Yet another movie I saw at Frightfest Glasgow.So, this was enjoyable. This is a low budget throw back to 80's movies of the same genre. That genre being horror/sci-fi.It is paced rather well, something not all low budget movies are. I was never bored. It does a good job keeping you interested. The effects are done pretty well. All in all it is entertaining.Josh Ethier does a good job in his role.It never quite gets all the way up to movie greatness, but the crew have done a fine job. It was a Q&A after the movie, with some of the cast and crew involved, so I know a lot of hard work went into it.If you like this type of movie, you'll be rather satisfied.

First of all, the beginning off the movie captured my attention but sadly the interest started to dwindle and found myself wanting the film to finish.Flaws, quite a few of them and the continuity? looked as though the crew couldn't care much about it!As for the acting; I do say it wasn't bad at all but there were times when I thought "how stupid can people be". You can tell they did this to either get the audience a little angry or tensed. I personally kept shaking my head and repeated the word "stupid"Finally, it reminded me more of slasher movies. Lots of blood and murders. There didn't seem to be a real story behind it all. The why's and how's were missing and what's going to happen next, most of you may figure it out half way through the film.Nothing exciting here to watch.

"Something weird is going on !" Are you a fan of the slasher genre and it shouldn't be too complicated, then you'll certainly appreciate ˝Almost Human˝. This extremely short movies of less than 80 minutes doesn't waste time and starts immediately after a successful beginning and then goes on in a terrifying pace. Where Joe Begos, writer,producer and director of this SF-slasher, got his inspiration is obvious. He made an appeal on quite some acquaintances to act in this low budget movie. And eventually that's the only downside. You can hardly call most of them acting talents. But I must admit that technically and script-wise it's put together nicely.Patten, Maine, 13 October 1987. Seth (Graham Skipper) arrives with top speed at his good friend Mark's (Josh Ethier) house and tells the unlikely story that their friend Rob disappeared into thin air after a blue gleam appeared and he got sucked into the sky. Mark doesn't believe him until the same symptoms manifest themselves at his place : blue light and a deafening shrill sound. Before the eyes of Seth and Jen (Vanessa Leigh), Mark's girlfriend, the latter disappears too. Two years pass and Seth is still suffering from this traumatic experience: nosebleeds, sleeplessness and endless visits to a therapist. He himself was arrested because the authorities thought he had something to do with the mysterious disappearance, but due to a lack of evidence, he was released. Jen went on with her life again and has an uncomplicated relation with someone else, until Seth shows up with the news that something is fishy, and he has a feeling Mark will return.The first thought that occurred to me when seeing the movie poster is that it's kind of similar to that of ˝The Thing˝ and ˝Scanners˝. ˝Almost Human˝ is an homage to the VHS era of the 80's. It is a mix of B-slasher movies from that period as ˝Friday the 13th˝ and ˝Sorority House Massacre˝, and SF movies about alien abductions like ˝Invasion of the Body Snatchers˝ (especially the primal scream of Mark reminds me of that one) from years ago and recently ˝Dark Skies˝. You can therefore expect the inventive use of butcher knives, axes and chainsaws. Sometimes it is rather simplistic. As Mark approaches someone carrying a shotgun while that person is working with a chainsaw, and you can also see a log with an ax in it, you don't need to be smart to figure out how this will end. The bloody gore parts are abundant and the real horror fans will definitely be delighted. The more critical film lovers however will stumble over the sometimes abominably bad acting. The way Mark attempts to fertilize Jen was an original idea though.The two protagonists Graham Skipper and Josh Ethier were the most convincing. Especially Ethier delivered a brilliant performance. Skipper started in a promising way but gradually evolved into a wistful and baffled person who just could not grasp it all and constantly repeated that he didn't really understood what was going on and that something wasn't right. His facial expression was purely infantile at a certain moment. The rest of the cast was acting as if it was a privilege to take part in this movie and it was a performance they could brag about during a game of bowling with some friends after wards. Especially the colleagues of Jen and Seth were quite amateurish. On the one hand they looked as if they were afraid to forget their next sentence. And on the other hand they looked like a toddler who has done a pee for the first time on the potty : satisfied and proud. The reaction of Jens new fiancé as Mark suddenly stands at his door is so stupid that it was justified to be slaughtered. The guy disappeared mysteriously and suddenly reappears after 2 years. I would react differently for sure.Besides the sometimes weak performances, there were also some flaws that I noticed. These are small details. But avoiding such errors benefits the credibility of a movie. There were two hunters who discover Mark in the woods. One of them wants to go and check it out, fearless because he holds a huge shotgun, and the other follows him while holding another rifle. But still he needed to load that riffle when they were attacked. Fairly stupid for an experienced hunter, I think. Then there was the moment that Mark drove off with the captured jeep at the gas station with a windshield smeared with gallons of blood. The next time we see him driving, you'll notice a clean windshield as if he has just visited car-wash.Yet ˝Almost Human˝ could charm me. A short, fast and furious SciFi horror with some gore excerpts. Although you can't really call it exciting. The performances are sometimes lousy, but the editing of this movie is excellent. Not a moment I had the feeling I was watching a low-budget movie filmed with an ordinary digital camcorder. Joe Begos is definitely a name to keep in mind.However. Afterwards I still had an unanswered question: What happened with Rob ? More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.com

OK, first off, some of these reviews (like 1 star) are from people who don't appreciate throw back horror movies to the 80's. It all depends on your taste in film.Now to all the true Horror/Sci-Fi fans, this movie is like a red wet dream with a John Carpenterish soundtrack. It is an extremely simplistic, bare bones slasher with Sci-Fi elements. A sick and fun 80 minute treat. And that's all it is trying to be. I give it a 7 for the gritty feel, some cool killings, and for the filmmakers working on a small budget. If you like 80's low budget horror gems, you'll probably like this.