Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Peppered_Productions The film opens with Amy (Pamela Gidley - "Brigitte" from the Pretender series) driving to her new home with cat and fish. A couple of minutes into her journey, she removes sunglasses and wig. Uh-oh. Either she just committed a crime, or is escaping an abusive boyfriend. Her paranoia upon entering the house indicates the latter.As she turns into the driveway, she's observed by a scientist (Aussie cutie Simon Bossell) collecting mysterious, goopy samples near the property. Hmm... young, good-looking woman, young good-looking man? What are the chances they'll get together? As Amy settles in, we meet a couple of the locals. The typical crazy & his dog and the kind general store manager. But, wait - this is a horror film! Let's leave this Little House on the Prairie nonsense & see some gore!Finally, we glimpse our monster - well, its viewpoint, as it goes after the crazy recluse's dog. Buh-bye Rover. Amy's cat is similarly bothered in the house - could the beast be in her home? Could there be more than one?!? Ayup. We finally see the creatures. Lizards of some bastardized origin - they're able to evolve from generation to generation. Thanks, Monsanto! Within hours, the newly born spawn has nifty defense mechanisms against what thwarted their parents.So, basically it's multigenerational mutant annihilation for our two heroes. A lot of blowing things up, really.Oh - and that abusive boyfriend? Yes, he makes an appearance. He's an a-hole who enjoys his battle with the so-called "Aberrations" just a little too much. In a combo Lifetime/Syfy flick - he really doesn't stand a chance. A totally hammy performance by Valeriy Nikolaev, but a fun stretch.The movie is slow-paced, and could've been 15-20 minutes shorter. It also uses some cliché tactics (including the 'thrown cat' trick and asinine, punny lines). The puppets used for the creatures had some good detail, and the 'enhancements' were clever. But, this movie didn't know whether it wanted to be a drama, sci-fi, or horror. It was a little too muddled to fit neatly into any of those categoriesOverall, a decent flick with flaws and some major predictability. Editing could have been tighter, but the casting choices were good, and there were some clever shots to impress cinematographers. And the cat? A total PROFESSIONAL! The scenes with the critters seemed a bit campy - like "Gremlins" meets "Munchies". But, still a watchable, if dramatic, romp.

ViirinSoftworks Does the movie have problems? Yes, but I happily ignore them every time I've watched, which has to be more than 20 times now. I love creature feature movies, and I love monsters that evolve as the movie goes on, so I'm probably biased. Hey, I'm always a Blue Mage in Final Fantasy games when possible, so go figure. I loved the movie so much in fact, that it inspired me to make a role playing game where you got to be one of the creatures, though I also expanded it significantly. The role play has run since 2009 (currently the game is on the Escapist and that started in 2011), and seems to be more popular than the movie itself. I thought that instead of starting off as lizards, they'd start as slimes, but as the geckos evolve as they eat other living things, the slimes would do the same. Instead of ending up as geckos, they'd end up as dragons. So, all in all, I loved this movie. If you're able to watch for enjoyment sake and looking at the high concept and not the presentation, then you won't find many movies more fun than this in the same genre except maybe Mimic or The Relic.

loomis78-815-989034 After stealing money from her gangster boyfriend, Amy (Gidley), is on the run. She decides to hide out at an isolated cabin in the Minnesota woods until she figures out her next move. Her cat turns up dead and Amy begins to see glimpses of tails that look like they are from large lizards slip around corners and behind furniture. She seeks help from Marshall (Bossell), a biologist working in the area, to help her exterminate the critters. Soon they find out that they have a lot more on their hands than some pesky lizards. These mutations have grown large with sharp teeth and the ability to spit poison. This movie is a basic set up as a mini monster movie. It features two people in an isolated cabin doing battle with the deadly over-sized lizards. There is some fun to be had with some gooey gore that ranges from cheesy to decent. Director Tim Boxell's pace is very leisurely. This leaves long stretches of boredom in between the action with the monsters. With her short blond hair, Pam Gidley looks a lot like Sharon Stone and fortunately her acting is respectable. The film is decent, but would have benefited greatly with some jump scares and more attention to suspense.

Theshapeshifter This movie is about as scary as a Disney movie. With plenty of gore and a weak story line, it is little wonder that it was overlooked by many, but in the end, the cheesiness of the film is what makes it worth watching for many. The effects aren't as good as hoped and the characters are not very believable. The story is that of a pair of people whom (too my knowledge) are stuck in a cabin where there are insidious lizard-like animals which feast on flesh. The monstrous and quite murderous creatures seem to appear as little more than garden-variety newts, but they seem to creep a viewer out in a pinch. The setting is also fairly weak, but it does the trick well for the story. All in all, if you are in the mood for a simple story and moderately simple effects, cast aside "Troy" and watch this.