Mosquito State (2021)

 

Streaming Services: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Mosquito State (2021)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Royal Road Entertainment, Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Bottleship VFX, AMC Networks, Shudder, RLJ Entertainment, Blitz, Forum Film Slovakia, Kino Swiat, Nova, Vertical Entertainment
Director: Filip Jan Rymsza
Writers:  Filip Jan Rymsza, Mario Zermeno
Actors: Audrey Wasilewski, Beau Knapp, Charlotte Vega, Daisy Bishop, Dominika Kachlik, Hai Hung Dinh, Jack Kesy, Maximilian Kubiak, Olivier Martinez, Seetharaman Krishna
 
Blurb from IMDb:  August 2007. Isolated in his austere penthouse overlooking Central Park, obsessive Wall Street data analyst Richard Boca sees ominous patterns: His computer models are behaving erratically, as are the swarms of mosquitos breeding in his apartment, an infestation that attends his psychological meltdown.

 
Cat’s Point of View:
I had to take a break for a little bit after the credits rolled for Mosquito State. My skin was crawling and I still have phantom itches that have no physical – and plenty of mental – cause.
 
Here in Louisiana, it feels like mosquitos are the size of small birds. Exaggeration aside, if enough were around, it might seem like they could carry you off… or at least eat you alive. Mosquitos are the bane of my outdoor existence, and my daughter’s skin reacts so badly to the bites that she’s fairly terrified of them. That actually is one of my roadblocks to suspending disbelief here, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

 
I feel the need to tick some boxes here, before I continue. 

I don’t follow the happenings of Wall Street. Market trends are lost on me, and when people start talking with financial jargon I just start to tune out. Mosquito State was dangerously close to losing my attention in several places for this reason. I understand corporate politics and workplace drama, though, so the business side of this movie wasn’t entirely lost on me. It would seem that someone who has an interest in that sort of thing might get more out of that aspect of the film, though.
 
The setting does place Mosquito State in the timeframe of the events leading to ‘The Great Recession,’ as it’s being called. The comparison of Wall Street speculators to bloodsuckers made sense. I do feel that I should tip my hat to the subtlety there.

 
The biggest psychological impact of Mosquito State was the sheer magnitude of a mosquito swarm’s incessant noise and implications. I absolutely hate the high-pitched buzzy whine of mosquitos in flight, and this production takes full advantage of such sounds.
 
Mosquito State went slightly astray on the body horror aspect. I found it hard to look at the central character’s bite reactions and believe the scarcity of them, considering his environment.
 
Aside from the giant buzzing plot device, Mosquito State plays out as the mental deterioration of a socially awkward and neurodivergent man who develops an obsession with a woman. It’s a dry and predictable drama that drags on in slow motion. 

The pacing was a big issue. I caught myself checking the progress bar more than once and was fairly giddy when I got three interrupting phone calls during the runtime. I’m pretty positive that those brief breaks coupled with sheer stubbornness allowed me to get through the whole thing without nodding off.

 
Mosquito State was effectively creepy, horrifically disgusting, and psychologically abrasive with its insect-driven soundscape. In those areas, I’d have to say the movie was highly successful. I just wouldn’t say I had any thrills with my experience.
 
If these vampires of the insect world give you the heebie-jeebies, who knows, this might be a good unsettling sort of horror for you. You can see for yourself when Shudder premieres Mosquito State on Thursday, August 26th.

  
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 57%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – 52%
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.8/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2.5/5
 
Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R
 
Movie Trailer: