worth your time. Overall, Ticks is one of the most underrated horror titles to come out of the 90s. It never received the appreciation that it truly deserved until Vin Syn got their hands on it. The UHD is a must own for horror fans. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.
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