WFG RATING: B

A Meyham Films/Forever Joygirl Productions film. Written and directed by Robert Parham. Produced by Timothy Beal. Cinematography by Evertis S. Wright. Edited by Dennis Blair. 

Stars Elise Hollywood Evans, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Marlon Kenoly, Gary Lee Turner, Josh Alvin, Todd Senofonte, and Tory Scroggins. 

A group of drug dealers are in for a day they will never forget in this horror-drama from director Robert Parham.

Jamaal and Skee are two hapless guys who meet up with local drug dealer Ra’manga to make a score. However, she has a proposition for the two. If they help deliver a bag and meet the buyer at a local hotel room, she promises she will give them what they will need. Skee brings his girlfriend Tanisha for the ride but is in for a shock when he learns Ra’manga’s enforcer Omar, who also is along for the ride, is Tanisha’s ex.

Upon their arrival at the room, they anxiously await the buyer, who is sitting at a local bar until the time comes for him to pick up the loot. However, they soon learn that they are not alone. They discover two bodies that have been eaten up by roaches. When Omar discovers an empty wrapper in the bag, at first, he blames Tanisha, who is an addict who constantly ignores her daughter. However, he soon realizes that the roaches must have gotten into the drugs and they must try to escape before it’s too late. 

Ever since the success of Cocaine Bear, the new trend in indie films seems to be “drug-fueled creatures”. There have been films like Cocaine Cougar, Cocaine Shark, Crackcoon and Attack of the Meth Gator. There is even one that was recently released in Cocaine Werewolf. However, where these films fused comedy and horror, Robert Parham’s film blends some of the horror and comedy (in the vein of a fake reality show seen as a blocker) but adds a sense of emotional depth in terms of two particular characters. 

Elise Hollywood Evans pulls double duty as both one of the aforementioned emotional characters, addict Tanisha, and the comic relief as reality show host Diva. This shows the level of versatility she brings to the table. Marlon Kenoly does a great job as the other main character in Omar, who is Tanisha’s ex who despite his job as a drug runner, tends to go off on his ex for constantly neglecting her daughter in favor of her addictions. Gary Lee Turner and Josh Alvin, as Skee and Jamaal, are just two characters who find themselves in the wrong place and wrong time. 

As for Ra’manga herself, Tory Scroggins does quite well as the drag queen dealer, who seems to care less about what happens to her crew just as long as she gets her money. She is seen in a theater with two inconspicuous guys for most of the film. They are played by Hollywood veteran Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (forever known for his role as Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington on Welcome Back Kotter) and stunt veteran Todd Senofonte (who was Jean-Claude Van Damme’s double on a number of his films and even got to showcase his skills in 1996’s Fist of Legend II: Iron Bodyguards). 

Where slightly bigger budget indie flicks suffer from having shoddy CGI as well as certain A-list Hollywood films, the special effects of the roaches here seem to look actually pretty decent. If there were more scenes with the roaches, it would be better, but give them credit for what they have accomplished here. Perhaps a possible Cocaine Roach 2 could give the bugs more screen time and unleash more hell. 

Cocaine Roach is not completely bad at all. While the roaches end up being more of a backseat to the emotional drama aspect, they make the most of their screen time looking pretty decent. Elise Hollywood Evans has a level of versatility in her dual roles and that is something that isn’t seen quite often. Definitely one to check out upon release.

The film has no official release date as of yet, but Special Thanks must go out to Robert Parham and Franklin Correa for allowing me to see the film!