Audience Member
I have to give full marks to an Italian movie, set in a small town in England, that starts off with infected experimental rats going amok in an aspirin-manufacturing company's laboratory, then straight to two of the monster's first victims having sex in a car--all in the first five minutes. That's fine pacing for a low-budget film. It was certainly enjoyable and a fun watch--too bad the film was uneven, and that breakneck (pardon the pun!) pace of its start couldn't be maintained. An intriguing premise, of a clandestine germ-warfare experiment gone awry, and both the government and police being in on the ultimate 'Plan Q'--destroying all life (people and animals) in the city--claiming it's 'better to kill 1,000 early than have to kill 1,000,000 later'. With the right budget for makeup and acting, and in the right screenwriting and directorial hands, this could have really been something, far more than the 'so-bad-it's-good' territory 'Panic' holds. I thoroughly enjoyed the attempt, however--the homages to 'Psycho', 'The Third Man' and other great films really brought a smile to my face. Movies like THIS, in which the ambition far outrun the result, are ones that should be remade, in my humble opinion.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I have to give full marks to an Italian movie, set in a small town in England, that starts off with infected experimental rats going amok in an aspirin-manufacturing company's laboratory, then straight to two of the monster's first victims having sex in a car--all in the first five minutes. That's fine pacing for a low-budget film. It was certainly enjoyable and a fun watch--too bad the film was uneven, and that breakneck (pardon the pun!) pace of its start couldn't be maintained. An intriguing premise, of a clandestine germ-warfare experiment gone awry, and both the government and police being in on the ultimate 'Plan Q'--destroying all life (people and animals) in the city--claiming it's 'better to kill 1,000 early than have to kill 1,000,000 later'. With the right budget for makeup and acting, and in the right screenwriting and directorial hands, this could have really been something, far more than the 'so-bad-it's-good' territory 'Panic' holds. I thoroughly enjoyed the attempt, however--the homages to 'Psycho', 'The Third Man' and other great films really brought a smile to my face. Movies like THIS, in which the ambition far outrun the result, are ones that should be remade, in my humble opinion.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A pretty uninteresting storyline with bland characters and senseless moments. The monster isn't too good and can get one one's nerves quite easily with it's groaning. The film is cheaply made and drags on.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Mill Creek's 50 Movie Pack: Chilling Classics Reviews
BAKTERION /PANIC [1982]: From the early 1980's come this Italian monster movie set in the UK. The plot sees an English scientist using an experimental formula which turns him into a monster. As a result he then starts to terrorise a small English village which result in the Government deciding the only way to stop this is to drop a bomb on the town. With a monster that resembles a cross between the FANTASTIC FOUR'S The Thing & THE TOXIC AVENGER. How couldn't I mildly enjoy monster movie? My rating for this film is a solid 50%.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I never thought I'd be able to find a movie that makes "Virus" look coherent and downright exciting. Until I saw "Panic."
Everything about this movie is wrong-headed and poorly executed literally from the start: The crucial transformation scene wherein a scientist is turned into the movie's villain is essentially glossed over in favor of rats haphazardly pawing at one another. From there, the doctor-turned-beast prowls the streets in search of victims in scenes that manage not only to be derivative but also disjointed because the director's spacial-distance abilities and attempts at continuity are pathetic (or seemingly nonexistent).
Through all the various attacks, we see the de rigeur story of police and scientists attempting to stop the monster before the British government (and this is the first thing the officials thought of) elects to bomb the city containing the creature with nerve gas, killing everyone to avoid contamination through the rest of the country.
At points, it's like "Panic" is blatantly slapping the audience in the face: The climactic chase scene through the sewers ("The Third Man" and "Them!" this is not) takes twice as long as it should because director Tonino Ricci keeps changing the speeds the characters travel. At the end, as the protagonists race to inform the government they've successfully killed the creature (after suffering some major casualties that are never mentioned again), Ricci also introduces a clock effect in the corner of the screen that literally counts off less than two minutes before the film comes to an abrupt end; it would have been preferable to pull off the old, overused "0:00:01" trick than that bizarre flourish.
Apart from a legitimately excellent scene where a priest frantically tries to spirit a group of young boys out of his church while the monster wails and breaks in, not one moment in this film feels real. Suffice to say it won't instill in you the titular state.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Adventurous scientist incurs profound genetic alterations during experiment. Not much to say on this Italian film whose lead character (and I believe this was unintentional) is named Captain Kirk. Special effects are lousy but film is watchable.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
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