Aberration (film)


Aberration is a 1997 horror film directed by Tim Boxell. It was set in the United States and shot in New Zealand, and stars Pamela Gidley as a woman who moves to her old childhood cabin in the woods, only to discover that it is overrun by a pack of murderous lizards.

Plot

An oddball animal biologist local field researcher named Marshall Clarke is investigating the disappearance of local wildlife, and finds slimy residue on a fence post. Meanwhile, a woman named Amy Harding moves into her old cabin in the woods of Langdon, where she spent her family holidays as a child, along with her cat, Frankie, and two goldfishes. In the morning, Amy cleans, and fixes up her cabin. She goes to eat some cake, and discovers that something has been in it. Outside, she meets Mr. Peterson, looking for his dog Florence, which was killed by an unseen creature, he tells her to get out of Langdon.
She goes to the general store owned by Mrs. Miller, Amy asks her for some mouse traps, but she says that they are out of stock. She buys some groceries, and insect spray. Back at the cabin, she discovers that Frankie's bowl is empty, and she gives him canned food. As she takes a bath, the lights goes out and she goes to her shed to check the generator. While there, slimy residue falls into her hair and she goes to wash it out. She tells Frankie to guard the cabin, as she goes to the general store again. She buys all the mouse traps for $22.00, and a poison sprayer that Mrs. Miller loans to her. She meets Marshall, who drives her to her cabin when her car breaks down. As they get back to the cabin, they search the kitchen and something bites Amy's hand. Marshall discovers the remains of Amy's cat Frankie on the bathroom floor during the search. He discovers foot prints on the fish tank, and he shows Amy that he caught one of the creatures what appears to be a lizard. As Marshall and Amy talk, she sees a lizard crawling around. Marshall tries to catch it but Amy sprays it with the poison sprayer, and kills it. Marshall says the creature is a mutant gecko that can spit blinding venom to paralyze its prey. He and Amy go outside, where it has begun snowing and drive away but crash.
Amy tells Marshall that Mr. Peterson lives down the road. When they arrive at Mr. Peterson's cabin, they find his dead body being eaten by the lizards. Amy lights some matches, throws them into an oven, and blows the cabin up. Amy and Marshall see Mr. Peterson's truck blow up as well. They make it back to the cabin, and a rest on the couch in the living room. Marshall looks into his backpack, and discovers that the lizard has escaped. Amy goes to fetch her rifle from her bedroom and hands it to Marshall. Suddenly, a tree branch breaks through the window and Marshall shoots it multiple times. Amy hammers a table onto the window to prevent the cold from getting in. She smells something burning and finds a lizard underneath the heater. Marshall picks it up, and takes into the kitchen to examine it. He discovers that the creature has been eating the local wildlife and was pregnant. They start looking for the eggs, and Marshall accidentally breaks the handle on the poison sprayer. Amy fetches a water gun from her bedroom and attaches the sprayer's hose to it. They go into the bedroom and discover tracks under the bed. A lizard leaps out of the closet with Marshall chasing it into the living room, firing multiple rounds at it. Amy grabs the gun from him and wait for the lizard to come out from underneath the couch, shooting it in the head. They go to bedroom again and find an egg. Amy throws it on the floor and stomps on it. Marshall says that there are two lizards left. They wait in the living room, where they notice the lizards are up in the attic. Marshall uses a ladder and water hose to lure the lizards out. Amy hears the lizards moving in the walls. Marshall grabs the gun and puts three holes in the wall with the butt of the gun. He uses the water hose to flush them out, causing a lizard to break out and Amy fires three rounds at it to no effect. The lizard charges at them, leaping onto Marshall, causing him to fall to the floor, with the lizard biting and scratching him. Amy grabs the water hose and blasts it off him. Marshall grabs a chair and the lizard spits venom in his eyes, but he manages to crush it multiple times. Amy takes Marshall into the kitchen and bandages his wounds, putting gauze over his eyes. She uses a piece of chicken as bait for the last lizard with a piece of string tied to it. The lizard takes the chicken, but the string breaks. Amy runs out of the closet, grabs it, and throws it into the fish tank where it eats the fishes. Its tail starts to attack her and she stomps on it. When the lizard starts to grow gills, Amy throws a lamp into the tank and electrocutes it. She goes up into the attic and, finding more eggs, smashes them with a hammer. Amy and Marshall, believing they've won, fall asleep.
