Marvin(Karl Geary)is one of the last remaining persons to have contacted an illness called Strickler's which derived from "diseased" roaches. He is pretty much confined to his room where he keeps a camera pointed constantly across the street at his neighbors' open windows gazing into their lives since his has been put on hold. His condition is so bad, if a woman, such as his later love-interest, a dentist's assistant, Carmen(Rebecca Mader)comes near him with perfume he requires oxygen or he'll go into an asthmatic fit. Even if he smells the afterlife of smoke, like from Carmen who had just finished a cigarette prior to entering his room, the shock kicks in with him darting for his oxygen tank. Occasionally, he journeys out of his room, but not without his tank and only for minutes not wishing to risk his health. His sister, Rosy(Alexis Dziena)is an addict who notices her brother's interest in Carmen. Rosy likes to poke fun at Marvin's hobby and often struggles with the need to get high..she is always on edge and squirrelly. His mother Simone(Amanda Plummer)has a new love in her life, a beat cop Gary Dumars(John Kapelos)who pretends, at first, of being a detective. He's called in when Marvin and Rosy believe they saw a drug dealer, Des(Keith Robinson)killed by the "garbageman", a dark, conspicuous character with bags on his feet whose face they have a hard time seeing. Also, Marvin keeps tabs on a father and son, whose relationship descends as the other son of the family(seen at the beginning killed by the cockroach killer)remains missing. Soon, the person they believed was the garbageman(Lance Henriksen) committing the murder of Des, shows his face when he finds Rosy and Carmen in his apartment(they decide to see what's up with him while also searching for possible evidence regarding Des' death). This man has something padlocked in his freezer..and it could be something relative to the cockroach creatures which show up to kill various victims on the streets at the wrong time, including Dumars out searching for anyone suspicious.
As many have already mentioned, the film uses the idea from Hitchcock's "Rear Window" that a helpless peeper has to watch helplessly as others he loves walk into possible peril. He often struggles for air when simply moving some in his room, so his assisting those in need of help when facing giant bugs with claws that stab the torso repeatedly and have wings which flap incessantly is rather limited. The film plays with what Marvin sees and, especially, what he doesn't. JT Petty adopts a little trick with the camera to let we, the viewers(who are essentially peepers ourselves if you think about it)see other poor apartment dwellers being killed by the giant winged cockroaches through the lens while Marvin is away from it. We see the things responsible for the slayings, but such as Marvin, the viewers can not help anyone either...so, we, in a sense, are helpless on-lookers to peril. I like this idea and think it's the most positive aspect to the flick. But, in all honesty, there's not much story here, other than the poor soul with Strickler's trying to find a way to help his loved ones who seem unable to escape the horror that awaits them. Sadly, I found Henriksen's character a little murky..his motives were open to a point, but I wanted more about him. The killer bugs themselves are only revealed at the end when they attack certain individuals..these attacks deliver the goods in how they speedily thrust the victims before they even have a chance to scream. In the film, Henriksen tells us that the things which lie in his freezer are breeding underground, so I'm guessing there are more sequels to explore a possible outbreak. This flick surrounds a few characters near an apartment complex staying away from what's been occurring to civilization as a whole.
As many have already mentioned, the film uses the idea from Hitchcock's "Rear Window" that a helpless peeper has to watch helplessly as others he loves walk into possible peril. He often struggles for air when simply moving some in his room, so his assisting those in need of help when facing giant bugs with claws that stab the torso repeatedly and have wings which flap incessantly is rather limited. The film plays with what Marvin sees and, especially, what he doesn't. JT Petty adopts a little trick with the camera to let we, the viewers(who are essentially peepers ourselves if you think about it)see other poor apartment dwellers being killed by the giant winged cockroaches through the lens while Marvin is away from it. We see the things responsible for the slayings, but such as Marvin, the viewers can not help anyone either...so, we, in a sense, are helpless on-lookers to peril. I like this idea and think it's the most positive aspect to the flick. But, in all honesty, there's not much story here, other than the poor soul with Strickler's trying to find a way to help his loved ones who seem unable to escape the horror that awaits them. Sadly, I found Henriksen's character a little murky..his motives were open to a point, but I wanted more about him. The killer bugs themselves are only revealed at the end when they attack certain individuals..these attacks deliver the goods in how they speedily thrust the victims before they even have a chance to scream. In the film, Henriksen tells us that the things which lie in his freezer are breeding underground, so I'm guessing there are more sequels to explore a possible outbreak. This flick surrounds a few characters near an apartment complex staying away from what's been occurring to civilization as a whole.