Following a series of strange accidents, the sheriff of a small-town community brushes off reports that a legendary beast has returned to the area to wreak havoc on the residents, but when the attacks start to point in the direction of the legendary creature being true he teams with the residents to stop it.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable creature feature. Among the more likable features here is the initial setup and premise to be had here with the legendary curse that prowls the area. Taking the idea of the creatures' presence as the evidence of a curse falling over the town regarding it being alive in hibernation until a blood-red moon arises bringing it out to stalk and kill victims as sacrifices only to return back into hibernation and protect the town afterward, it adds a fun old-school dynamic to the storyline involving ancestral curses and protection spells gone awry. The normal structural points here with the outcast who knows everything to stop it, the disbelieving authorities who are slow on the take until it's too late and the big confrontation at the end, this one comes off quite nicely. As well, the film also manages to get a lot of fun from the creature attacks which are rather entertaining indie-style ambushes. Focusing on the blood-red tint on the camera for the creatures' movements through the area during the stalking scenes, the fact that it comes out of nowhere and brings about either a brief sudden shock ambush where it graphically tears victims apart or engages in a short but frantic chase through the community, these are both in abundance throughout here. With the second half bringing about more attacks with the creature getting more ambitious and bold, it all leads into the final confrontation in the woods where the unconventional ending has a lot to like. Combined with the fun gore and some cheesy indie charm to the creature itself, there are some enjoyable factors here. There are some minor issues at play with the film. The main issue is the films' inability to play off the aspects of the curse as something that the viewer is already aware of. Although the characters in the film are already well-aware of its impact over town and what it details, the fact that they treat everything like it's all common knowledge before it's spelled out to the audience means their conversations go in circles rather cryptically without spelling out what's happening. Although it gets fixed eventually, this is a surprisingly distracting aspect of the film early on. The other factor here is the obvious budgetary limitations that arise which include stock footage of a different movie for no reason, limited locations, and special effects which all highlight this feature but don't drag it down that badly.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
