Mikes Film Talk

Continuing our backward look at indie films of yesteryear, we look at 1987 and Contamination. This surreal, yet simple, horror owes a little to the world of Mad Max. It does, however, predate Eli Roth’s tale of water borne disease, Cabin Fever by a few years.

In both aforementioned films, water can be the carrier of ill intent. In this case it is proffered by the freshly dead.

*A huge nod to George A Romero here: Zombies, but with a difference. These formerly alive citizens want to be friendly. “Come on, have a drink of water!”*

Contamination: The story

Two pals wander the wasteland of a small farming community. Throughout the crumbling buildings, there are copious amounts of bottled water. All of them have a symbol pasted on the bottom.

One of the lads takes a drink and, seemingly, dies. He comes back though, although he is not quite the same.

The Cast

Sherry M. Felix is “contaminant.”

8 minutes

Contamination writer/director Clarke M Smith gives us a solid 8 minutes of interesting Science Fiction/Horror. The film may have been made for a budget of $300. But there is an enormous amount of ingenuity on offer here.

It looks as though it was filmed on a Super 8 VHS.

The length of the film offers little in terms of dialogue. It does move forward with an implicit punchline. Contamination has a lot to offer. A sense of foreboding, zombies; who attempt to turn the heroes into the un-dead via a bottle of water.

FX

Smith takes care to keep this one simple. The FX on offer work for this very reason. We can tell by watching that the small “horde” who tempt our guys with poisonous drink are not “right.” Kudos on the bearded guys prolonged milky looking drool. Editing clearly aided this effect and it is easily the best bit of the film.

The Verdict

Contamination is a solid 3 star film. It just falls short of a 4 star rating. There are many nods and winks to other films that make this an entertaining romp. I liked it and can’t wait to see Contamination 2.

The Film