Mosquito (1994)

The movie opens with twin crashes—first a spaceship crashes into earth, and then a giant mosquito crashes into a car, damaging the radiator. “Must have been one hell of a bug,” Ray says, and so the movie also opens with an understatement. Every Michigander knows, if you find a giant proboscis in the road, you don’t travel further into the woods. And yet, our young heroes don’t take heed and discover a massacre. The unlikely group of survivors—including Leatherface and a Stooge (of the Iggy variety)—band together to see if they can survive the night. The best moment comes when Earl, played by Gunnar Hansen (aka Leatherface), finds a chainsaw for his weapon of choice in the final battle, and declares, “Man, I haven’t handled one of these things in twenty years. Feels good.” The worst moment: a gross out scene where it looks like a giant mosquito is going to rape a naked woman. A great moment: the flying horde of mutated mosquitoes shown against the red sky. 

Did the mosquitoes become mutated by sucking alien blood, or does it have something to do with radiation from the spaceship crash site? Who knows! And it doesn’t matter. The dialogue is bad, the acting is not good either, and the special effects are silly—which makes it a great tribute to classic creature features. This is the kind of movie you laugh your way through, and you might just learn something too—like what a real meteorologist is. 2.5 out of 5 sacs of blood.

—Gina Myers