Excellent and puts many horror movies to shame!

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2012)

I find that the story, even though odd, flows excellently and makes sense in it's own weird way. The set up how Seth was going to turn into a monster was a smart move, as you can completely relate to his disappointment when he thinks Veronica is going back to Stathis. If I would have a minor complaint is that they didn't really involve any doctor to take a look at Seth, but it could be explained to the fact that Seth knew it was impossible to reverse the process.
The characters are so well made, I really feel like they are real people. Seth is quirky and lovable, I think Jeff Goldblum was an excellent choice and he also acts great when Seth changes personality. The fact that Seth admits to being scared and begging Veronica to help him is very touching, nowadays you'd never expect some macho-man lead to ever show this emotion. Veronica is really sweet, but I also like that she is confident and doesn't take BS from others. I love how Stathis is a jerk and generally unlikable in the beginning of the movie, but in the end his concern and love for Veronica makes him risk his own life to save her. He could also had chosen to just back out and weasel away when things got difficult, yet he sticks around for her and supports her emotionally without trying to make advances on her. How many people nowadays can you depend on would do this much with no obvious instant reward handed to them? It's a great character development on someone who isn't even the main character of the movie.
The special effects are great for its time. Seth really looks revolting and some effects are just nasty. The baboon scene is disgusting, but horror movies are supposed to be horrifying! If I want fairy dust and happy outcomes I'll watch a Disney movie instead. And this movie truly feels like a horror movie. It doesn't end with Disney magic sprinkled all over it and ugly people aren't the only ones dying. I loathe horror movies that ends happy. This one really puts them to shame. The ending is extremely unhappy and it has me in tears each time. This is how horror movies should be. When I first watched the movie, I expected Seth to be turned back into a human and kill the "evil" Stathis. That is how it would have ended if this movie was made in 2012 with pretty actors. So imagine my surprise! And any movie that affects me so much it has me crying really deserves a gold star, because I can be really cold and laugh hysterically when I watch characters die on screen.