Infection DVD Review:

In the same style as many other horror movies which have swept the theaters in Japan before being remade in Hollywood, Infection is just as dark, creepy, and sub-standard of a horror film as many of its predecessors. Boasting the fact that it is produced by Ring, Ring 2, and The Grudge producer Taka Ichise, this slime coated gross-out fest has many of the same elements as other films, with even less clarity to the point of the film other than to set a certain mood.

Setting the mood is what director Masayuki Ochiai (Parasite Eve, Hypnotist) has done well with Infection, taking the time to set up a perfect situation within the walls of a hospital which is on its final legs. The hospital is rundown, understaffed, overcrowded, and poorly lacking supplies. The few doctors remaining struggle to last one more night, before sending the patients elsewhere to allow for the hospital to close. When a patient dies because of a mistake by one of the doctors, they all decide to cover it up in order to keep their careers intact. Immediately following this event, a new patient arrives in the Emergency Room, one that seems to have some sort of a flesh eating virus. Soon all of the nurses and doctors begin to come down with the same symptoms as the new patient, and it looks as though none of them will survive the night.

Although slow at the beginning, Infection seemed to have a promising start. As the intensity increased, slowly allowing for the suspense to build in a way that most films don’t take time to do, it seemed as though it may be worthwhile. Unfortunately, as many horror films have done recently, everything fell to pieces near the end when the story suddenly developed an onslaught of psychological twists rather than completing the story in a simpler and more direct way. The need for horror films to try and seem smarter than the audience is not appreciated, especially since the only point of watching them is to be entertained and scared.

Despite the weak ending, there are some genuinely creepy moments within the film. The virus seems to place the victims in a state of euphoria, which is quite disturbing considering the fact that they have green blood coming from their ears. There is also a mad elderly woman who is a patient in the hospital, but never seems to want to stay in her room. As the virus spreads, the creepy moments spread as well, until the last portion of the film is filled with some rather disgusting scenes of decay and gore, although not in the traditional manner.

The DVD looks good for a film which may not get much notice beyond strong horror fans. The cover is an appropriate image of a doctor in a green tint, with blood coming from his eyes. The menu is also as creepy, showing select scenes from the film over the menu options. The scene selection menu has film clips as well. The features for the DVD include:

-16:9 Widescreen
-Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital
-Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital
-Scene Selection
-Trailers
-English and Spanish Subtitles



Ryan Izay