Except for the couple of times that a nasty worm thing is graphically popping out of someone's body, Parasite is a mostly slow, kind of unexciting film that just didn't click for me. It's got a kind of interesting premise and (cheap) post-apocalyptic feel, but ultimately it doesn't have the budget, humor, or panache to make it work or ever elevate it above a crummy B-movie. And unfortunately, there isn't much of the B-movie charm you'd hope for from a 3D Charles Band film. Oh well.
Parasite is about a scientist named Paul Dean... he's been working on some sort of government project (presumably - you have to just infer a lot of stuff about the story here) involving - you guessed it - a parasite. But when he accidentally infects himself, he goes on the run with a bunch of medical equipment and a thermos with a living sample in it. I guess his bosses just want to kill him (and actually send some guy in a fancy ass car to chase him down), so he needs to find an isolated place where we can shack up, do some science, and hopefully get the parasite out of him.
He thinks he's found the right place in this small town - and mind you, this is a post-apocalyptic small town - which seems to consist entirely of a hotel, a general store/restaurant, Demi Moore's house, and a band of roving thugs. Dean sets up in the hotel, but it doesn't take long for his stuff to get stolen by the thugs, who of course don't know what's in his thermos... I mean, high-tech medical container. So it becomes a race against time. Dean is getting sicker by the hour, and needs to retrieve the thermos to have any chance of recovery. Luckily he's got Patricia Wells' help. Patricia is played by Demi Moore, in one of her first roles. Pre-Master Ninja even! And other than the fun parasite effects, her presence is the most noteworthy thing in the film. Patricia is a local girl with a heart of gold who is really nice to Dean, just because. And she grows lemons (?)
Anyways, there just isn't all that much that works in Parasite. It's got an adequately grubby feel to it, but other than that, the characters aren't that interesting and you are never given any reason to like or dislike them. Except for the band of thugs - those guys are so over the top in their bad-guy-ness that it gets obnoxious. And since you're not really invested in any of the characters, there isn't much corresponding tension. You end up pretty much rooting for the parasite, because it's cool when he pops out of people's bodies.
At least that part of it looks pretty good. Stan Winston was involved with the design/creation of the creature, and while it's probably too messy to end up on any highlight reels, it's fun nonetheless. There's no doubt that the chest-burster in Alien was a real influence here. I mean, I think that you're supposed to know that. The (effective) opening scene in Parasite basically plays on your knowledge of Alien, and features a dude strapped down to a table with something wiggling around underneath his skin.
But Parasite doesn't have the tension to even be mentioned in the same breath as Alien. The setting (abandoned and/or post-apocalyptic town) doesn't do the film any favors - you get "dusty and desolate" when you need claustrophobic and foreboding. I mean, Dean's time is closing in on him - it'd be nice if the setting followed suit. As it stands, there is really no reason for the post-apocalyptic town - just a regular town would have done fine.
One kind of fun thing (your mileage will surely vary) is that it was released in 3D. So there are some fun effects every now and then. In 2D it's nothing special, but I kind of get a kick out the occasional "comin' at ya!" gags. It's kind of funny to see how 3D comes and goes in our cinematic history, you know?
Still, there isn't much to get into in Parasite. Nasty effects aside, it's kind of a drag.
I would not recommend this film.
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