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| Images Courtesy of Cranked Up Films |
2024 has been a solid year for the Body Horror genre.
Following on the heels of The Substance and I Saw the TV Glow
comes Mark Hamer's Replicator, a low budget science fiction horror
mashup that showcases practical special effects. Filmed in Ohio, this is
a breakneck paced thriller that features perfectly revolting visuals, fun,
if forgettable performances, and loving homages to the titans of American
cinematic horror.
A well-meaning public defender notices that many of the morally compromised
people in her small town are beginning to make ethical 180's.
Following a tragedy that hits close to home, she discovers that otherworldly
forces are at work. Hamer co-wrote the script with Russ Lindway.
While the dialogue is juvenile and undercooked, the overall concept has merit,
even if the lightning fast 75 minutes runtime does not give it time to breathe. Essentially this is a morality play in which
the principals are all compromised and the idea of utopia is transmuted into a
flesh laden nightmare.
Brey Noelle stars as Darby. She does well with what
little material there is, but, much like the rest of the cast, the performances
are merely stepping stones to the gruesome climax. The characters are more archetypes than flesh
and blood personas, with Noelle and KateLynn Newberry (as Darby’s bartending
confident Neila) as the standouts.
David Greathouse's mind thrashing special effects are the entire
centerpiece. Building on films such as The Thing and Invasion
of the Body Snatchers and infusing it with Lovecraftian sensibilities,
Greathouse and his team deliver some repulsively good creatures and gore that
out-distance any of the major flaws related to budget and writing. They
are supported by Sammy Lahiri's bifurcated cinematography. The day world
is filled with the mundane. Bright lights and sterile environs that are
then dangerously juxtaposed against the neon lit night. Perhaps
this was Hamer and crew's attempt at making a statement on the morality
dilemmas that are toyed with throughout, but never developed, that ultimately
there are two realities: The one we have and the one we want.
Now available for digital rental, Replicator does not bring anything new to the table, but what it does bring is a gooey, gory fun display of practical creature effects that are worth the price of admission. Viewers interested cult comedic horror or art house level provocations will most likely be disappointed, however, if one is looking for a cinematic vehicle whose fuel is horrific visuals and effects wizardry, this is a worthy effort.
--Kyle Jonathan