Polymorph

I admit I have a huge soft spot for shot-on-video cinema of the 80s and 90s, and this one is a favorite. A fun cast of SOV cinema vets, Tarantino-inspired dialogue and some surprise twists add to the antics. All that said, SOV cinema in general is an acquired taste; the acting at this level of filmmaking is typically amateurish, effects are regularly cheap and direction is more often than not static. This flick has its share of those things, but the filmmakers make it all work. It ain't Citizen Kane, but it's a fun little horror/action/Sci fi flick nonetheless.

"Polymorph" is an obscure gem from the middle of J.R. Bookwalter's career. The film concerns itself with a rather convoluted plot centered around a den of drug dealers interacting with four teenagers camping in the woods while both groups are being pursued by a silly creature from space. Some of the special effects are very amusing (although evidently they have been enhanced for DVD, which makes me wonder what they looked like in the original VHS release), and one matte painting in particular is amazingly bad.Beyond all that, the movie is actually immensely watchable. The acting varies in quality, with Tom Hoover probably giving the best overall performance as "Carlos" the evil drug lord of ambiguous sexual orientation. I very much enjoyed the "making of" feature, the audio commentary tracks (of which there are two), and the other extras. This film is not as enjoyable in a campy way as Bookwalter's earlier treatises on cheese like "Chickboxer," but it is a fun movie that I recommend.

I was prepared to give this 4 stars despite the inconsistent acting and writing because of its well scripted pacing and because unlike many of its film brethren the monster was the focus and not some boring human evil inside drama which happens to be in a horror setting. However the ending declares that being a sociopath is the correct way to go through life. Is that what we really want to aspire to and tell stories about? The victory of sociopaths? Is this what bypassing the Hollywood movie by committee has rewarded us with? Stories that exonerate a passionless killer? If so than give me back the Hollywood crap-fest because this type of film is wearying and boring.

The DVD box claims it was a "meteor" while in the opening scene we see and object launched from an alien spacecraft. The device lands in the deep wooded area of Ohio near an isolated cabin used by drug dealers. The cabin is occupied by paranoid Tarper (Sasha Graham) who dips into the stash. She is head and shoulders the best actor in the film, with Tom "the ham" Hoover (Carlos) and James L. Edwards (Ted) being grotesquely bad. For some reason they added Ted as a blind date and gave him the worse campfire lines in the movie, especially when he broke his lighter out. OUCH! Where is my fast forward button!The movie starts out well, but fails to maintain. The creature as you might expect, can animate dead bodies and take people over. The idea was good, but the writing, dialouge and to some degree, the acting provided too many negatives. I will go overly generous with 3 stars.No sex, no Nudity, no F-bombs.

One of the worst films I've ever seen...in all genres. I'm convinced they were trying to get a bad review from the get-go. They couldn't have taken this seriously. They probably made this film in less than a week. Avoid!