Mold! (2012)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

An action-packed slog

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The blurb and quotes on the DVD cover for writer/director Neil Meschino's Mold! compare the movie to 80s cult horror classic Street Trash, which seems reasonable to me: I didn't rate Street Trash all that highly either.Set in 1984, Mold! takes place in a top secret laboratory where a highly virulent, genetically engineered strain of mold (or mould, as we English spell it) has been developed to wipe out illegal drug crops. Unfortunately, it also proves deadly for humans, as the scientists and military top brass in the establishment discover when, one-by-one, they come into contact with the super spores.I was expecting bad acting, I was expecting dreadful dialogue, and I was expecting unconvincing special effects, since all of these elements are par for the course in deliberately cheesy trash such as this. However, I was also expecting the whole silly affair to be a lot more fun that it actually was.Mold! takes an awfully long time to get to the good stuff, with way too much talk and unnecessary plot development before getting gross. Unfortunately, when the messy special effects eventually happen, they're not all that special: a lot of green goop and blood gets thrown around, and there are some extremely unconvincing rubbery body parts that go splat and plop, but there's nothing that proves particularly memorable (unlike Street Trash, which at least ended with a genuine showstopper—a glorious decapitation by gas canister).I rate Mold! a disappointing 4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the brief shot of a mouldy prosthetic schlong, which promised levels of deviancy that never materialised, and for finding a flimsy excuse to get actress Ardis Campbell down to her undies.

and here's why... I love classic 70's and 80's horror films, especially in the Lucio Fulci Italian horror movie style. The makers of this film, are definitely fans of the genre.I went in expecting a cheesy, bad film, and that's exactly what I got, BUT it's made cheesy and bad on purpose. THAT'S what makes it great!! Set in the 80's and filmed very much in that style, I could totally flash back to renting old VHS and Beta tapes (yes, I'm old) of cheesy horror movies at the party store 2 blocks from my house. This was time BEFORE video rental stores like Blockbusters and Family Video.I would rent these movies, and spend my whole weekend watching them over and over, THIS movie brought me right back to that time, and I felt like digging out my old toys, laying on the living room floor, and just reliving my childhood.This has everything a great 'bad' movie needs, just enough comedy, cheesy effects, laughable dialog, and even a couple spots of bad over dubs. I loved it!! and if you loved anything about the 80's low budget horror genre, you should LOVE this movie too!! Thanks to everyone involved in this film, for making me feel young again... now where did I put my Quiet Riot LP?

Neil Meschino's first attempt as a director to make a full feature. First of all, this isn't a straight horror with gore and blood like the old slashers, neither can it be compared with the horrors of nowadays. This is clearly a throwback to the low budget horrors from way back when effects were done without CGI. By doing that and not giving us the nudity we expect from a horror or not seen a drip of gore or an amount of blood this isn't one to recommend to newcomers. this is really one for the old school B-movie buffs.One thing that the production had in mind must have been, okay, we don't have the big dollars, how are we going to attract viewers. Luckily they made the right choice by putting their cash into the effects and let take it all place in a simple setting. On the other hand they let some characters doing over the top acting which luckily worked out fine. By doing so I even had to laugh a few times because it sometimes had a bit of humour in it. Still, the effects are very simple and do refer to the old school horrors like the melting of a head or eyes being melted. I wont go into titles but there are so many to mention. The score used is also a throwback to the early eighties. But as I said, I never had any problem with Mold! but I can understand that some buffs will miss nudity and gore. The female do get out of her clothes but sadly the underwear she is wearing is a real let down. Gore 2/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 1/5

1984. A lethal experimental mold is created as a means to destroy coca fields in Columbia. However, the mold gets loose in a lab during a demonstration and proves to be just as dangerous to humans as it is to plants. It's up to a motley assortment of scientists and government officials to figure out a way to contain the deadly spore before things get too out of hand. Director Neil Meschino, who also co-wrote the compact script with Dave Fogerson, relates the fun story at a brisk pace, builds and sustains a substantial amount of tension, delivers plenty of spectacularly gross moments of graphic splatter (the gruesome make-up f/x hit the grotesquely icky spot something disgusting), and further spices things up with a wickedly funny sense of twisted dark humor. Moreover, Meschino makes the most out of the confined claustrophobic location and has a satiric ball with the 80's period setting (the savagely mocking potshots on the 80's war on drugs are especially fierce and amusing). The sound acting from the capable cast qualifies as another major asset, with stand-out work from Edward X. Young as a hard-nosed, cigar-chomping ramrod colonel, Ardis Campbell as the spunky Dr. Ardis Campbell, Mike Keller as the no-nonsense Sargeant Brisco, who gets infected and embarks on a crazed rampage; Chris Gentile as smarmy jerk Dr. Dave Hardy, Nick Russo as whiny wimp Rhodes, Rick Haymes as the bumbling Dr. Matthew Kane, James Murphy as the sleazy Congressman Stu Blankenship, and David Pringle as the sinister Edison Carter. Robert A. Fattorini's sharp cinematography gives the picture an impressive polished look. Julian Tulip's spirited shivery score does the spine-tingling ooga-booga trick. A really cool little flick.