The Curse of the Komodo

I thought 'Curse of the Komodo' was decent. Sadly, though, Jim Wynorski took what could have been a fascinating subject and turned it into a cheesy B movie.

The characters' remark that the Komodo Dragon is 'the world's most dangerous reptile' is probably accurate. It is certainly one of the more intimidating. The thought of Komodos being mutated to be larger, stronger, more aggressive or perhaps less held in check by whatever forces of nature hold them in check, is a pretty scary one. A movie in which mutated Komodos grow to be maybe 1.5 or twice their normal size would be scary and feasible enough to be acceptable for a horror movie junkie.

However, Wynorski seems to be trying to make another dinosaur movie. These gigantic Komodos look an awfully lot like raptors or T-Rex's! Do Komodos actually walk around on their hind legs? I cannot recall ever seeing a photo of one doing so. The scene that lost me was when the four crooks are sneaking up on the others and see them fighting off the Komodo from a side view. That shot was as cheesy and phony as any I recall seeing from the 1950s! Of course, those who touch the Komodo 'venom' turning into murderous zombies, is a bit over-the-line, too! That said, the movie wasn't terrible. I disagree with the attacks on the acting. The no-name cast isn't bad. I really like William Langlois as the professor---although he really reminds me more of a high school or college football coach than a scientist! He and his co-worker Dawn (Gail Harris) work well together. I couldn't keep the other 'good guys' straight in one and a half viewings.

The crooks aren't bad, either. Bad dude/bodybuilder Drake (Paul Logan) is convincing enough, although I was never really sure what I thought about him. His girl Friday, with her Meredith Baxter-Birney neon-white teeth, is a level above the average B-horror bimbo. I halfway felt myself being drawn to her as the film went on. I can't say the same for the good doctor's whiny big-boobed daughter, who really deserved to be Komodo food. I like the other two crooks, too. The booze-swilling copter pilot is well played by Ted Monte and Cam Newlin is good as Reese, the other crook.

Overall, this isn't a bad one. I certainly made sure I returned it in time, though. This isn't one that's worth paying a late fee on!

Absolutely the worst plot – OK, maybe tied with Solarbabies as the worst plot ever.

So let's get this straight. You're a genetic scientist, you get your secret governmental funding from some upstart Navy commander who pays for your project out of petty cash and that empty coffee can next to the bottled water, you create giant carnivores to feed the world, left your daughter trapped on a deserted island with afore mention beasts for a meeting that you could have used your 1920's era two way radio for, power the "electric fence" and your only defense with a Honda generator the size of a shoebox, just happen to keep extra guns and explosives in that old shack a few miles away, know how to assembly any weapon but cant hit the broad side of a barn, just happen to keep some grain alcohol on hand for those downtrodden commando helicopter pilots that stop by for brunch, and cant wait to sacrifice yourself to save the love of your life.

Right…… It all becomes so clear now. You just want yourself and everyone you know to die and get off this movie.

I just have to comment on this movie! I actually watched it with 2 of my friends and we couldn't help laugh at every single scene in it. Its a disaster as an action movie, but as a comedy this movie is an A-class one...There are just too many plot holes, you don't know where to start, and the komodo looks much like a clay lizard incorporated in the movie using stop motion animation. It just runs after the characters and they keep shooting at it (with unlimited clips in their guns by the way). When the characters are stuck in a corner, it will stand at a distance and enjoy the line of fire as bullets Pierce its scales, but if they are running away and shooting at it, it continues to run after them for some reason and the bullet holes never appear in its scales yet again for some reason and then a zombie appears at the end of the movie and you have no idea where it came from or what the hell its doing in the movie!!....Just take it from me, if you are ridiculously bored or drunk, gather some friends and watch this movie....for the laughs, and for the breasts scene!

If there are movies that end careers, this would be one of them. The only highlight of this movie consisted of the end credits - not because they were good, but because they marked the end of the movie.

The acting is bad, the characters are shallow and boring, and the monsters are laughable. The story centers around a giant komodo dragon which goes on an eating spree. If this weren't bad enough, the komodo dragon's saliva seems to turn those it touches into zombies! One of the problems is that there's only 1 komodo dragon and 2 zombies, and none of them are given much in the way of screen time. In other words, the majority of the movie is dialogue-based. This wouldn't have been a huge drawback if the dialogue hadn't been so bad. There were times I found myself tidying the room to pass the time, waiting for something interesting to happen. And when something did happen, it hardly warranted my attention.

At least the people on the island had what appeared to be unlimited ammunition and a small whiskey flask that never went empty....

Want to see Jurassic Park style special effects and Oscar caliber acting? I can recommend a lot of movies for you...but this is not one of them.

That however, is not a knock of this movie. Curse of the Komodo is a low budget romp and it serves it's purpose. It entertained me for 90 minutes, just as it was meant too.

My review. Not as good as the 'original', but still entertaining. It had it obligatory boob scene (rather pointless) and women in tight shirts, buff guys and baaad military guys. Did I mention the horrendous special effects? These FX would not have been out of place in the 60's! Bullerproof lizards, zombie creating slime, bank robbers and corrupt military officers, buff guys and buxom women, stock footage of big boats...what more could a movie want?