Don't let the fact that this film was produced for the Sci-Fi Channel keep you from giving Organizm (also known as Living Hell) a try, because it's a pretty darn good movie. While it is somewhat derivative of some films that have come before, it sort of hearkens back to the good old monster movies of the 1950s -- only now, the scientist trying to figure out how to save the world from the horrors of the colossal beast is a woman rather than a man.

Back in 1959, 10-year-old Frank Sears' kooky mother conveyed a very important message to her son, going so far as to carve that message into the palms of his hands in what would be the final moments of her life. Some 33 years later, Frank, now a biology teacher in New Jersey, drives all the way to Fort Lambert in an effort to convey that message to those in charge. Having learned that the fort was being torn down, he feels duty-bound to warn them not to disturb whatever is hidden in a secret area of the camp. Naturally, the military folks check the area out, gain access to the secret vault and seriously disturb the thing they discover there. Before you can say Jack Sprat, this Organizm wakes up and starts spreading -- very quickly. It has octopus-like appendages that spread everywhere like wildfire, destroying anything -- and anyone -- it comes in contact with.

The military evacuates to a local town and sets up a command center. None of their weapons are of any use against the rapidly growing creature, but those in the chain of command pursue a contain-and-destroy strategy against it. Meanwhile, Specialist Carrie Freeborn (Erica Leerhsen), whose job it is to dispose of hazardous materials, defies orders and teams up with Frank, convinced he is somehow the key to understanding and thereby stopping the monster.

Admittedly Organizm doesn't deviate far from the standard science vs. man-made monster modus operandi -- but that's OK. It gives the film a sort of old-school feel about it. Of course, there's nothing old school about the special effects, which feature a great deal of CGI animation. Without a big budget, the filmmakers couldn't afford to make every scene ultra-realistic, but I think Organizm's special effects work quit well for the most part.

Erica Leerhsen is building a pretty decent horror resume for herself (some may remember her from Wrong Turn 2), and I think she turned in an excellent performance in this film. Johnathon Schaech acquits himself quite nicely, as well, but he could never have carried this film on his own. I read somewhere that the film was shot in a mere 20 days (at a budget of $4.5 million); if that's true, then I'm even more impressed with what I saw here. The cast and crew really came together as a team and turned out a film they can be proud of (in my opinion, anyway).

Organizm could easily have turned into a total cheesefest, but the strong cast and action-packed storyline never let that happen. I don't care how outlandish a film is, as long as I find it entertaining -- and this one took me for a pretty entertaining ride.