Mosquito State

A man with some already pronounced social anxieties and mental health issues starts going downhill as the predictive models he uses at his investment job stop behaving like he expects. As that happens, he suddenly gets inspired by mosquitoes to rework his model, but also embraces farming mosquitoes in his luxury penthouse, becoming a human host. Mosquito State really tries to do something analogous with the body horror angle and commentary on capitalism and greed. The problem is, nothing is fully realized here. Everything done feels like a first draft or a sketch. Capitalists are like parasitic bugs feeding off people … get it? Only he’s letting them feed off him but he wants to feed off the market. And then there’s this girl he likes, and a rivalry with a coworker, and what his mental issues are that bring on willingly becoming a human mosquito habitat and … it’s just too much. Too many ideas, and none of them fleshed out more than a back-of-the-napkin sketch. And to top it off, the main character isn’t really enjoyable to watch. I don’t mean in a “I don’t like him” way; you don’t need to like the protagonist. American Psycho proves that. This guy is just … abrasive. Unpleasant. As nervous and twitchy as he is in the movie, that’s the impression he leaves. It’s all rather unsettling. The end result is a movie that, while well done visually, feels more like a proof of concept than a finished product. Body horror enthusiasts may get a kick out of it, but your average viewer will find it meandering.