Plaguers
Encyclopedia
Plaguers is a 2008 American science-fiction horror film written and directed by Brad Sykes
and featuring Steve Railsback
.
) is a crew member on board Pandora, a freight transport carrier headed toward Earth with a desperately needed new energy supply, a strange substance called "Thanatos". Pandoras captain, Darian Holoway (Alexis Zibolis) was recently promoted after the death of former captain Rubini (David P. Johnson). Some of the crew are suspicious of the Thanatos. Approaching Earth, the ship diverts to respond to a distress call from the spacecraft Diana. The Diana appears abandoned until the discovery of four nurses from the Dianas medical facility who claim to have survived a pirate attack. The nurses are actually the pirates and they attempt a takeover of the Pandora. During the struggles, the Thanatos container is ruptured and fluid spills onto one of the pirates. She mutates and becomes a "plaguer". One by one, the pirates and the Pandora crew become infected, as the Thanatos becomes strong enough to take control of the ship and head it straight toward Earth.
. His reference points in writing the film were Aliens
, Prince of Darkness
, and The Thing. He said he "liked how the characters didn't die, but were transformed into something alien or inhuman as the story progressed." Sykes also said that Italian film director Lamberto Bava
's Dèmoni
(also known as Demons) influenced the actions of the plaguers themselves and that he loves "the wild energy of Italian horror films and tried to bring that into the film whenever possible." He even told his cast to watch Dèmoni
for inspiration.
In its review of the film, DVD Talk
said there "are a lot of problems with Plaguers, though it does have some merit", offering that there were "occasional scattered moments of actual tension, and a few effective jump scares", and that "makeup effects are for the most part lots of fun..."
DVD Verdict said, "Plaguers is a 'so bad it's bad' film that explores the space zombie territory with little regard for common sense or science fiction", concluding that the film "doesn't qualify for camp or cult classic, it's just flat out terrible and would be embarrassing for even a public access channel to put on their schedule."
Brad Sykes
-Biography:Sykes got his first Hi-8 camera at age fifteen, and has not stopped shooting since. Growing up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Sykes made eight features on video while still in high school...
and featuring Steve Railsback
Steve Railsback
Steve Railsback is an American theatre, film and television actor, born in Dallas, Texas.-Personal life:Railsback was born Stephen Hall Railsback, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Emerett Spencer and Clyde Webb Railsback.-Career:Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in...
.
Plot
Tarver (Steve RailsbackSteve Railsback
Steve Railsback is an American theatre, film and television actor, born in Dallas, Texas.-Personal life:Railsback was born Stephen Hall Railsback, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Emerett Spencer and Clyde Webb Railsback.-Career:Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in...
) is a crew member on board Pandora, a freight transport carrier headed toward Earth with a desperately needed new energy supply, a strange substance called "Thanatos". Pandoras captain, Darian Holoway (Alexis Zibolis) was recently promoted after the death of former captain Rubini (David P. Johnson). Some of the crew are suspicious of the Thanatos. Approaching Earth, the ship diverts to respond to a distress call from the spacecraft Diana. The Diana appears abandoned until the discovery of four nurses from the Dianas medical facility who claim to have survived a pirate attack. The nurses are actually the pirates and they attempt a takeover of the Pandora. During the struggles, the Thanatos container is ruptured and fluid spills onto one of the pirates. She mutates and becomes a "plaguer". One by one, the pirates and the Pandora crew become infected, as the Thanatos becomes strong enough to take control of the ship and head it straight toward Earth.
Background
Writer/director Brad Sykes included certain elements that were reminiscent of AlienAlien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
. His reference points in writing the film were Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
, Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darkness is a box set of four CDs by Ozzy Osbourne released in 2005. The first two CDs are Osbourne's solo work containing various studio recordings, live tracks, b-sides, demos and outtakes, and the last two CDs are duets on disc three and cover songs on disc four...
, and The Thing. He said he "liked how the characters didn't die, but were transformed into something alien or inhuman as the story progressed." Sykes also said that Italian film director Lamberto Bava
Lamberto Bava
Lamberto Bava is an Italian film director, specializing in horror and fantasy films.Bava was born in Rome, Italy, the son of cinematographer/director Mario Bava, and grandson of cameraman Eugenio Bava...
's Dèmoni
Demoni
Dèmoni is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. The screenplay was written by Bava, Argento, Franco Ferrini, and Dardano Sacchetti, from a story by Sacchetti...
(also known as Demons) influenced the actions of the plaguers themselves and that he loves "the wild energy of Italian horror films and tried to bring that into the film whenever possible." He even told his cast to watch Dèmoni
Demoni
Dèmoni is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. The screenplay was written by Bava, Argento, Franco Ferrini, and Dardano Sacchetti, from a story by Sacchetti...
for inspiration.
Reception
Quiet Earth wrote that Plaguers is a "scifi horror film that wants to be Alien but comes off feeling like another in a long line of Alien 'homages'."In its review of the film, DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
said there "are a lot of problems with Plaguers, though it does have some merit", offering that there were "occasional scattered moments of actual tension, and a few effective jump scares", and that "makeup effects are for the most part lots of fun..."
DVD Verdict said, "Plaguers is a 'so bad it's bad' film that explores the space zombie territory with little regard for common sense or science fiction", concluding that the film "doesn't qualify for camp or cult classic, it's just flat out terrible and would be embarrassing for even a public access channel to put on their schedule."
Wins
- Four awards at ShockerFest International Film FestivalShockerFest International Film FestivalThe ShockerFest International Film Festival is a Californian film and video festival for horror, fantasy and science fiction films since 2002.- ShockerFest 2009 :...
(2008):- Larry StanleyLarry StanleyLarry Stanley was an Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Caragh and was a member of the Kildare senior inter-county team from 1916 until 1930. Stanley captained Kildare to the All-Ireland title in 1919. He is regarded as one of th greatest players of all-time...
"B-Movie" Award - Best Actor (Steve RailsbackSteve RailsbackSteve Railsback is an American theatre, film and television actor, born in Dallas, Texas.-Personal life:Railsback was born Stephen Hall Railsback, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Emerett Spencer and Clyde Webb Railsback.-Career:Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in...
) - Honorable Mention as Best Actress (Alexis Zibolis)
- Science Fiction Genre Award – Honorable Mention as Best Picture – Feature
- Larry Stanley
- Silver Unicorn for Best Screenplay at Estepona Fantasy and Horror International Film Festival, Spain (2008)
- Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film at Mid-Ohio-Con Indie Film Festival (2008)
Nominations
- Two nominations at Mail Order ZombieMail Order ZombieMail Order Zombie is an award-winning zombie movie podcast. In addition to featuring reviews of and commentary on zombie films, Mail Order Zombie, or MOZ, also features coverage of zombie and post-apocalyptic literature; interviews with writers and filmmakers; recordings from zombie media-specific...
's Dead Letter Awards (2009):- Best Special Effects
- Best One-Liner ("There's only one captain on this ship, and today it ain't you.")