Beyond Loch Ness (2008)

Yet another attempt to bring back good old Loch Ness monster to the big screen. In this case, smaller… straight to video screen. The movie opens with group of lousy scientists who found an egg of plesiosaur. And few minutes later, Nessie founds them, and eats them. Along with the leading scientist, leaving only his son James. 30 years later James arrives at Lake Superior, somewhere in North America, near Canada… because he thinks that Nessie might be there. Now, let's start with the questions… How did Nessie got there? Did she really took 30 years? Isn't this supposed to be about fabled Loch Ness monster? Yeah, Brian gives us answers during the film… but those are not plausible at all. So, this is one of those low-b movies, with the revenge element. Because our leading hero James, played by Brian Krause (once a well known actor from late 80s and early 90s), a cryptozoologist, who doesn't want to examine and search for the monster, but rather to kill every last one of them. James is rather dull, boring, non- charismatic, just settled to find and kill a monster, nothing more. And he looks clichéd with his rugged looks, fedora hat and long, trench coat. Just to give you an idea that you don't mess with this guy… he hunts monsters. So, that's just about it. The movie revolves around James, a sheriff Karen Riley and her looser son Josh. None of these characters are interesting, or developed, they are just there to get us through this boring ordeal. We also have supporting cast consisted from dumb, obnoxious and naïve teenagers who are just there to have a connection with Josh. We also have late Don S. Davis as a deputy sheriff. Don was a good actor, and not worthy of these kind of movies. Nothing much to say about this… CGI is friggin' terrible, script is usual stuff about vengeance, acting performances are not convincing, editing… meh, camera work is just wrong. While subjective camera is there to show Nessie's vision, she moves under the water, but when the camera is filming… it's ABOVE. Camera operator and the crew need to get informed on how creature of this background works under and above the water. Now, one more thing. About the monster. I think it's important to say a thing, or two about the monster. It's silly. As I stated, the CGI is terrible, and at one point James's father said that Nessie is Plesiosaur. The monster doesn't even look like Plesiosaur, nor even like any of those dinosaurs of the same order. This is one of those movies that you should watch with friends to have a good laugh, or just trash it.

This story begins on the banks of Loch Ness in 1976 when a 12 year old boy sees a research team, including his father, slaughtered by the Loch Ness Monster. Fast forward N years and there are strange goings on in an isolated town (town? hamlet!) on the shores of the Great Lakes. And guess who turns up? Yup, and now he is a cryptozoologist, like his Dad, or maybe a big game hunter, because Nessie has been laying eggs all over, quite an accomplishment without a mate!The first few minutes of this film indicate a stinker, but it is surprisingly good if you ignore the impossibilities of the plot. There is quite a lot of action, no bad guys, a tiny bit of romance, and some excellent special effects. Okay, "Jurassic Park" it ain't, and these things are never going to take over the world, but there are some hair-raising moments, a twist or two, and not a few casualties on the way to the final showdown.

I have been a fan of monster movies/creature features all my life, and am frequently frustrated at the abysmal quality offered so frequently. In this case, I was NOT disappointed, and found the movie quite enjoyable. Loch Ness Terror (as it was titled on the DVD rental) is worth the watch. The actors aren't big names, and sometimes, that's not a bad thing. Brian Krause delivers an effective and convincing performance as a tough cryptozoologist on the trail of the aquatic monster, Niall Matter plays a very convincing small town guy, and the rest of the cast is equally realistic. Not one role was poorly done; all were most believable and convincing. The scenery throughout is breathtaking. The plot is well-ordered, and enjoyable. As a bonus, the characters aren't all the usual foolish clowns we so often see, that make you long for them to be victims. These seem instead like real people, mostly likable, and amazingly capable of coherent thought. Then there is the beast herself. Nessie is quite scary in appearance, and even if the effects aren't top of the line, they are convincing enough for a lower budget film. There is a little gore (though not excessive), as would be expected in a monster movie. If you enjoy creature features, you should like this one. If you want a movie with stupid characters, too much gory FX, poor humor, and overused plot elements, you might be disappointed. If you want an enjoyable monster movie, with an actual plot and realistic characters, get the popcorn and drink ready, and sit back and enjoy. Even my NOT-a-big-fan-of-monster-movies husband liked this one. All I have left to do now is look for more from these people. Well done!

I recently watched this film on the Sci/Fi Channel and it was quite bad. The thing that got me were the plesiosaurs themselves. For one, actual plesiosaurs did not have the feet depicted as the creatures in the film, they had flippers. And even though they likely came up on land, they were probably sluggish at best, like seals and sea lions. Also, the size of the head is 100% make-believe as the heads of all real plesiosaur fossils reveal a small head, yet adequate for catching fish. I understand it is a Sci/Fi Horror Film, but one has to apply some real scientific knowledge to really make the film work. And in the case of this movie, the producers failed to apply any.