Awful - say it...AWWWW FULL...say it again. AWFUL.That's right - really awful.Maybe it's just me, but I found this to be ridiculously horrible.Something benignly insanely retarded on so many levels.This movie was also filmed in Quebec, but it's supposed to be the desert...yeah, how does that work? Low level drivel with little plot that makes sense and some nude shots which don't help improve the movie either.If you want to save the environment. light up a spliff and smoke it and watch something far better than this.

Spoilers! After an accident in his basement, a scientist's household becomes a rain forest that transform all who enter it. Yikes! What a stinker. Rented this despite mixed reviews and wish I hadn't. This film has the distinct honor of being THE only film I've ever seen that actually put me to sleep! Writer/director Rene Daalder's script is occasionally interesting and intelligent, but the high school bully's dialog—my favorite line being; "Yo organs n' skin gonna melt like stew!"—is laughable, and character development is minimal. And there was one really, really troubling line that is unfortunately scared in my mind:"You ever heard of hygiene? Even animals lick themselves clean! I spend a lot of time with my boys in the shower, and I teach them that even body odor isn't just smell: it's bacteria, it's germs!"Wow, that's unsettling. I really, really hope that when Daalder was writing this line, he intended it to be funny, if not, I shutter at what kind of childhood he must have endured! His direction is wildly uneven at best. The film was shot on a High Definition Sony video, giving it a distinctly blurry, ugly look, it felt like watching one of those really bad day-time soap operas.The actors are passable, no one was really awful I suppose, given the material they were working with, but no one gave a truly solid, note-worthy performance either. So, what in this film actually worked? Well for one, the set looks great. Kudos to the production designer Claude Paré for creating a wonderfully disgusting jungle of a set, considering the budget was pretty low and time was probably limited, the set/prop constructors definitely deserve a pat on the back of their work. The visual effects, though obvious and easy to spot, were overall decent; I've seen much, much worse CGI from much bigger-budget films (Resident Evil, anyone?). And then, there's…uh…I guess that's all that really worked in Habitat. Shame. The plot is actually half-decent, with more money this could have been a good sci-fi/horror blend, but alas, it's nothing but your usual direct-to-video fodder. It's boring, stupid, and confusing. Avoid it.1.5/10.

Never mind the guilty fact that i actually sat through the entire film, this was basically the worst movie i have ever seen. It it pretty much on par with Ridley Scott's LEGEND which was a fantasy stinker as well. They tried to save HABITAT with nudity, swearing, and teen angst. I thought it must have been an 80's film, set in the future, because it was such weird stuff. The costumes are reminiscent of some bad 80's drama, and the silver space suits belonged in a family channel robot movie. Shame on 1997 for releasing that garbage. As a point of reference: other films that came out in 1997 include Boogie Nights, Grosse Pointe Blank, and Life is Beautiful. Watch Habitat for kicks but don't expect to like it.

Honestly: I enjoyed HABITAT !! I switched on TV while doing some other stuff, checking my emailbox etc., and found myself suddenly under HABITAT's spell. (Maybe it was necessary to do something besides watching the movie: thus it was easier to sit through all this much too long and too often sparkle-flowing through the air, and the high school-talk scenes. - And, I must admit, I also missed the beginning, maybe 15 minutes...)First I was bewitched by the mother figure. Large brown eyes, innocent like a child, at the same time there was an aura of knowing, of wisdom and peace about her... she forgave her enemies, she slept peacefully, while a posse of army/police/FBI/NASA/neighbours invaded her house - her beautiful Garden Eden - full of life, while the world outside was dry, sunburnt, hostile. Yes, I DID LOVE, absolutely, the set design: the ever-changing/growing family's house, the contrast to the stupid neighbours (with their umbrellas), the torture schoolyard (yes, the high school has a large torture stone outside in the yard, where pupils can be chained! A nice prophetic idea!), the cars wrapped in blankets (they look like publicity for a Bed Shop), the desert (I think I know it from some holidays in the Southwest)...And the mother stayed calm, in face of the enemy = the fascist/redneck physical education trainer (beating and insulting his pupils)(a man you love to hate!). He had entered her peaceful home, insulting and threatening her, but she stayed friendly and calm, softly teaching him facts and arguments (about the small parts of his skin which serve as food for tiny little beings), while slime and snot are running out of his nose, dripping down his chin in beautifully shimmering closeup... GROSS!This was one of the most weird/disgusting/wonderful/shocking scenes in the history of cinema: the bad guy sweating, snot all over his face, coughing and cursing, while a beautiful calm lady is teaching him facts about his body functions (did I mention her curly hairdo?! I loved it!She's definitely the Good Witch!). I could hardly believe it!Well, and the girl that Laura Harris played: the script must have said that she is a normal young high-school girl, without any magic powers or secrets about her. But the way she is presented in HABITAT: she looks so strange, so rare: the camera and lighting treat her that she appears like an alien from outer space. Her surface is so unreal - her image can serve as an explanation why men fall for women; why men cannot resist; why males HAVE TO follow whatever female is near them. Her appearance of unearthly beauty promises hidden secrets - then she kisses passionately without reason - paradise is near!(Besides: when they finally had sex in the lake, it was disappointing, compared to the disturbing promises during her first close-ups; but the mood was set already, and could never be lost again.)PS: don't forget the ecological/preservation ideas! They are right! Strange but daring in this weird B-movie full of over-the-top eccentricities.