Chupacabra Territory

Gave it a two, because I did not watch the whole thing and maybe the chupacabra looked the part. I hate, hate movies with quirky main characters. One stupid side kick is as far as I can handle. This was a quirky nightmare. By 27 minutes, I was about to go insane. Plus, how did the chupacabra get there? Took a plane?, taking into account they have never been sighted in hillbilly areas like that one. And second, they are not ancient anything. Number one theory, escaped US military experiment going back to around 1995, when first sighted. Yes, I know the 20th century is now ancient history. Actually, the hillbilly guy was the only character I liked.

Awful acting, mediocre effects and non-sensical character reactions (one second wanting to leave, the next excited, believing in the creature then not) make for a really really terrible movie. Don't waste your time.

This is just bad. I love these movies but this one was way out there. The acting is just awful. I didn't like any of the actors. Even boobs couldn't make me like them. There were too many things that just tear this one apart. It looked like they filmed it at a dog park. The gratuitous up the skirt shots. ( who wears a short skirt camping the entire time). The blood wasn't even the right colour. I will give it points for some of the effects. I hope to see none of these people in the movie again.

Sometimes you really wish you'd get an extra hour and a half of your life back that you wasted on a film. Perhaps it was my own fault - I could have turned it off, but I didn't. I was holding out hope that something might actually happen. Spoiler - it doesn't.

Back in 1999 'The Blair Witch Project' redefined the 'found footage' genre of horror films. It was a 'mock' documentary about some teenagers who set off into the woods to chart a supernatural myth (and end up falling foul to it). That's a summary of 'The Blair Witch Project,' but it can also be applied exactly to 'Lair of the Beast.'

It's all filmed 'first person' as four youngsters try to get footage of a creature known as the 'chupacabra' who allegedly stalks and drinks goats' blood. You can effectively skip the first half. It's all set-up. I know the film is supposed to be a 'slow burn' and gradually build up the terror, but it's just boring and nothing really happens that you won't be able to pick up midway. The characters, although the actors do their best with what they're given. Are totally forgettable and you won't remember their names, let alone care about their plight.

I liked 'The Blair Witch Project' and that was hardly a rollercoaster from start to finish, so I was willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt, hoping the second half will pick up. It never did. The thing about most 'found footage' movies is that they're cheap to produce, but this one really didn't seem to have anything in the way of budget in terms of special effects, so don't get your hopes up there.

It's just shaky-cam footage of the characters which starts out normal and gradually gets harder to see what's going on as the climax starts to draw closer. If you like found footage films then you'll have seen better. Don't bother with this one. Ironically, I own 'The Blair Witch Project' on DVD. I wish I'd just put that on instead, as I haven't seen it for a while.

Found footage is a sub genre of horror that I really enjoy, but recognise it has a lot of quality issues. Chupacabra Territory was one of many weak efforts in the category. It's certainly not alone, nor the worst example, but it contributes to the bad name that found footage has created for itself.

The writing and the characters had very little focus and consistency. One minute a character would be a serious and scientifically-minded documentarian, and the next minute the same character was a crude, frat-boy-esque prankster.

Dialogue was also very patchy. Occasionally conversations would be surprisingly authentic sounding but often they were nonsensical. Character motivations were confusing and inconsistent. Why the comic relief sidekick was even on this trip was a mystery, given his aggressive and vocal disinterest in every aspect.

There was a heavy dose of repetitiveness. For a long stretch of the film, characters seemingly took turns rushing off into the forest for contrived reasons only to get spooked and rush back to their camp.

The chupacabra itself was thankfully kept at a distance from the audience which was a good choice. Less is more always works best with found footage in my opinion. But it's methods didn't really seem to match up with the legend explained at the films outset, and came across as an all-purpose, off-the-shelf monster.

It is worth bearing in mind that Chupacabra Territory was made in 2016. By no means a pioneer in the genre but it is to its credit that it is probably came just before the wave of cheap derivative found footage being routinely churned out in the 2020s.