EPIDEMIC -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 9/16/18

 

The press release describes this film as "a tender, female-centric coming of age drama."  Fortunately, that's just someone having their little joke, because EPIDEMIC (2018) is actually pretty much what the title implies--a horror thriller about some nasty little bugs that get loose and make people violently ill before doing all sorts of horrible biological nightmare stuff to them.

Dana (Amanda K. Morales) is all tense because it's her 30th birthday and she's invited her estranged, alcoholic dad Rufus (Andrew Hunsicker) to the party.  She and husband Mike (Joe Walz) have also invited another couple, Troy (Marquis Valdez) and Mandi (Gina Destra), along with a nerdy loner to the festivities.  But Dad is so distraught over the impending reunion that he pulls into a parking lot on the way and gets drunk in his car.

Which is just as well, because Mandi, who earlier discovered a secret room in her basement containing a deadly, incredibly contagious virus (which she immediately uncontains), infects her fellow party-goers with the most vomitous, facial-disfiguring insta-plague of all time.  Everyone exposed to it monsters out and, either immediately or over time, goes slap drooling nuts.

While these rampagin' contagion flicks often strive for disaster movie proportions, EPIDEMIC keeps things focused pretty much on our main group of characters, especially Mandi and her tortured dad who yearns to make amends with her but can't overcome his life-destroying alcohol addiction.

Shelley Brietling enters the dramatic fray later on as Mandi's frantic stepmother Claudia, and between them and the rest of the cast, this movie is brimming with good performances.

I like co-writer (with Adam Romanchik) and director Stephen Michael Giglio's low-key approach, which allows him to make a modest but nifty-looking shocker within a very limited budget.  A smaller scale means both a much more intimate story (which pretty much evolves into classic tragedy) and the ability to concentrate on just a few really cool makeup effects.

Gorehounds may be disappointed, since this isn't a slasher/meatgrinder fest and there's more emphasis on story than sheer visceral horror.  But those disease victims in the advanced stages of infection sport a pleasing array of shocking visages while taking part in some nice jump scares and various creepy hallucinatory images along the way.

The DVD from Breaking Glass Pictures is in 1.78:1 widescreen with English stereo sound. No subtitles.  Bonus features consist of a director's commentary, trailers for this and other Breaking Glass releases, an interview with Andrew Hunsicker (Rufus), and some outtakes.

Short, terse, and effective, EPIDEMIC wastes little time drawing us into the slimy, nervewracking bio-horror while still managing to let us get to know and feel for the characters.  I was infected by its low-key charm and am still recovering from the after-effects. 

DVD/VOD RELEASE: September 4, 2018