Main cast: Elma Begovic (Casey), Annette Wozniak (Jill), Denise Yuen (Kirsten), and Jordan Gray (Jared)
Director: Chad Archibald

There were reports of members of the audience at the first screening of Bite walking out because things were too gross for them. Maybe it’s just me having seen way too many body horror movies for my own good, but I actually feel that this movie would have been so much better if it had actually been far grosser than it actually is.

The story itself resembles a typical Lifetime movie script, only this time the screenwriters, which include the director Chad Archibald himself, decided that they would take out the usual psycho that the female lead character would inevitably sleep with during her bachelorette party, and instead she would be stung by some insect and, shocker, turns into a mutant bug monster herself. That’s what happens to Casey when she goes off to Costa Rica with her friends Kirsten and Jill, and I bet nobody will be shocked that Jill is secretly a bitch plotting to ruin Casey’s upcoming marriage to Jared because Jill wants Jared for herself. Never trust the blonde ho, people, never ever be friends with one.

So yes, Casey comes home, and Jared’s deranged disapproving mother is the least of her issues as she starts to slowly do that The Fly gig on everyone. Unfortunately, this also means that, with the obviously lower budget the people behind this movie have to work with, there isn’t much they can do in terms of practical or CGI effects. In fact, these scenes are pretty concentrated towards the end tail of the movie—understandable, as that is supposed to be the most gripping part of the movie, after all—leaving the bulk of the movie to be a rather mundane soap opera played out by stereotypical characters that I don’t give two hoots about.

What body horror moments there are have me thinking that I’ve seen similar stuff done much better in films such as the aforementioned The Fly. Given that I have seen some low budget films with much better practical effects (The Void comes to mind), maybe these folks should have shopped around more for better quality effects that can be obtained on a budget.

Also, I don’t know if this was intentional, but it seems like Jared had been wearing the same pair of boxer-briefs over a period of a few days. Of course, maybe he just has a drawer full of similar-colored underwear, who knows, but I sincerely hope it’s this and not that he wears those things for days. Casey already has sores and pustules from her insect bite drama, the last thing she needs is a case of crotch itch from her hygienically-challenged fellow.

At any rate, Bite is a pretty predictable movie that places its bets on its body horror scenes, and sadly, I think it could do better in that department. This movie is still watchable, for the most part, and it’s certainly better than some of the B-grade flicks I’d the misfortune to come across lately, but it’s still… well, it doesn’t bite hard enough.