CICADA! (2018) Movie Review

​Grab your six-pack and prepare for a wonderfully silly and self-aware ride with CICADA! (2018), the micro-budget creature feature that fully embraces its cheesy B-movie spirit. Written and directed by David Willis, you can now download and stream this unapologetically zany film on HdHubFlix!

​The premise is straightforward and delightfully absurd: a sudden environmental disaster leads to an infestation of giant, mutated, and extremely bloodthirsty cicadas. These colossal bugs quickly swarm Los Angeles, chomping their way through the populace in a series of intentionally low-rent, yet entertainingly gory, scenes featuring pathetic CGI and slapstick comedy.

​The only thing standing between the giant insects and the total destruction of humanity is a ragtag group of misfits holed up in a local bar. The group is led by Johnny (Jeffrey Ryan Kent), a talented but disgraced former baseball player with a bad attitude and a drinking problem. His allies include his long-suffering stripper girlfriend, Cindy (Cassandra Hein), and a crew of other colorful bar patrons who are certainly not prepared for an insect apocalypse. As the heads of victims explode into bloody pulp and the giant rubber monsters swing on wires (visible in the end credits!), the group must overcome their petty squabbles, poor life choices, and their own general ineptitude to devise a plan to defeat the swarm. This movie is a perfect example of a film that knows exactly how bad its effects are and uses that low-budget charm to its absolute advantage, creating a true guilty pleasure for fans of the genre.