''Skeeter'' is a 1993

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

starring

Jim Youngs Jim Youngs (born October 13, 1956) is an American actor. Early life Youngs was born in Old Bethpage, New York, the brother of actor John Savage and journalist Robin Young. Career He appeared in such films as '' The Wanderers'', ''Footloose'' ...

and

Tracy Griffith Tracy Lee Griffith (born October 19, 1965) is an American actress, sushi chef and painter. Early life Griffith was raised in Bedford, New York, the daughter of actor/producer Peter Griffith and his second wife, model/actress Nanita Greene. Her ...

and directed by Clark Brandon. The film was released in 1993, with the first video premiere being on April 6, 1994. It was panned by critics. The film was released on DVD as a stand-alone in the United States by Image Entertainment. It was also released in 2007 on DVD as the first film in the triple feature with the 1982 low-budget British science-fiction horror movie ''

Xtro ''Xtro'' is a 1983 British science fiction horror film directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. Starring Bernice Stegers, Philip Sayer, and Simon Nash, the film focuses on a father who was abducted by aliens and returns to his family three years late ...

'' and its 1990 sequel '' Xtro II: The Second Encounter''.

Plot

Drake is a corrupt and greedy developer who is illegally dumping

toxic waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...

into the mines around the small town of Clear Sky, causing

mosquitoes Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...

mutate In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitos ...

into giant beasts that attack and kill anything, including humans. A lawman of the town sheriff, Roy Boone, and his reunited love Sarah Crosby, must put a stop to both the pollution and the bugs. The body counts keep rising, which causes the locals to feel that they have to move out of the city. Crosby and environmental inspector Gordon Perry try to find the origin of the waste, but certain people try to prevent them for doing so due to Drake's evil deeds, which involves some hitmen.

Cast

as Roy Boone *

as Sarah Crosby * Charles Napier as Ernie Buckle *

Jay Robinson Jay Robinson (April 14, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American actor specializing in character roles. He achieved his greatest fame playing Emperor Caligula in the film ''The Robe'' (1953) and its sequel ''Demetrius and the Gladiators'' ...

as Drake *

William Sanderson William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is an American retired actor. He played J. F. Sebastian in the feature film ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and had regular roles on several television series such as Larry on ''Newhart'' (1982–1990), E. B. ...

as Gordon Perry *

Michael J. Pollard Michael J. Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939 – November 20, 2019) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as C.W. Moss in the film ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nomi ...

as Hopper *

Eloy Casados Eloy Phil Casados (September 28, 1949 - April 19, 2016) was an American film, television and voice actor. He appeared in more than 20 films and 30 television series. He was best known for playing Ishi in the 1978 NBC television movie '' Ishi: ...

as Hank Tucker *

John Putch John Putch (born July 27, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his recurring role as Bob Morton on the 1970s sitcom '' One Day at a Time'' and as Sean Brody in the film ''Jaws 3-D''. Life and career Putch was born in C ...

as Hamilton * Saxon Trainor as Dr. Jill Wyle *

Stacy Edwards Stacy Edwards (born March 4, 1965) is an American actress. She appeared in a number of B movies before her breakthrough role in the 1997 black comedy film ''In the Company of Men'', for which she received Independent Spirit Award for Best Female ...

as Mary Ann * John F. Goff as Clay Crosby *

George 'Buck' Flower George Albert "Buck" Flower (October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004) was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower ...

as Filo * Eric Lawson as Frank O'Connell * Lindsay Fisher as Chrissy O'Connell * Barbara Baldavin as Dorothy O'Connell * Larry Stevens as Trevor O'Connell * Michael D'Agosta as Bo * Joe McCutcheon as Wil * Jane Abbott as Esther * Robert Snively as Luther *

Mia St. John Mia Rosales St. John (born June 24, 1967) is an American professional women's boxing, boxer and former World Boxing Council (WBC) champion in the super welterweight division. She is also the IBA and IFBA lightweight champion. She is also a model, ...

as Charlie *

John Ingle John Houston Ingle (May 7, 1928 – September 16, 2012) was an American actor best known for his roles as scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine in the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and Mr. Threehorn, the father of the main character ...

as The Preacher

Reception

''Skeeter'' was largely panned by critics. AllMovie gave the film two and a half stars out of five and wrote "Part of the same "third wave" of eco-kill horror films which spawned the superior ''Ticks'', '' Aberration'', and ''Spiders'', this giant mosquito film is similarly hamstrung by too much plot about environmental crime and not enough scares." The site summed up the film saying, "The concept of giant blood-sucking insects certainly has the potential to give viewers the screaming meemies, but time and again the potential is undercut by pious environmental speeches and pointless subplots more suitable to a frontier Western than a horror film. The best films in the eco-kill subgenre use nature's revenge as subtext, but Brandon pushes it full-tilt into the foreground and the result is a real bore." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' reviewed the film in March 1994 as part of the "Marquee Values" section, created as a guide to the lesser-known rental-priced films of the time, saying, "While taking baby steps toward humor, this mightily confused fright flick should have gone for '' Tremors''-like laughs and upped its special effects budget. (It might also have taken an interest in its obligatory evil land-developer subplot and dropped the romantic subplot that stops the movie dead. It should draw out the SF mavens, who probably will remain indifferent to the film's periodic skeeter-cam shots." Both

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinem ...

and Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium gave the film two out of five stars; Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com gave the film three out of five stars. ''TV Guide'' (Triangle Publications) gave the film one out of five stars.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0108154 1993 films 1993 horror films 1990s monster movies American monster movies 1990s English-language films 1990s American films