It’s the Reagan era, and the war on drugs is on. Enter America’s latest weapon. Scientific name: Stachybotrys Morte – Stachy Mort for short – a microscopic mold developed for the military to uncompromisingly destroy plant life – i.e. coca and opium fields. One day while the labs are being visited by congressional leaders and military brass, the mold escapes containment, and the facility goes into a hardcore lockdown. It’s not long before they all find out how aggressively it also destroys living flesh! Let the moldy putrefaction begin!

MOLD! is the micro-budget, debut effort from independent filmmaker Neil Meschino, whom many along its modest festival circuit have pointed at as an effigy of an early Frank Henenlotter – another New York area filmmaker who debuted a similar tasting, wry black comedy some 30 years ago, called BASKET CASE. How does a newbie on the scene with a 50K cap earn such a high profile reference? Through months (that have summed up to a couple of years) of fine tuning what could have been an average effort, into a slapstick ensemble circa sci-fi havoc that overcomes its shortcomings and actually works.

Back in 2008 I was invited by superior practical special effects artist Jeremy Selenfriend of Monster in My Closet FX to check out a set he was working on in Ronkonkoma, Long Island New York. I arrived to find a small but determined and focused crew working within a small rental, covering the walls with mold, blood, and rubber intestine – making the most of a couple of rooms and a hallway. Walking the halls was a sergeant covered in caked blood, a trio of containment soldiers with gasmasks and rifles, and an odd man who introduced himself to me as the Colonel (after blowing a plume of cigar smoke into my face). That man was actor Edward X Young (SEA OF DUST), who dominated the scene between shots, injecting a genuine air of comedy into the place, and obviously never stepping out of character.

After taking some shots and speaking with the crew, I head home with mold on my shirt and a positive feel for what was brewing. Two years later it had been accepted to the nearby Buffalo Film Festival. Low and behold, we have a modest little micro cult possibility here – red with blood, as green as it is with mold.

These days it seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry have their hands on a camera – the low budget scene being overloaded with amateur efforts – most of which glare with imperfections in script, lighting, sound, special effects and pacing. Although slightly sophomoric and still showing faint shades of amateurism, MOLD! overcomes all of this, but not without the hard work and passion it takes to make a project stand out. I laughed out loud during the screening (and I’m generally turned off by the horror or sci-fi / comedy fare) and was eyeball massaged with plenty of color – from the green dry rot of Stachy Mort, to the red and orange liquefying heads and exploded innards hanging from the ceiling. Cinematographer Robert Fattorini should be given a pat on the back for his effective ocular delivery of the carnage – which also kicked this up a notch.

Down the line, after the deadly mold escapes containment, it’s a fight for survival with an ensemble of well casted actors and actresses, and special effects. Edward X Young as the hard-nosed war veteran Colonel – Neil Meschino himself as Dr. Gary – sweaty Rick Haymes as Dr. Kane – Ardis Campbell as the femme scientist – Jim Murphy as the Congressman Stu Blankenship – almost all newcomers, they look natural in the roles the play, and each of them, including the rest of the cast, carry this underground effort with believable acting and a well balanced script (written by, yes, you guessed it) Neil Meschino, and writing partner Dave Fogerson. The dark comedy delivered here, works. It doesn’t overpower the material. For instance, when The Colonel is looking to leave the room without the Congressman’s assistant Rhodes (played by Nicholas Russo), casually comes forth the line, “Where we’re going we don’t need Rhodes,” and you just can’t hold back the smirk.

Final analysis: If you like your underground sci-fi/horror flicks gooey and gross, not altogether serious with a black comedy feel that actually makes you laugh, and rivals the cult classics of its time like BASKET CASE did thirty years ago, then Neil Meschino’s slimy eighties throwback is disease you want to catch. Nitpickers can drop this down a skull, but it’s overall delivery is something that ends up one of the best micro budget sci-fi horror flicks that I can remember. Although amateur and sometimes long-winded for a few frames, it’s colorful in every aspect, and the majority of MOLD! will grow on you when you come in contact. Current test subjects can expose themselves to this experiment at the upcoming Nevermore Film Festival February 18-20th, at the Carolina Theater in Durham, North Carolina.