BACTERIUM (2006)

Bacterium, a little sci-fi/horror B-Movie Indie gem from writer/director Brett Piper (Arachnia, They Bite), centers around a group of scientists who have experimented in creating a biological weapon that has somehow gone awry, mutating and absorbing everything living in its way. A young group of kids playing paintball in the forest have come across a large and seemingly abandoned run-down house which just so happens to be where a crazy old scientist, Dr. Clarkson (Buzz Cartier), happens to be holed up in the house trying to figure out how to keep the organism from escaping and infecting the whole world in as little as 3 days. 

I have to admit that I really enjoyed Bacterium much more than I should have. It had a certain campy B-Movie charm to it, full of some less than stellar performances in the acting department, as well as some eccentrically amusing characters, such as Dr. Clarkson (played by Buzz Cartier). The film had a great amount of character, did not try to be more than it really was, and was well paced as far as action, nudity, and gory violence went. It had every characteristic that a well-done B-Movie should have nailed down.

As for the film’s PG-13 rating, I really don’t think ANYONE on the MPAA board could have seen this film and not given it an R-Rating (in the States) or a Mature rating around the rest of the world. There is one scene in which there is full-body nudity (Alison Whitney of Hooking Up, Splatter Beach), front and back, for several minutes during the film. Now don’t get me wrong-I am not complaining about this gratuitous display of sleaze, but I don’t think it is PG-13 material. Aside from the nudity, which I was happy with, there are some really cool slimy creature effects that were very reminiscent of The Blob. In fact, there even is a reference to the Blob by one of the young paintball kids when he says, “Don’t do that! Haven’t you seen The Blob?!?” Obviously not, young man or none of this scientific disaster would ever have occurred. 

Director and writer Brett Piper has created a fun flick with Bacterium that was more than mildly entertaining. Piper, known for having directed 12 other B-Movies with some really zany titles, as well creating special effects for over 15 films. In fact, the film was quite enjoyable and I was happy to see the action steadily increase in frequency as the film progressed. Towards the end of the film a gang of bikers show up out of nowhere and there is zero explanation as to how they got there, why they came there, or what their intentions were from the “get-go”. Nonetheless, it sure piqued my interest and added to the melee of a mutation gone wild. Also of note is the quality of the creature. There was no CGI used on it and the slime ball organism was created with practical effects. I think that is what made the monster look so realistic. CGI can tend to cheapen a film that does not have boatloads of money to work with and pump into the CGI fund.

The quality of the film looked really good. I have no complaints in this department. Sound levels were great. Dialogue levels and sound effects sounded superb and were very clear. 

As for the extras of the film, there are quite a few packed onto the dvd. 

The Making of Bacterium:

This making of segment was very informative, entertaining, and focused on many of the larger stunts and scenes in which fire and explosions were present. Also shown was how the face make-up was done when the bacterium infected and took over other living organisms. The segment’s duration was around 22 min.

Bacterium Blooper Real:

This portion consists of a handful of somewhat humorous lines of dialogue that got messed up over and over again. About 4 minutes long.

Shock-O-Rama Trailers

Commentary with Producer Michael Raso and Writer/Director Brett Piper:

David Fine from Pop Cinema hosts the commentary, along with the engineer from the film. The commentary goes even more in-depth into the back-story on the film. Such as mentioning the fact that a real helicopter was used in such a low-budget film.

 

It is often rare that I will watch a film with such a low budget and B and Z-grade actors and actresses in it and come away from the viewing unscathed and actually recommend it to others. Bacterium is a solid B-Film that was extremely entertaining, well shot, and full of tons of action, creature effects, some nudity, and moves along at a perfect pace. I really implore readers to go and check out this flick, keeping in mind it’s a low-budget affair with a B-Movie theme.