Bite

Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: August 2nd, 2016.
Director: Chad Archibald
Cast: Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray
Year: 2015
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The Movie:

Written and directed by Chad Archibald, 2015's Bite tells the story of Casey (Elma Begovic). She's soon to marry her fiancé Jared (Jordan Gray) but before they tie the knot, she and her friends, Jill (Annette Wozniak) and Kirsten (Denise Yuen), head off to Costa Rica for a little reprieve. Jill's got her camera rolling almost the entire time to capture the fun, and as this footage plays out we see Casey flirting with a somewhat sordid looking guy hanging out at the resort. That's not a good sign for someone about to get married, and when she loses her engagement ring shortly after, well, you kind of wonder if she's ready for commitment. At any rate, the festivities continue when the girls head out into the brush to go swimming at a watering hole of sorts. Here Casey is bitten by an insect, leaving a bit of a mark on her hip.

The girls return to their homes after the vacation, and we learn that Jared and Casey haven't moved in yet, though they have separate apartments in the same building. Jared's mother owns the place and she's a little overbearing - really, she's the reason they haven't moved in together and it's pretty clear to anyone paying attention that the woman does not like her son's choice in marriage material. As Casey start to get more and more nervous about taking the plunge, that bite mark on her hip starts getting bigger and nastier. Casey's behavior starts to change too, her libido gets stronger and she's getting more aggressive. And then she starts to change physically too…

Very clearly influenced by David Cronenberg's version of The Fly, Archibald's film has a pretty decent idea working in its favor. The concept of a human getting infected and transforming into something else isn't particularly new or original - in fact, it's been done plenty of times before - but he puts enough new ideas into play here to make the movie his own. The body horror aspect of the film again owes a big debt to Cronenberg, but in the context of the story it works. The influence is there, but this doesn't feel like a rip-off. The effects work is pretty effective. This is a really gross movie. Lots of puss and boils and nasty skin lesions to ogle and as Casey's transformation takes center stage, the movie gives the effects team ample room to strut their stuff. Lots of slime, lots of goo, lots of… yuck. The story is pretty decent though. Working Casey's 'cold feet' into the plot and letting that aspect of the story progress alongside her transformation gives you some food for thought in terms of how her character develops over the scope of the arc.

The performances are pretty decent. Jordan Grey is quite likable as the fiancé, he seems like a nice guy and you get that he cares for Casey even as her behavior shifts in strange and unexpected directions. Annette Wozniak and Denise Yuen are pretty good as Casey's friends, their supporting parts round out that case nicely. Most of the weight rests on Elma Begovic's shoulders and she handles it well. There were obviously a lot of makeup appliances used on her, especially in the last half of the movie, but underneath that she crafts a believable character and it doesn't hurt that she's quite attractive.

A couple of missteps in the story telling department are hard not to notice. Without wanting to go too far into spoiler territory let it suffice to say that there's one scene where the sex that's about to happen and doesn't happen would likely put one if not both parties off, and it doesn't. But hey, everyone's got their kinks, maybe some people are into puss. There's another scene where one of Casey's friends shows up to find out where she's been for the last few days. She comes face to face with the reality of the situation, and seems decidedly nonplussed by what she sees. There should have been some sort of surprise or shock here, but nope, it doesn't play out that way and it seems kind of illogical in hindsight. Aside from that, however, this is a fun watch. It really does go for the gross out in a big way, playing up the body horror over more traditional and conventional blood and guts.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Bite is presented in a nice looking AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer that shows off plenty of detail and features impressive color reproduction despite the fact that the movie makes use of a predominantly dark color scheme. The movie is quite nicely shot and the transfer brings that out really nicely. Texture is solid, colors are nicely reproduced and all the grit and grime in the bars and dives that much of the movie takes place in is visible. Black levels are solid and skin tones look good. The image is free of noise reduction or compression issues. Things look very good here.

The main audio option for the feature is an English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, though a 2.0 Stereo option is also provided, also in DTS-HD format. Things sound very good and when the movie calls for surround activity, you'll definitely notice it in a few key moments where the sound design really heightens the tension. Dialogue is clean, clear and succinct and some well-placed sound effects take advantage of the surround channels at various times throughout the movie. Hiss and distortion are never a problem and the audio is properly balanced throughout the movie. Subtitles are provided in English only.

The main extra on the disc is an audio commentary from writer/director/producer Chad Archibald who gives us a very thorough walk through that covers pretty much everything that you'd want to know about this one. He talks about where some of the ideas came from for the picture, the effects work, casting the film, his thoughts on the performances, and pretty much everything else you could want. This was his baby from the start so who better than he to document what went into making it!

There are also five brief but interesting behind the scenes featurettes here covering the makeup effects, what it was like on set, the locations, the film's premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival and how the director's own wedding tied into this. These run roughly five to six minutes each and contain some interesting footage and some telling cast and crew interviews. Menus and chapter selection are also included.

The Final Word:

Bite isn't perfect, it doesn't capitalize on its intriguing premise as well as you want it to but it remains a pretty engaging and luridly grotesque watch from start to finish. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray looks and sounds pretty great and the commentary and featurettes are pretty interesting. This one doesn't get everything right, but it gets a lot of things right. Fans of icky-gooey body horror will probably really dig this one.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!