Powerful

Masterful Movie

Crappy film

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Growth, not as good as it could have been. The only problem is that it contains too much CGI. The storyline itself is okay. Some things aren't explained and some parts are a bit too long but overall it was watchable. But for the geeks it's not bloody or gory enough. There are other parasite flicks out that used the real effects, like squirm, and that worked out well. Some things had to be done CGI but the part were one gets some water on him, you see his flesh burns, but sadly it's CGI. If they had made it old school well, than it surely would have been worth viewing. A bit disappointing on the view of the red stuff, one to start with if you have a horror night.

Parasites. You can't live with 'em, you can't live...well, I guess you can live without 'em. Don't ya hate it when they destroy your property, or eat everything in your garden, or turn you into zombie-like killers? Okay, they last part has never happened, but it's something that's not too uncommon in horror. The mother of this sub-genre is clearly David Cronenberg's debut feature "Shivers", with more tongue-in-cheek but still great entries "Night of the Creeps" and "Slither" following in favor. Now, we can add Gabriel Cowan's 2009 film "Growth" to that list.Taking place on an island called Cuttyhunk (*snicker*), "Growth" takes place 20 years after a horrible incident involving a scientific breakthrough gone horribly wrong. Well, Jamie Ackerman (Mircea Monroe) has returned has returned to the island, and what else, the slimy worms they were created by the scientific breakthrough return, and as it turns out, they increase their hosts strength and makes them more sexual-too bad said hosts tend to become more violent.Though it sounds like a good horror flick, "Growth" ultimately resembles a mix between a Scy-Fy channel movie and an episode of "One Tree Hill." While the acting is hit and miss and Cowan isn't a bad director, the script is unspectacular and tends to jump around and not explain several plot points. What's with the cultists (though they are the only creepy thing about the movie-a scene in which one pursues the character of Kristen (Nora Kirkpatrick) stands out)? Why do the town's people want Jamie out? None of this is explained, and it all feels left over from another movie.It also doesn't help that the whole plot revolving around Justin (Christopher Shand) is too goofy for it's own good, as he becomes a host for these worms that's as scary as a wet bag. In fact, the film is far too serious, not to mention at times boring because it doesn't offer any real reason to take interest in any of these characters. They're mostly just cardboard cut-outs, and you end up wishing the worms and whatever other evil that's around would take care of them sooner.As a whole, I can't say that "Growth" made me too angry, but that's because I couldn't really feel anything while watching it. It's essentially a big bag of whatever.

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.)

I suffered for around an hour watching this film, until I decided to turn it off.Having not watched it all, I cannot vouch for the ending, but the first half was appalling.A laughable section was where the "superhuman-ised" teenager stamped his foot on some asphalt and broke it apart. Theoretically impossible, unless somehow his weight had increased ten-fold...which it hadn't. Had the film been a bit more tongue-in-cheek I'd have let this go, but it takes itself sooo seriously.One word for this film....and it sounds like bank!