My Review Of "Strange Nature"

Based on true unsolved outbreaks of wildlife mutations, fall fright-fest "Strange Nature" marks the directorial debut of fx maestro James Ojala and stars Lisa Sheridan, Stephen Tobolowsky, John Hennigan, Tiffany Shepis, and Carlos Alazraqui. 

By moving in with her estranged hermit father in the backwoods of a small town, Kim and son Brody find themselves in the middle of a horrendous phenomenon where deadly offspring mutations spread from animals to humans.

"Strange Nature" sets up an eco-horror with classic tropes,  exaggerated outcomes, and a sense environmental awareness that culminate in a nicely passed creature feature. The film is reminiscent of the classic 70's nature nightmare "The Prophecy" and a heavy dose of 80's terror "The Curse". The story is as poignant today as similar films in years past. Probably more so since it seems everyone in charge is either asleep at the wheel and lacking oversite.

Anyway James Ojala does well with his first feature.  He creates a community filled with characters that you like, or you hate. Either way you become invested. At times the story does seem to lag a little but not in the "I'm bored" sense. Just that there is a lot of story and drama unwrapped in "Strange Nature". I almost forgot it was a true horror movie until the horror happened. You get bits of the creature feature nightmare as the story builds,  but the climax to the real nightmare is stellar.

The special effects and horror elements are quality. The mutations , the atmosphere and the actual creature design all are done nicely, kudos to Ojala. Those scenes where we see the effects, are realistic,  graphic moment of awesomeness. The settings and music score are somewhat basic but work well with everything else happening.

Overall "Strange Nature" is a great creature feature drama. For full throttle action horror fans, this film will fall short. But it is worth watching. The story is full bodied, with classicly cool characters. The message is timeless and plays a bit as an homage to eco-horrors from the 70's. Plus the overall watch is entertaining. (4/5)