Let's see...spiders, ants, piranha's, rabbits, bees...No, we didn't have giant murdering ticks yet. BRING 'EM ON !!! Maybe that's a bit rough, but in fact it's the basic idea behind this movie. The story is as old as horror itself but it still works and, more importantly, it's still fun !

Somewhere in a God-forsaken town, the local farmers found a new spray for their crops ( their crops are marijuana in this case. That's new! ) but of course the bugs start to grow to enormous size as well and begin to attack humans! A group of troubled teenagers who're there for some sort of consciousness-weekend become the main target. OK, Ticks is filled with the obvious "monster-clichés" but it's a well made and highly entertaining B-movie. I confess, director Tony Randall can't do much wrong in my eyes. This man made the very good Hellraiser sequel Hellbound, so I'm interested in all other films he made. Ticks also has a few familiar faces. Clint Howard to begin with. This guy is doomed again to play the weird loner who becomes the first victim of the killer bugs. Seth Green had one of his first major film roles in this film as well. He looks pretty dorky here, but it sure didn't stop him from building up a decent career in Hollywood. Alfonso Ribeiro is also a part of the cast but it's pretty laughable to picture him as a "bad-ass" from the ghetto, when you keep in mind he played Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for so many years. I didn't recognize the rest of the cast, but all the girls have sweet faces. Unfortunately, Ticks goes very much over the top near the end. But by then you already forgave Tony Randall and the rest of the crew for that stupid ending. Bad case of Writer's Block, I guess...

Insects make good horror movie material due to the fact that a lot of people are scared of them. There have been movies about giant spiders (Kingdom of the Spiders),scorpions (The Black Scorpion) and ants (Them!),and while ticks aren't exactly the most exciting insects around; their bloodsucking nature does make them a good subject for a film such as this. As you might expect considering the fact that this film was a direct to video release, most things about it aren't exactly brilliant. However, it's obvious that the most important thing about a film like this is the gore and Ticks certainly isn't lacking in that department! The story is obviously just a means to an end and sees a class of delinquents going out into the forest for some sort of moral building exercise. However, their little trip is interrupted by a bunch of bloodthirsty ticks that have grown to massive sizes because of chemicals put on weed plants to accelerate their growth. Unfortunately for the kids, the ticks' appetites have grown with them; and now they are on the menu...

The film has a good basis for gore, as it's directed by Hellraiser 2 director Tony Randel (who also directed the less than impressive Children of the Night) and the executive producer is one Brian Yuzna, who every gore fan should recognise. The plot doesn't contain a lot of surprises, although it deserves some plaudits for staying interesting for most of the way through. The story progresses in the usual way for this sort of film - i.e. there are a few clues that something bad is going to happen, then bad things do happen and eventually everything gets out of control. The film doesn't pay a lot of respect to it's insect star as there aren't many references to real life ticks, but then again I didn't go into this movie expecting a natural history lesson. The cast is only notable for the fact that it stars a young Seth Green, although he really isn't that much of a highlight. Alfonso Ribeiro, who is more famous for playing Carlos in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, also makes an appearance (which is completely unlike his TV persona) though he is underused. The film ends well, though too many people survived for my liking, but all the same this is good fun and recommended.

Taking into consideration that this movie is from 1993, it actually still proves to be a fun movie to watch even now. Sure, it is quite cheesy and campy, but that is what it actually makes it fun to watch.

It was sort of strange to see Seth Green and Alfonso Ribeiro in a movie such as this. I can't claim to be fan of either of them, but from what they have previously made, then "Ticks" was quite a change of pace.

The story in "Ticks" is quite simple, and has that particular 1990's vibe to it. Some experiment goes awry deep out in the forest, and the result has a horrible effect on the common tick. Exposed to the chemical, the ticks grow into monstrous size and become especially aggressive. And when a group of troubled teens have to spend the weekend camping out in the woods, little do they know what horrors they are in for.

"Ticks" actually has some good enough special effects, although some of the effects were pulled off better than others and with much more convincing result. But in overall, the effects function well enough and serve their purpose quite well.

One of the more hilarious moments in the movie was the giant tick that emerged out of Panic, as it was much bigger than his actual body mass. So it would be physically impossible, but oh-so-campy.

Don't expect to be scared or thrilled by "Ticks", as it might be labeled as a horror movie, but it is actually more of a horror comedy. I don't even think that the movie passed as being even remotely scary back in 1993.

Now, the dialogue in "Ticks" was just goofy and was quite fitting into that campy and cheesy mood that the movie had going for it. Especially most of the dialogue delivered by Alfonso Ribeiro.

This is a campy horror movie, so if you enjoy such movies that are not overly serious or take themselves serious, then you will find enjoyment in "Ticks" as well.