Growth is set on the island of Kuttyhunk where twenty years ago a group of scientists set up a community in order to devote their time & energy into their experiments, first they genetically engineer perfect pearls which they sell for millions which they use to fund groundbreaking experiments in parasitic organisms that are meant to increase their human hosts strength & mental capacity but also had the unwanted side effect that turned them into killers. Jamie Ackerman (Mircea Monroe) survived the original outbreak twenty years ago & returns to Kuttyhunk along with her boyfriend Marco (Brian Krause) to sell her old family house that could be worth as much as a couple of million dollars, however the parasites return & start taking over the folk of Kuttyhunk turning them into killers once again. Jamie begins to realise that her past may hold the key to defeating the parasites once & for all...Written, co-produced & directed by Gabriel Cowan this horror film features parasitic Slug type creatures that take control of their human host's much like Shivers (1975), Night of the Creeps (1986), The Faculty (1998) & Slither (2006) all of which feature Slug like parasites which infect & alter people in some way. The main problem I had with Growth was it's pace, it's just a very slow going film that feels like nothing is happening & I wasn't keen on all the padding either. Usually films that last for a little over eighty minutes don't require much padding to fill the time but Growth has plenty, some may call it character development but I call it padding. Watching a girl go jogging in the woods a few times is boring, listening to a group of four friends argue & talk & generally do boring things may be character development to some but it never goes anywhere, it never feels like anything more substantial than basic 'who loves who' nonsense & the mystery surrounding Jamie's past adds little & doesn't tie in that well. The script tries to throw in a twist or two but there's no great revelations that will particularly shock or surprise you & even the background story feels thin & doesn't make much sense. Where have these parasites been for the past twenty years exactly? If you become infect with a parasite do you know or not? That guy Justin rips a girls throat out one night & thinks nothing of it yet the next day when he crushes some wood with his hands he seems surprised & shocked in an odd sort of way. It just seems that sometimes the parasites have control while other times they don't. The whole genetic experiment gone wrong scenario has been done to death & the script skips the finer details & is quite vague, we only ever really focus on the four teens & what happens in the rest of Kuttyhuck is almost totally ignored, the subplot about the antidote is confusing, why were those people walking through the woods with giant photo's of people & what were the ultimate purpose of the parasites anyway? To create some sort of superhuman? Like that was ever going to catch on...Between all the talk & teen drama there are lots of scenes of CGI computer parasite Slug things slithering around with lots of squelching noises, to be fair the CGI is actually quite good & is kept fairly simple. There's not much gore here, there's a bit of blood splatter, a guy has his arm ripped off, there are lots of parasites that burrow into people's skin & a guy gets shot through the head. Shot in full 2:35:1 widescreen Growth looks quite nice & sleek although a little bland at times, it's competent for sure but not overly special.With a supposed budget of about $300,000 this was apparently filmed in Massachusetts. The acting from an unknown cast is alright but nothing spectacular.Growth is not a film that will grow on me, I thought it was well made enough with competent special effects & acting but the plot is muddled & far too much time is spent on needless padding that doesn't really go anywhere.

In the 1980s, an island used for genetic research made some breakthroughs, but also had some terrible setbacks. Today (2009) some of those setbacks might come back to bite the island in the butt as a nasty slug-like virus spreads with unpredictable effects.Quite simply, this film is a disappointment and something of a mess. There is potential there, and you can glean it from time to time, but overall the feeling is one of letdown. There are two main areas this film fails: the computer effects and the plot.As far as computer effects go, it's somewhere in the middle ground of modern effects. It's not really good, but it's not as bad as some of the things you'll find on the SyFy network (like "Raptor Island"). Had the special effects people had a bit more time, they might have been able to pull this task off. Instead, the creatures come out looking like very low budget versions of the slimies from "Slither" (a vastly superior film).The plot fails in a few ways. Primarily, there is not much sense to the whole concept. If this is a research island, why do people live on it? I can understand scientists staying there, but it seems to have a thriving city. That's just pointless. But also, much of the film uses flashbacks that do not really add up until the end, by which time you've probably already forgotten about them, and the story was working just fine without them. In short, we have added confusing footage where none is necessary... edit five minutes from this film and it would be supremely better.Gabriel Cowan, the writer and director, has said this film was inspired by (of all things) the 2008 presidential debates, and the idea that we must sacrifice ourselves sometimes to get where we want to go. He saw McCain and Obama as both switching positions at the last minute, and turned this into a science fiction story... it's a stretch, but if that's what he says is the source, fair enough.And Cowan's not without his merits. His last film, "Breathing Room", I found to be startlingly impressive and plenty of fun. And he knows how to cast, securing the great character actor Richard Riehle (probably best known from "Office Space"). The problem with "Growth" may not have been the people involved so much as the budget they were forced to work with.I recommend seeing "Breathing Room". I'm not as convinced about "Growth". If you want to compare the two to see Cowan's evolution, go for it, but otherwise you'd do just as well to pass. (I cannot say whether or not the graphic novel based on the film is any better, but I suspect it is.)

