Written by: Michael Den Boer on September 17th, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2006
Director: Brett Piper
Writer: Brett Piper
Cast: Alison Whitney, Benjamin Kanes, Miya Sagara, Andrew Kranz, Tom Cikoski, Shelley Dague, Jessica Day, Chuck McMahon, Duane Polcou
DVD released: October 30th, 2007
Approximate running time: 79 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Shock-O-Rama Cinema
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $19.95
Synopsis: A group of friends stumble upon and abandon house while playing paint balk in the woods. Once inside the house they soon are confronted by a scientist and his biological disease he has created. They are unable to leave the house because the military has is surrounded and they have orders to shoot to kill anyone who tries to escape. They soon discover that they have only forty eight hours before the biological disease will be so powerful that it will wipe out every living being on Earth.
Bacterium was directed by Brett Piper, who has directed other classic schlock cinema like A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, Psyclops and my personal favorite of his films Shock-O-Rama. If you love Horror / Sci-Fi cinema which reveals in its B film roots then you won’t want too miss Bacterium or any other film directed by Brett Piper. I have yet to see a Brett Piper film that not only looks good it is also filled to the brim with so much TLC from its creator that I find it impossible not to be entertained by his unique style of cinema.
Bacterium opens with a bang literally as we are shown are aerial view of the land below from a helicopter. We then are briefly introduced to the man they are chasing who crashes into a car. It appears the man was in possession of a deadly bacteria and they where sent to stop him. Once they find his lifeless body and the bacteria they burn everything with their flamethrowers that came in contact with the man or the bacteria. With a larger then life opening like this one knows that you are in for one hell of an adventure.
The rest of the story after the group of friend’s come into contact with the scientist who created the bacteria is really moves and there is never a dull moment. The Creatures that are born form the bacteria look convincing and the FX job on this film is simply amazing. I enjoyed everyone’s performances in the film with no one really standing out more then the rest of cast. The story and look of the films at times reminded me of George Romero’s “The Crazies”. There are so many films that are made each that many just get lost in the shuffle. If you are in the mood to see something outside of the norm and far removed from your typical Hollywood tripe then I suggest you check out Brett Piper’s Bacteria because it is film that deserves to reach the widest possible audience.
The DVD:
Bacterium is presented in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio. The transfer is colorful, sharp and there are no artifacts or compressing issues.
This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. The audio sounds full, clear and there are no audio defects.
There are a handful of insightful extras included with my favorite extra being the audio commentary with producer Michael Raso and writer/director Brett Piper. Other extras inlcude Bacterium blooper reel (4 minutes), a Shock-O-Rama Trailer Vault and The Making of Bacterium (23 Minutes). Overall Bacterium is another superb release from Shock-O-Rama Cinema which not only comes with a first rate audio/video presentation it also comes with several entertaining extras for after the movie.