‘Plaguers: 10th Anniversary Edition’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Steve Railsback, Alexis Zibolis, Noelle Perris, Jared Cohn, Paige La Pierre, Bobby James, Stephanie Skewes, Chad Nell, Maija Polsley, Erica Browne, David P. Johnson | Written and Directed by Brad Sykes
Plaguers is a Sci-fi Horror movie that was initially released in 2008, some 12 years ago, but is being re-released in a “10th Anniversary Edition” through Wild Eye Releasing, and so I had a chance to sit down with it and see what it had to offer.
Directed and written by Brad Sykes (The Pact), Plaguers is the tale of a crew of sexy space pirates (yep) who hijack an Earth-bound fuel-transport ship, and, accidentally, an alien virus known as “Thanatos” is released, which mutates victims and turns them into demonic and starving monsters. The sexy pirates (yep) and the crew of the ship must band together in order to take out these undead, erm… plaguers, as the vessel approaches Earth. Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Now, I like the plot, and think there’s a lot going for it in concept. The film is a low-budget project yet you can tell that Sykes has stretched it as far as he could to create something for fans of sci-fi classics of the past. The cast aren’t remarkable in their performances but they’re not horrendous, and I did enjoy the silliness and gore that was on offer here and I thought the design of the mutants was cool and done pretty well. As far as acting “names”, we see Steve Railsback (Barb Wire, Lifeforce) as Tarver, and he’s okay. Really, though, it was more the concept and effects that intrigued me enough to have fun with this. It isn’t the most exciting film, and falls flat when it comes to any kind of suspense, which is a shame, considering it’s obvious attempt to pay homage to films like Alien.
I didn’t dislike Plaguers, but it stood out to me just how so-so it all was, across the board. It’s a passable space-horror flick but there are much better out there, so I feel like many will give it a quick pass due to that fact alone. It’s one of those unspectacular but not particularly offensive titles that you’re likely to forget about within five minutes of shutting it off. I imagine it has it’s fans, but I don’t believe I’m one of them. If you are, perhaps a revisit might be in order.
** 2/5
The Plaguers: 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray includes audio commentary and an unseen Q+A with cast and crew, and is available now from Wild Eye Releasing.