Another wretchedly unwatchable effort from the straight to DVD horror bonanza of the noughties. Little silverfish like parasites which variously kill people or control them while squirming around under their skin ran rampant on Kuttyhunk (!) Island 20 years ago, thanks to some Resident Evilly maniac scientists who wanted to create super citizens – and now, it's happening again, albeit very slowly and stupidly.The presence of cool CGI parasites is all for naught because the film fails on all the most basic levels: You don't give a crap about any of the characters, the editing is incompetent, and the script is gaping with holes of illogic sure to keep any viewers in Total Cynic mode. The result is extreme boredom.An opening montage shows parasites swarming like ants in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This never happens during the present day invasion of the island. Instead these parasites, which have demonstrated the ability to leap from one infected person to another over 20 feet away with extraordinary ease and finesse, choose to propagate in the following manner: They infect one young man, imbue him with superpowers and confidence, and make him stroll into the Kuttyhunk Tavern, where he goes all out to pick up one local young woman. After she admits that ' he really gets her', her boyfriend's gander is raised. The boyfriend and Superman go out into the parking lot for a scuffle, which is the cue for Matrix-like articulate slow motion kung fu. After Superman's inevitable victory over three locals, he emphasises his win by smashing the car park asphalt up with his foot. His newly won girlfriend fails to notice the strangeness of this and trundles off into the woods with him for some smoochies. Finally, FINALLY, a parasite begins to squirm out of his ear in readiness to attack a new victim, but her scream panics Superman and he tears the girl's throat in annoyance.DAMN! The invasion's never going to get anywhere at this rate.There's an unintentional laugh when heroine B, the one with the really short shorts, begins to play the accordion one night in her cabin, after saying earlier to her would-be boyfriend that she was going to do this. I admired the film's follow-up in this area when it had failed to follow up in most others. That we see her playing the accordion from the POV of a heavy breathing, hooded parasite dude just makes the moment even funnier. However, such pleasing moments are thin on the ground.As the cliché goes, this is 80 something minutes (which felt like two hours) which I can never get back. CGI tricks and RED camera cinematography are wasted time and time again in the service of completely sloppy material like this from indie filmmakers who haven't got their skills up enough before throwing out a feature with a shiny veneer but zero watchability.

Didn't have too much expectations to this movie, as it already seemed like a fairly low budget movie on the cover. I loved the movie Slither, so I thought I would give this one a look as well.The story had potential, had it been properly executed on the screen. There was just something missing from the entire movie, that magical something to tie the movie together and make it come together in a greater coherent meaning.The worms/parasites were nicely made, though I had little understanding for why they needed to make those screechy noises. But I guess it was for effect, perhaps they had seemed more boring and dull without a sound. But then again, a silent killer is more terrifying, right? Just look at Jason Voorhees.As for the cast? Well, it was good that it was fairly unknown actors and actresses to me. I think I just recognized two people in the entire movie. Some managed to do a good job, while others could have been better.This is the type of movie that you watch once, and never pick it up again. So many things could have made this movie better. It is not an all together bad experience. I liked parts of the movie, and the ending was a blast.There are tons of mad creature movies out there, this one is not one to avoid, but not one that sits at the top of the "to watch" list either. It wasn't scary, but not dull either. I sat through it all in one go and didn't have the urge to change it for something else.Below average movie, but if you like creepy crawlers give it a go, just for the heck of it and if you go nothing more important to do.