A secret military research base (consisting of boring green-lit corridors and boasting a total staff and solider complement of about eight plus Michael Madsen) is working on a serum that boosts aggression and creates super-soldiers. Used on war heroes, it turns them into raging psychotics, so the decision is made to test it on losers, with the idea that they won’t be boosted quite as much. (Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t write the script.) A group of misfits is hauled in, but they don’t like what they’re being subjected to, and are soon running around corridors, looking for a way out. One of the previous subjects is accidentally freed, and he stalks the hallways as a very economical monster.
The introduction to our losers is actually quite funny, raising hopes that this might turn out to be some kind of torqued satire. No such luck. Just another DTV exercise in hallway horror. Depressingly familiar and tedious.
Audio
The music has a very active surround mix, but it could use more bass. The score thus sounds a bit thinner than it might, which doesn’t help when it’s already pretty damn cheesy. The dialogue doesn’t distort, but it does sometimes get lost in the mix. The surround effects are decent enough, and there’s an explosion at the climax which sounds terrific, which is good, since the movie was too cheap to actually show us the boom.
Video
Flesh tones, colours, blacks and contrasts are all fine, though the green tint becomes deeply monotonous. That’s the fault of the film, though, not the transfer. The edge enhancement is minor but present, and the image is a bit soft. None of this is a huge issue, though. You’re much more likely to object to the movie itself than its presentation.
Special Features
The theatrical trailer is here along with trailers for three other films, none of which look terribly promising.
Closing Thoughts
Cheap, boring, inept. Avoid.
