Bite: It’s just a little bug bite…
Bite
How bad can a bug bite be? Well, pretty horrifying if Chad Archibald is your friend. In the director’s new film, Bite, a stereotypical bachelorette party down south goes awfully wrong when Casey, our story’s protagonist, is bitten by a bug.
With cold feet, there’s only one place to go: Costa Rica, right? The movie’s visuals begin as a handheld operation but smoothly transition to a cinematic look, which gives us an intimate relationship with these three gorgeous women right from the start.
Chad Archibald yet again creates a horrifying experience that makes us hold onto our seats. Archibald has been able to create villains that we would love to see made into figurines and sold everywhere. He has been paying homage to ’80s type villains like his characters Freddy and Jason with every new creation he comes up with.
Bite
From beautiful beach-body women to disturbing insects, Archibald clearly finds pleasure in deforming and distorting the female body as we follow the transformation of the protagonist. Casey is a seemingly boring individual who has no job other than to cook for her workaholic fiancee and take baths, but she turns into a creature that words can’t quite describe — and I must take a moment here to say how brilliant the special effects and makeup are in this film.
The transformation of the main character into a bug is credible and simply terrifying. From just a little bug bite, to an infection, to pus — and a lot of pus by the way — to hair loss, her appearance completely changes. And not only does she go through the metamorphosis, but we also get to see a different side of her friends as their loyalty and friendship are put to the test.
Don’t hate me for this Chad! The only issues I had concerning this film were small plot points. Whenever someone is concerned about Casey they seem to just not do much for her. I get that the fiancee is a workaholic, but he lives two doors away from her, so why does he wait a week before confronting the silence, especially if they are supposed to be getting married? It is only when it is convenient that he goes storming across the short hallway to the next apartment. Small details like this were my only concerns. Other than that, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen!
Bite screened as part of the Fantasia Film Festival, running until August 4th.
