Raptor (2001)

I must say that I did expect to see a movie that was a lot worse. It's a cheap exploitation-movie OK, but it could have been a lot worse. Ir read that they used footage from the three Carnosaur-movies, but they did that rather well. Eric Roberts plays his role as a sheriff in a way you would expect in this kind of film, but does a better job than most exploitation-actors. Lorissa McComas is great as the daughter. It would have been better if she'd died a horrific death, because I'm sure she would be great at it. Melissa Braselle was OK as well. The "bad guys", however, were pretty lame.It was a big mistake to let the "evil professor" wear such a silly hat. I mean, if you're going for stereotypes, don't be afraid to pick up the bald German professor again. When people are watching a cheapo flick, it doesn't matter... we *do* want to see what we expect to see. Originality is OK, but only in the butcheries ;-) No, seriously: I enjoyed Raptor. I didn't *love* it. I don't recommend it to people. I'm just glad it wasn't a lot worse.

We all know that the world is full of dodgy, rip-off horror films. Some of these can be fun to watch, due to their stupidity, awful effects and iffy dialogue. But Raptor, which could have been in the same league as the equally pointless Carnosaur series, does not even ATTEMPT to have any enjoyment in it. Its so poorly done, it is really unbearable, even if your just watching it with the intentions of having a no-brain day at home. Where do we start? Well... the sets are pretty drab. My old drama group created more realistic stages. The genetics labs look like they are from a university, and it looks equally unbelievable on the outside (Even for cover-up, why would you place yourself near civilisation where people can easily hear the dinosaur roars), whilst the doctors ward just doesn't look believable at all. Next up in the complaints list is the creature effects; well, what can I say? Absolutely pitiful. Also, I think it's worth mentioning, the woman's tits should be mentioned as an effect. Both of the main female characters have so obviously had boob-jobs, and it brings the characters down, being one female is a respected member of police, whilst the other is the sweet, "innocent" daughter of the towns sheriff. The acting, though, is by far the worst tragedy. Eric Roberts can be excused for at least trying a bit to give his role something. Thats where it ends. Corbin Benson should have killed his costume designer for making his lacklustre performance look even more pathetic, whilst the female lead looks SO bored (Though, with this film you could let her off). The other character I'll point out is the daughter, who lets her tits do all the acting in the "raunchy" sex scene (Ten minutes of endless re-run shots of her bouncing on top of some bloke).All in all, and summed up as one. don't bother, just don't.

So I was sick with the flu one Saturday and the silver lining was that SciFi Channel was having a marathon of dinosaur movies that day - the "Carnosaur" trilogy, "Pterodactyl," "Raptor Island." Then I flicked ahead on my cable remote to see which movie SciFi placed in its glamorous, Saturday prime-time slot. Some movie I had never heard of before called "Raptor." I was pretty excited. The movie begins with some teens driving around in a jeep, when they get stalked and killed by a Velociraptor. I was like, "Hmmm, that's odd, that looks almost exactly like a scene in "Carnosaur," except it was in the middle of that movie." Then I sat through some really bad acting and then some guy was suckered into walking into an underground research laboratory where he got eaten by a ferocious T-Rex. Now I'm like, "Wait a second, that was also a scene in "Carnosaur." Then, after I saw some scenes blatantly ripped off from "Carnosaur 2", I figured out just what the hell was going on. So basically, Roger Corman & Co. ripped off scenes from the "Carnosaur" trilogy to use as the action scenes, weaved in a basic "dinosaur-runs-amok" plot, and tried to pass it off as an original movie. Shameful. I don't know who I'm more angry at, Roger Corman or SciFi Channel for trying to pass this off as worthy of the prime-time slot. The only reason why this was worth watching to its conclusion was to pick out the actors/actresses who looked like their counterparts in the "Carnosaur" trilogy and guess which scenes would be lifted next. As much as it pains me, being a dinosaur lover, I have no choice but to give this the lowest possible rating because I feel completely ripped off.

Play the Corman Drinking Game! Every time you SEE a shot lifted from another movie, TAKE a shot. I assure you, you will be thoroughly wasted by the time the credits roll.Now, I'm used to the Concorde phenomenon of splicing in scenes from their other flicks to save a buck or two. But "Raptor" takes it over the border of suspended disbelief. Actors and vehicles change between shots, almost to the point where I couldn't enjoy the movie.Almost.This flick suffers a lot at the hands of various factors, one of which is mentioned above. But it is saved, just barely, by exceptional cinematography, good acting, and two bangin' hotties.Eric Roberts plays a small town sheriff faced with a rash of bizarre mutilations. Could they be the work of a crazy cougar? An escaped felon bent on revenge? Nope! It's the Carnosaurs (They're baaaaaaack...). And it's up to Roberts and Animal Control agent Melissa Brasselle to stop the scene-chewing Corbin Bernsen and his merry band of flesh-eating critters. What you might think would be a straight-forward creature flick actually tries to infuse some plot into the proceedings, which keeps you interested between the dino slayings. Sure, it's nothing to write home about, but if you're killing time on a rainy day, you could do worse.