In the morning, Marshall wakes up to music coming from a car and meets Amy's ex-boyfriend Uri Romanov outside. Uri grabs Marshall by the nose and orders him to leave. Marshall tries to stop him, but Uri leaves him unconscious on the ground. When Amy wakes up, she sees lizards hatching inside the closet and crushes them with a shoe. When she runs out of the bedroom, she finds Uri and grabs a kitchen knife, attempting to kill him. Uri grabs her, and forces her down on the kitchen counter, asking where is his money. Suddenly Marshall shows up with the rifle in his hands. Uri pulls out a pistol and tells him Amy's real name is Alex Langdon. Amy tells Uri that the money is in the bedroom closet, but when he goes into bedroom, he discovers that she tricked him. He forces them to the bed, and prevents them from leaving. Suddenly, lizards attack but Uri kills them with his guns. He again asks Amy where is the money; she replies that it is in the attic. Marshall goes up to fetch the money belt and throws it down to the floor. Uri picks it up, complaining it as wet and a bit light. Amy sprays him in the face with insect spray. They shove him into the fireplace and eggs fall on his head. A lizard breaks out of his mouth, and Amy shoots him in the face repeatedly. She gives Marshall the pistol for protection while he goes to pour gasoline in the bedroom and kitchen, where more lizards appear. When Amy looks in the money belt, a lizard pops out and she screams. Marshall throws the gas can into the oven and, on the third shot hits the can. His clothes catch on fire; Amy extinguishes his flaming clothes but the money also burns. They both escape in Uri's car as the cabin burns. The car starts to breaks down and Marshall goes to look under the hood, where he finds eggs hatching in it. Suddenly, lizards start pop out of various places inside the car, attacking Amy. Marshall tells her to unlock the door after she accidentally locked it in her panic. He takes the cigar she had lit while he was looking under the hood and throws it into the gas tank, blowing up the car while simultaneously killing the lizards.
Marshall carries an unconscious Amy through the snow to the general store and meet up with Mrs. Miller. While trying to warm Amy with electric blankets, he finds a lizards' tail sticking out of her leg. He grabs a pair of scissors, and uses matches to heat them up. He sticks the scissors into her leg, creating a larger opening. He tells Mrs. Miller to put out the scissors and as she does so, Marshall pulls the lizard out of Amy's leg causing Amy to scream. He looks around the store with a shovel and accidentally knocks out the lights. Mrs. Miller goes to fetch a flashlight and is killed by the lizard. Marshall, upset about Mrs. Miller's death, puts on sunglasses and sets fire to a lighter fluid-soaked push broom. As he goes looking for the lizard, it again spits venom at him but instead hits the glasses and he takes them off. The lizard tries to jump on him but instead lands on the broom and Marshall pushes it into a corner. He pours more lighter fluid on the lizard as it burns. As he is walking away, the lizard spits more venom and puts the fire out. The lizard starts to come after him again, when he finds a flare gun. Before he can finish loading it, the lizard sends him to the floor, scratching and biting him. Suddenly, Amy shows up and grabs the flare gun, shooting the lizard in the mouth. Sent flying, the lizard hits the wall and explodes. Amy and Marshall collapse on the floor and kiss.

Cast

Reception

The film has received a mixed critical reception. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it has received one positive and two negative reviews. Jessica Mellor at the News of the World has said the film is "absolutely excellent entertainment...a startling and scary cheeky treat". Video World has said that the film is "a rampaging, monster-packed, jugular-piercing fear flick". Impact has said that the film has "laughs, loves & lizards from hell...what more could you ask for?!". Samhain has said "size doesn't matter...these lizards are lethal", and Starburst has said there is "gore galore in this intriguing creature-feature". Efilmcritic.com has said that "for ninety three minutes, this is one long dull boring film".

Home Video

The film has been released on VHS and DVD format. However, the film is almost impossible to find. It made its release in the United States on VHS on March 30, 1999, by Artisan Entertainment. It was also made available in the UK on August 3, 1998 via Marquee Pictures. The film has never been made available in the United States or UK on DVD.
The DVD has been released in other countries such as Japan on December 22, 2000, by Adoba Pictures, with both English and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo tracks and an aspect ratio of. The DVD is also available in France, and Norway, in which the Norwegian DVD has the original English language, but the Norwegian subtitles are not removable. The DVD also made its release in Germany on May 15, 2012, titled as "Echsenjagd", with both English and German Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo tracks.