Black Vein

Massimo Donnelly, father and ex-con, and his best friends Jack Acorn, Connor "Twitty" Conway, and Carlo Morales plan to steal some rock samples from Mars, potentially worth millions to black market collectors, housed and under study at the National History Museum. But what was supposed to be a straightforward heist quickly becomes an otherworldy horror. Unbeknownst to the guys, the samples carry with them, an alpha-class, prehistoric lifeform, tiny oil-black "worms", who's sole purpose is to spread, take-over and prosper. A "hive-mind" lifeform, bent on conquering a new planet by contaminating it and moving on to the next planet. Massimo also has a sick and dying child, Thomas, to worry about, as well as somehow continuing to work with his ex at the museum, Dr. Claudia Ridley, after an extremely acrimonious break-up no less. After a narrow escape from the police the guys meet at an abandoned warehouse to split the goods. Unseen by the guys though, Jack becomes infected when opening the case with the samples in it. They make plans to lay low for a few days then meet to plan the next step. Their many calls to Jack go unanswered, so they decide to visit Jack at his grandparents farmhouse, where he lives. They are worried that Jack may have taken off with the samples so he can pocket all the loot himself. They arrive to a pitch-dark household, seemingly abandoned. Upon entering and finding no one on the ground floor, they discover to their shock, a "mound" of skin, coloured black, in the kitchen sink, but somehow moving of it's own accord. Through brief flashes of moonlight, they also notice the floors and walls are covered in a black, slimy, "goo". They decide to check upstairs, where they find the hollowed out husks of Jack's grandparents bodies, being fed on by millions of tiny black "worms". They also find Jack, now fully "hosted" by the worms. His eyes are jet-black except for the pupils and iris, which are bone-white. He speaks to Massimo and Connor slowly, as if learning the language as he goes. During that conversation, Jack kills Carlo by impaling him with his now-transformed arm. Massimo and Connor haul ass out of the house, followed closely behind by "Jack" and "Carlo", now resembling a cross between a rabid hound, and the character "Slender-man", from the urban legend. Their arms and legs seem contorted, twisted. But they chase the boys in their truck as they try to get to the main road. The boys narrowly escape and decided to speak to the only scientist they know, Massimo's ex, Dr. Claudia Ridley. Dr.Ridley explains to them the idea of "Panspermia", the scientific theory that life on Earth was "jump-started" by the arrival of microscopic life forms brought here on the backs of meteors. She explains they are referred to as "Extremeophiles", lifeforms, like Tartigrades for example, that are able to adapt to any environment. The boys decide to head back to the farmhouse, with the flimsiest of plans. Massimo believe/hopes that these creatures can only adapt to one environment at a time, and that's how they'll beat them. Armed with guns, a flamethrower, and cylinders of dry-ice they had back and are just as soon "greeted" by Jack's "dead" grandparents. They look exactly as Jack and Carlo did, limbs contorted, black eyes with white pupils. They manage to kill them after a great struggle, and head for the barn, following a mysterious whistling noise. They arrive in the barn to find Jack, fully transformed. But to their surprise and horror, they also find Dr.Ridley, who confesses to being the first one "hosted", effectively making her the "Hive-Queen". They are now surrounded, Jack and Dr.Ridely in front of them, Carlo, also fully hosted, behind them. Connor narrowly escapes the barn, but only thanks to the help of Massimo, who sacrifices his life. He asks Connor to swear to check on and take care of his dying son. Connor escapes and jumps in his truck and heads for the city, both to check on Massimo's son and to gather some people to fight the contagion. The film ends with a walk through of the hospital, where we find Thomas asleep. Next to him, we find a teddy bear, a gift from his dad previously given. Thomas then turns over in his sleep, showing the telltale signs of tiny black "veins" spreading across his forehead. The film's big reveal comes though, when it is explained by Dr.Ridely in the barn, that Massimo had not only been "hosted" already by the doctor, but that he has also been spreading the contagion, by infecting different airports, hospitals, etc, while under command by the Hive-Queen. Actions that he had absolutely no recollection of until that moment. The story transforms from a seeming "heist" film to a horror film quickly. a purposeful "misdirect" for the audience, and it also uses "flashbacks" to play with the ideas of "time" and "perception".