Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Ticks Blu-ray Movie Review

Where's a mutant can of Raid when you really need it?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 19, 2013

When asked what trait they most desire in a prospective mate, men, horndogs that we are, typically opt for some physical attribute, part and parcel of how many of us define ourselves as being a “leg man” or—well, some other anatomical region that isn’t appropriate to print on a G rated site. Women on the other hand routinely choose “a sense of humor” as one of their top priorities in the man of their dreams, a window into why at least a few of us who don’t exactly sport matinee idol good looks have been able to land a wife or girlfriend. And truth be told, there really is nothing like a sense of humor to get you through the trials and tribulations of modern day life, whether that be the vagaries of a long term committed relationship or just reading the morning paper. The same might be said for being able to enjoy horror films, and one of the manifold saving graces of Ticks, a little remembered 1993 opus that has built up a rather formidable cult following over the years, is that it not only doesn’t take itself seriously in the slightest, it’s overtly hilarious at times. It’s also gorey, gooey and spectacularly gross at other times, but mixed into that slimy stew is a very piquant sense of humor that keeps the film’s outright silliness on a near pitch perfect level where the audience doesn’t know whether to scream or shriek (with laughter). There’s a decidedly lo-fi ambience to Ticks that may bother some more discriminating viewers, but which will actually recommend the film to others, and there’s a certain cult appeal to the cast as well, which includes such (semi)-notables as Seth Green, Ami Dolenz, Alfonso Ribeiro and, in a role that certainly should have sparked major talk of an Oscar nomination (well, maybe not), Clint Howard as a kind of mad scientist whose attempts to engineer some “super weed” ends up creating a plethora of mutant ticks.

Seth Green portrays Tyler, an agoraphobic youth who is haunted by memories of a childhood hide and seek game in the woods gone bad. So of course his father has signed him up for an “immersion” experience where he, along with a coterie of other troubled kids, is taken to an isolated campsite by well meaning couple Charles (Peter Scolari) and Holly (Rosalind Allen). Among the other kids involved in this obvious setup for disaster are Holly and Charles’ own petulant daughter Melissa (Virginya Keehne), “Panic” (Alfonso Ribeiro), a tough street kid who of course turns out not to be so bad after all, Kelly (Dina Dayrit), shy to the point that she can barely make eye contact, and Dee Dee (Ami Dolenz) and Rome (Ray Oriel), obviously the two most likely teens to go trotting off into the woods for some illicit sex and tick attacks.

The film really doesn’t waste a whole lot of time on exposition, giving just enough character information to get the ball (and/or tick) rolling. Scenarist Brent V. Friedman utilizes repeated returns to the mad marijuana grower’s facility to show the poor hapless man getting more and more infested by the mutant jiggers, with his addlepated response to be to shoot them (if you think about it for a moment, you’ll realize the folly of that strategy). It’s gross, disgusting—and laugh out loud hilarious. It also has evidently given Clint Howard a signature line of sorts, as he goes into in the commentary track included on this Blu-ray as a supplement (we won’t spoil it for you here, but rest assured both the line and the delivery are indeed timeless, right up there with “We’ll always have Paris” and “Rosebud”.)

Ticks is fairly ruthless, at least as far these sorts of films go, in dispatching characters right and left, with a lot of horrifying special effects accompanying the demises (the ticks burrow into the skin, in case you weren’t aware). But the film also never loses sight of its very real sense of humor, delivering a sort of deadpan (emphasis on the dead) humor, as in one fantastic scene where a doctor is attempting to figure out what’s going on with the little critters, and drives a hypodermic into the back of a tick, only to have it manically scurry around the office as she and other characters attempt to track it down. It’s flat out ridiculous, seeing this patently fake looking creature zinging to and fro around the room with a syringe sticking out of its hindquarters, but you’re a perhaps more demanding viewer than I am if you’re able to watch it without bursting into laughter.

The highlight of this film is Clint Howard, who doesn’t just chew the scenery, he basically digests it and regurgitates it right before our very eyes. For those who think of the actor only as Ron Howard’s brother or the long ago co-star of such short-lived television series as Please Don’t Eat the Daisies or Gentle Ben, his mad marijuana grower may be some surprising evidence of the actor’s “range”—if that’s what you want to call a depiction of this lunatic variety. That’s the pater familias of the Howard family, Rance Howard, playing the Sheriff. Special mention must also be made for the luckless Peter Scolari, an actor who started his career on Bosom Buddies and then watched his co-star (someone named Tom Hanks or something like that) become the multi-Oscar winning James Stewart of his generation, while Scolari was relegated to amiable enough sitcoms like Newhart and films like, well, Ticks. It’s a credit to Scolari’s professionalism that he manages to make his role even marginally believable. Maybe that’s small consolation when compared to the overwhelming success of Hanks’ career, but no one said acting was for the faint of heart.

Ticks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ticks is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The film was obviously not a well financed release and there's an undeniable softness to much of this transfer, no doubt endemic to the source elements. Some of the dark scenes also verge on digital noise at times, but if you can get past these two niggling qualms, there's actually a lot to like about this new high definition presentation. Colors are rather robust, if awfully on the sickly green side of things a lot of the time, and in close-ups there's a satisfying amount of fine detail. The elements themselves are in remarkably good condition, with nary a scratch to be seen. Ticks simply doesn't have the "pop" of a lot of more contemporary horror thrillers, but taken on its own terms and within its own historical context, fans of the film should be quite pleased with this new Olive presentation.

Ticks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ticks features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that is surprisingly spry, offering very clear reproduction not only of the dialogue but the often hilariously appealing foley effects (the "scampering" sounds of the ticks, not to mention the "glop" of their drooling chrysalis states are especially notable in this regard). As might be expected, there's rather wide dynamic range, especially during the infestation scenes when various characters are, let's face it, apt to be screaming. While narrow, the soundstage here is very clearly organized and includes a well prioritized mix of dialogue, effects and score.

Ticks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Tony Randel and co-star Clint Howard. This isn't exactly a fount of information, but it's extremely enjoyable as the two guys have absolutely no pretensions about what a silly film this is. It's refreshing to hear Randel state what might already be obvious, namely that there's "nothing deep" about Ticks. Howard is obviously highly amused by the renown this role has with certain elements in the fan culture. One thing to be aware of: pressing "Special Feature" on the main menu doesn't seem to do anything as once you've chosen it the menu doesn't change and the film doesn't boot, but it in fact changes the audio track to the commentary. You have to hit "Play Movie" afterwards. It's an odd authoring choice (rather than simply putting this in the audio options to begin with).

Ticks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've tried to be relatively objective in assessing the overall merits of Ticks, given the fact that readers here have extremely varied tastes and not everyone is going to cotton to a film of this type. Therefore, those who love this kind of film could well add another point to my score above, while those who detest "critter" films will probably want to subtract a point (at least). The one thing about Ticks that potentially recommends it to those who can't stand this genre is how undeniably funny it is. Yes, you have to see a lot of pretty disturbing imagery while you're laughing, but I can pretty much guarantee you will be laughing. This new Blu-ray offers very good video and audio, and the commentary is, to coin a phrase, a hoot. Recommended.