THEY CRAWL is ostensibly a cockroach invasion creature flick but when watching you could be forgiven for thinking you're watching a typical movie-of-the-week government conspiracy thriller. The storyline sees a couple of cops on the trail of some naughty scientists into genetic modification who have engineered some super-duper cockroaches as part of research into biological warfare.Those expecting massed creature attacks will surely be disappointed because, inevitably, the cockroach attacks play second fiddle to this rather dull police investigation stuff. The characters just aren't interesting enough to hold the attention and you end up waiting for the next roach attack. Said attacks are animated by CGI, which is expected, and look like they've been heavily inspired by THE MUMMY. They're not bad but not quite as gruesome as you'd expect.Part of the fun here comes from spotting the footage ripped off from other movies - yep, it's a cut 'n' paste production that would make Godfrey Ho proud. I was surprised and delighted by the expensive-looking 'bus out of control' set-piece that opens the movie and sure enough it was stolen from RED HEAT. The producers seem to have a Schwarzenegger fetish as they also borrow liberally from LAST ACTION HERO as well as CHAIN REACTION and RUSH HOUR.Cast-wise, there are slim pickings here with the only recognisable actor being Dennis Boutsikaris, who had a starring role in BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED back in the 1980s. Mickey Rourke makes an amusing cameo as a superhuman killer and there's a little role for B-movie favourite Tim Thomerson pretty much riffing on the John Goodman character from ARACHNOPHOBIA. Things build to a preposterous but admittedly amusing climax in which the cockroaches display some truly unexpected behaviour, but this is B-movie territory all the way.

After a series of strange accidents are found to be from a race of mutated cockroaches used in a secret military project, a man and a detective team up to stop the creatures' rampage and put a stop to the experiments.This is an entertaining if somewhat complex effort that comes off as quite enjoyable regardless. One of the better facets here is the fact that this one is a lot smarter than expected from a simple creature feature, with the investigation angle that eventually uncovers the different agencies working together through all the different clues coming together yet still being done without really sacrificing the pace to do so. This could've easily been a slow, agonizingly dull creature feature without much going for it had it used the mysterious death/investigation angle, yet it doesn't and it feels better for doing so. The attacks are also surprisingly bloodier than expected and we get more gore than it really figures to have, and with the use of the real creatures it makes for even more good times. There's some flaws to be had here, mainly in the far-more-confusing plot getting tough to swallow at times as it goes along its many winding turns that can grow wearisome quite easily. As well, the finale is quite underwhelming with its sudden twist that doesn't really make sense and tends to showcase a big CGI creation instead of the more restrained, realistic feel it had been going for all along. Still, this one isn't all that bad of an effort.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

I watched this on TV because the digital cable guide listed it as a film "starring Mickey Rourke." Little did I know all he had was a very brief cameo in the film, yet it was enough for them to advertise his name all over the listings. In fact it actually stars a Tom Cruise lookalike named Daniel Cosgrove who suspects little bugs (cockroaches and that sort) are planning to take over the world.The film is shot in a gritty, blue-filtered way - like those TV cop shows (Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Shield, etc.) but the problem is that the "reality" feel of the movie betrays its utter absurdity -- please, LITTLE BUGS ATTACKING THE WORLD?! What is this -- the 1950s?! The worst scene has to be the very ending (SPOILER AHEAD) when all the little bugs "form together" to create one giant, enormous "bug" that attempts to kill the hero. The way he "kills" it is laughable at best.It's not worth watching - not even for Mickey.

The only way I got through this movie was by watching it with my brothers, continuously adding our own humorous commentary over the dialog. There are so many "also-ran" actors in this film it began to resemble a Burgess Meredith re-union party. Oh, and what is the deal with Mickey Rourke? He appears in one scene, and leaves the viewer aghast at his silly antics. I mean, was there a point to him knocking that door off it's hinges? Surely it's a bad sign for a film when the producers rely on Mr.Rourke for his "star power" to pull in the crowds. One can only ponder what next for Mickey, perhaps a starring role in Ishtar II? About the only redeeming feature of this film, were the sporadic CG cockroach attacks, and even they left much to be desired. Avoid this film unless you enjoy boredom, or simply need evidence of how far Mickey Rourke has sunk. 4/10