Infested Review: A Killer Spider Creature Feature With An Attack The Block Vibe [Fantastic Fest 2023]
The new French creature feature "Infested" (aka "Vermin") is best described as pure nightmare fuel on film. This is a straight-up horror show featuring the most spiders you'll ever see on film; a movie definitely not for arachnophobes. What makes "Infested" stand out is not just the incredible amount of spiders in the film (of which there are many), or the amount of times it may make you squirm and recoil in your seat, but how much heart and anger is on display. In a way, this is the "Attack the Block" of killer spider movies, as it is not only a compelling and thrilling creature feature but also has something to say about marginalized communities being systematically isolated and left to rot by authorities.
"Infested" is a balls-to-the-wall, '80s-inspired creature feature with many a horrific moment that will make you kick your legs up or shake your arms off just in case. It boasts some fantastic creature effects, as well as relatable and likable characters. The film follows Kaleb (Théo Christine), a 30-year-old grifter with a passion for small critters. He once dreamed of opening a reptile zoo with his friend Jordy (Finnegan Oldfield) but an argument crushed both that dream and their friendship.
Beware the critters
Now, Kaleb makes up for the death of his dream by filling up the walls of his room with vivariums containing all sorts of creepy creatures. He is quite excited about his latest find, an exotic spider that was on sale in the back office of his local smuggler's shop. Unaware of the highly venomous and aggressive behavior of the spider, Kaleb brings it home and names it Rihanna.
"Infested" creates a lived-in world within the film's one location, an apartment complex in the French suburb (the apartment building itself also just looks extremely cool), with a sense of community and colorful characters. Even briefly, we get to know the neighbors and their dynamics — the annoying narc, the kind older woman, the younger kids with little hope for the future, and Kaleb's older sister with whom he cannot communicate about their dead mom.
As for the building itself, this is where the "Attack the Block" comparisons start as we get a sense of its abandonment by authorities and institutions. The power is often out, the elevator barely works and the lights never get fixed. Oh, and there's some ominous ooze-like substance on the stairs that no one seems particularly concerned about. In other words, the kind of place no one gets that surprised about seeing descend into chaos.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what happens when Kaleb gives his new spider a home inside a shoebox with a little hole in it. As you might expect, Rihanna gets out and she lays eggs, too many of them. In just a few hours, one killer spider turns into a house of unspeakable horrors ... and lots of spiders. So many spiders...
A competent debut
You see, Rihanna is not a normal spider. It can kill you with a bite and multiply into the thousands in no time; I'm talking spiders up the walls, spiders inside the pipes, spiders in the staircase and in the ceiling, spiders behind you, spiders in front of you. And did I mention each generation of spider grows bigger than the last? Welcome to arachno-hell.
Sébastien Vaniček makes his directorial feature debut with "Infested," and he and cinematographer Alexandre Jamin know how to shoot the spiders in a variety of ways that keep the horror from feeling repetitive. Whether it's spider babies crawling up a character's arm, close-ups of nasty spider bits, or spiders coming out of a corpse, there's always a new horrific image just around the corner, waiting to crawl into your brain and lay nightmare eggs up in there.
It helps that for the most part, the spiders are practical. That's right, there are actual spiders used in the film — a good portion of it, in fact! Of course, CG is used to enhance the scenes with hordes of critters, but the use of practical effects for most of the film makes for a convincing and all-too-real nightmare. That being said, once the spiders start increasing in size, the CG becomes more noticeable and almost cartoonish, which decreases their effectiveness, even if they're mostly kept in the dark.
Not only horrific, but the spider attack is also full of symbolism. Like in "Attack the Block," the response from the outside world (particularly the authorities) to the horrors happening inside the complex is almost as terrifying as the actual monsters, as it becomes clear that not only is there no help coming, but they are not interested in getting anyone out.
/Film Rating: 9 out of 10