Killer Buzz (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

>b>Written by Jeff Hare, based on a story by Zani Leo
Directed by Jeff Hare
Starring Gabrielle Anwar, Rutger Hauer, Craig Sheffer, Duncan Regehr, Mark Adair-Rios

Features:

• Trailer
  

Released by: Fox
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Nope; appears in full-frame.

My Advice: Skip it.

Killer Buzz (aka Flying Virus) tells an eternal tale: genetically altered bees created by evil industrial types strike terror into the hearts of a secret Amazon tribe who then develop a cure, which passes on to a journalist who had the bad grace to be stung. Ah, gotta love the classics.

The cast is really quite extraordinary for a seemingly throw-away little horror film. The journalist in question is played by the very British Gabrielle Anwar, who really deserves better roles than this one. Another great addition to the cast was the too-rarely spotted Duncan Regehr, as "Savior"; he lends the perfect enigma to the role. Always delightfully evil is Rutger Hauer, who should, in a fair world, be showing up in more American wide releases. Aside from these expected great performances, a surprise delight is the relatively unknown Mark Adair-Rios as Baka, the cameraman for the journalist. He provides the necessary comic relief, but he's also just plain good in this role.

The problems with Killer Buzz are all with the plot. This film could have been an interesting commentary on the way modern industrial systems rape and inevitably destroy ancient and fascinating cultures. It could also have focused more on the devastation of the rain forest, instead of merely touching upon it with the building of Rutger Hauer's road. It could even have been a scathing commentary of the socio-economic abuses inherent in colonialism. It could have been a lot of things, but instead it was really rather dull. Not scary, not suspenseful, not thought-provoking--which is a shame, given the environmental/social potential and the cast.

Some specific problems with plot involve the weird division of the film between "land action" and "airplane action." It would have been fine if the only air/land parallel was between Anwar on the ground and Scheffer as her erstwhile husband in the air. Is this a plane-crash story, or a lost Amazon tribe story? Is it about the bees, the corporations, journalism, genetic engineering, or the danger of the plane passengers and their weird moments of rudeness? In addition, her husband is also supernaturally strong, as he pulls himself onto the plane against the amazing air pressure of a plane in flight...though of course the flight attendant just waltzes over and shuts the open plane cabin door without being sucked out. Riiiiight. Are technical advisors really that expensive to hire? And why is there always, always a superhacker on every plane? And a girl who at first thinks he's a hopeless geek (but he still wants her) and then comes around? It is an interesting touch that poison frogs provide life here instead of death, but would loose fabric lightly pinned at the side really create a bee-proof barrier? Somehow, I doubt it. Instead of having multiple strands of a fascinating tale, the movie just lacks focus. And sense.

Of course there's also the screaming issue of the white man being called "Savior" by the Amazonian tribe. Why a local medicine person couldn't have come up with the same answer is beyond me, even though Savior was supposedly a brilliant chemist. Why make him white? Sure, white people can do great things, too, and it's only fitting that since a white person screwed everything up that a white man fix it, but still. "Savior" is just howlingly politically incorrect, and even the suave and deep Regehr can't save the role entirely.

The sound and visuals are solid--as good as they need to be, if not better. Environmentalists should watch out for being lulled by the gorgeous opening scenes of sweeping rainforest panoramas, as the shot all too quickly pans to the burned devastation that does, in fact, serve as its own silent indictment of commercialism. I just wonder what editor was asleep at the wheel when some typist misspells Craig Scheffer's first name in the end credits. The film itself appears full-frame, but I can't seem to find anywhere that would tell me if that was it's intended aspect ratio--I'm thinking it was, so no demerits there.

Overall, if you are fond of bug movies and like to see a few scenes of corporate types getting what's coming to them, then Killer Buzz will please you. If you appreciate a plot that's slightly more clever, if less actually scary, than you get in most horror films, then you should also check this one out. But if you expect your horror films to scare you, then you're pretty much out of luck. It may be better than it had any right to be, but it's still just not quite good enough.