This was a film that I heard about from FrightFest over in the United Kingdom. It went on a list of films to check out. Now I got to see this as the first film to start day 3 at Nightmares Film Festival. I'll preface here that I'm not always the biggest comedy/horror film, but since this one had gotten positive buzz from podcasters, I was intrigued.
Synopsis: an amusement park paleontologist and a hapless security guard team up to stop an invisible raptor from wreaking havoc on their small town.
We start in a laboratory. William Walsh (Sean Astin) works on an experiment with John Sykes (Bobby Gilchrist). There is a raptor that is in a cage. They're trying to gauge if it is learning through a computer game. What complicates things here is that it is invisible. It gets the question correct and meat is given as a reward. We see that this raptor is smarter than we realize. It gets free, killing William and escaping with John.
The movie then shifts over to Dino World. What is funny here is that it is inspired by Jurassic Park. This version is cheesier though. Dr. Grant Walker (Mike Capes) is giving a presentation on raptors. It is during this that we meet Elliot Kintner, his mom Debra (J. J. Nolan) as well as Amber (Caitlin McHugh). Grant has history with her and he embarrasses himself with a dance. He does this with Deniel Denielson (David Shackelford). He is the security guard, but also doubles as an actor inside of a dinosaur suit.
Grant realizes there is something wrong when they can't find Denny's dog. There is blood, but no sign of it. There is a footprint that matches one from a raptor. This takes Grant to the local police, Sheriff Grimley (Richard Riehle) and Deputy Carlyle (Dave Theune), who don't believe him. It is an outrageous idea with no proof.
Elliot is the next victim, along with a chicken stand belonging to Henrietta McCluckskey (Sandy Martin). The deaths pile up and Amber is attacked, making her believe Grant. It is a fight for survival against the perfect killing machine that we can't even see.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I'll then bring back up here how I'm not the biggest comedy/horror fan. What I'll say here is that this was a fun film to watch with a crowd. The premises are outrageous and I believe I read it was budgetary. They didn't have the money to make the raptor look good, so they went over the top and it works. This also features good writing with references and callbacks. Just wanted to give that credit here.
Now this doesn't have the deepest story, but it doesn't need it. It is riffing on Jurassic Park. Our lead character is a paleontologist and he's Dr. Grant. He made a discovery and then was screwed out of the fame and money that came with it. The guy who stole it owns the corporation that is behind this experiment. Since Steven Spielberg directed that classic, this refers to different things from his career. This has Jaws with Elliot Kintner getting attacked. How they track the dinosaur also harkens back. Another reference that doesn't associate with Spielberg is the exploding arrow, which is a callback to Rambo. Seeing different things like this sprinkled throughout made me smile.
What I was also glad to see was that this doesn't shy away from the horror. There are bloody deaths as people get torn apart. I'll pull in filmmaking here to say that I'm glad they went practical with as much of the gore as they could. There was CGI used in different places as well, but that was mostly things that I don't know if there was any other way that they could do it. I'll also say that the cinematography was good. They frame things well to bring to life that there's an invisible creature. Having dust kick up, things stuck to it or similar ways, which was impressive there as well. They also did good things with the sound design.
Now since this is an outrageous premise, I do love that there is comedy through things that are said. It can be absurd at times, as you may expect. These people are playing this straight though. That is tough so I'll credit that first. Capes feels like he's trying to be Ryan Reynolds and it oddly works here. There is sarcasm to him, but the character is awkward so fit. Martin is hilarious in her role as this small business conspiracy theorist. Shackelford is so weird and I loved it. He is doing what he thinks is normal. McHugh is gorgeous. The film knows it but she also is one of the heroes so there is that. I'll also say that Astin, Gilchrist, Larry Hankin, Riehle, Theune and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
In conclusion, this is a movie that on paper I should hate. It is absurd and at times, over the top. I'll say though that I just enjoyed my time here. It is wild in the best way possible, while also having the characters play it straight. The comedy comes from situations and characters. I thought this was well-made from the practical effects to the cinematography and framing. There is CGI but not much that could be done there without it. This won't be for everyone. Just shutting off your brain and rolling with it is fun.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
