Growth
Growth
NR | 29 January 2010 (USA)
Growth Trailers

In 1989, a breakthrough in "advanced parasitic research" on Cuttyhunk Island gave scientists a jump in human evolution. Initial tests proved promising, as subjects experienced heightened physical and mental strength and awareness. But - something in the experiment went horribly wrong, and the island mysteriously lost three quarters of its population.

Reviews
ScoobyMint

Disappointment for a huge fan!

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Hayleigh Joseph

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

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Freeman

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

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Jemima

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

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lightningslim

I came across this gem when it was shown on the UK Horror channel - not a place that I usually find gems - but I noticed a few things (unmentionable here, lest I spoil this for you!) that made me use the tivo to go back to the beginning and watch it in full. I was not disappointed, nor did I know what was going to happen next, the usual experience with so many formulaic movies of the genre. Suffice to say this movie eschews many of the hackneyed "Conventions" that all to often mark out the "Wannabe" horror movies that infect the horror scene. Is it a perfect movie? Probably not, but certainly not because of any of the creative arts employed. Perhaps the biggest problem I had with the movie was the opening titles, which, though telling a story, were flash edited just a little too quickly for my taste and, had I started watching the movie from the beginning, might have put me off it somewhat. Could the SFX have been better? Yes, but only if the money was available. As it is they are of an acceptable standard - think "Better than Sy-fy channel movies." I don't understand the poor IMDb rating (4 stars as I write this) It certainly deserves more than this, with great acting, good actors, a writer who is not just doling out the usual gruel and a director (The same person) who delivers his script thoughtfully and without falling into the many traps that beset many productions. I will definitely be on the look out for Gabriel Cowan's future work. To the prospective viewer I say, stick with it, you'll be glad you did.

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BakuryuuTyranno

I expected a film similar to Arachnophobia, maybe, given it was about small creatures, well, parasites of a sort. Then after much time passes, it's almost like some kinda Firestarter-type story, with government agents out to capture some superhuman.There were some surprising parts that obviously I won't explain, but "Growth" took too long for stuff to happen and once stuff started happening it seemed pretty odd.We're told the parasites were developed to transform people into superhumans, which naturally would make them more symbiotic than parasitic but apparently nobody's familiar with Spiderman in the laboratory and stuff goes wrong.Oddly, we're told the parasites would devour their host from inside but nothing along those lines occurs. A car appears to be stalking people before one of the main characters becomes infested and I don't really understand why.Basically I was left feeling as if somewhere I'd missed something!

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Paul Magne Haakonsen

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.

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Nan00k

In response to the first reviewer: I've seen Squirm and Slither. I liked Squirm and I loved Slither, but Growth was a mess. The difference is the former two didn't take themselves too seriously and it seemed they were made with more care than this.Growth starts out with an interesting premise, and actually very good dialogue and characters. Unfortunately, the story and editing made me sorry I got my hopes up at all. First of all, the film takes itself deadly seriously, and suffers for it. Not that I wanted a horror/comedy, but the script just couldn't pull off a straight horror story, alas.The other main complaints with the film are as previously mentioned, characters make bizarre decisions beyond the typical "stupid horror character decisions" and are not explained. The effects of the parasites are too amorphous: do they affect the will of the victim? And the weak story too heavily relies on flashbacks.On the positives, I actually thought the CGI was decently well done, the dialogue/script believable and the casting was not objectionable.I can see the director doesn't have much experience, so team him up with a better story editor and I'd see the next one.

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