Indigenous (2014)

RELEASED IN 2014 and directed by Alastair Orr, "Indigenous" covers events in Panama when five college-age youths vacation there for some fun in the sun. Things go awry when they visit a beautiful waterfall in a forbidden area of the jungle. This is a professionally made monster-in-the-forest flick with a competent no-name cast highlighted by gorgeous Panamanian locations and winsome Laura Penuela in a bikini. Precious Lindsey McKeon is another highlight on the female front. My only problems are that (1.) the plot's hackneyed, particularly bringing to mind "The Last Tribe" (2009), which is marginally better in some ways. Other flicks come to mind, like "Touristas" (2007) and "The Ruins" (2008), which are superior to the other two. (2.) There's no depth in the plot: This is a monster movie focusing on partying youths getting chased in the forest by savage creatures and that's it. As such, the film's not very compelling despite the horror and thrills. On the bright side, the last act throws in an unexpected curve ball and shows that the movie wasn't micro-budget. Another positive is that this is arguably the best and most realistic chupacabra flick out there (keeping in mind that I've only seen four such movies). Speaking of which, 'chupacabra' is a Spanish word, which literally means "goat-sucker" (from chupar "to suck" and cabra "goat"). There are two varieties of this cryptozoological beast: (1.) a reptile-like creature with leathery/scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back; and (2.) a hairless form of canine with a pronounced spinal ridge and prominent eye sockets, fangs, and claws. "Indigenous" interestingly features neither of these, although the creatures come closer to the first description, I suppose. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 26 minutes was shot in Panama. WRITER: Max Roberts. GRADE: B-/C+ (5.5/10)

The one thing that instills excitement is the magnificent-looking Panamanian forest locale. The characters are thoroughly one-note and utter some of the crappiest dialogue you'll ever hear. The lead male character even passes a smug-grin (or something similar!) during a pretty dire situation.The film, directed by Alastair Orr, takes quite a bit of time before it embraces its horror conception. The first forty minutes is merely tourism advertising for the country. Not one character amongst the "group of friends" exhibit any subtlety to make them stand out, or get the viewer to empathize. All the essentials have been ticked off: a happy intimate couple, a couple that's going through a rough patch and the playboy who hooks up with a local. This group seems to have really horrible decision-making skills too. When the chupacabra begins to hunt them down, they decide to "head for higher ground", while making a run towards their vehicle would have made more sense. The lead male character ventures into the cave of the supposed monster all by himself with a flickering torchlight and catches a good view of the beast devouring human flesh before he decides to run off. While the social media angle was a welcome diversion, the final act seemed too far-fetched. The creature looked ghastly: some not-bad make-up work on the features! Camera-work is fine while capturing the rich natural essence of Panama but shaky during those scenes which are supposed to induce terror. This movie is likely to be compared with Neil Marshall's 'The Descent' for its similar looking flesh-eating monster, but sans great story- telling and claustrophobic dread. One does feel that the director could've utilized the dense forest setting to his advantage but 'Indigenous' ends up an average fare.Verdict: A B-movie with very little genre-thrills!

Greetings from Lithuania.I'm sucker for flicks like "Indigenous" (2014). I watch tons of them, and while this one doesn't contain anything fresh or original or very well made, it's still worth a look if you have nothing else to watch. First 30 min. were pretty good, but lack of any character development creates a problem later when didn't give a damn who will survive. Settings were pretty good. Monster itself looked pretty good too. And the whole social media spin later was kinda fresh.Overall, as you can see, "Indigenous" in a watchable flick, better then 4.4 rating suggests. It is maximum 6/10 (because i'm a fan of these flicks) - if you skip it, you won't loose anything, if you see it, you won't see anything special, but it is watchable.

For a low budget, Indigenous works out really well. The movie moved along at a nice pace, the characters were all very natural, and could act their parts with conviction (something usually lacking in low budget films).The plot was quite good, based around the idea of a group of young tourists a bit bored with the standard fare on offer at the beach resort. They are told of a wonderful waterfall, deep in the jungle, but are also warned about the danger lurking there... blood thirsty beasts, the Chupacabra.Yes, young folks make stupid choices all the time, nevermind how many warnings about the risks. So off this group go to find the find of their lives, an isolated and idyllic waterfall deep in the jungle.The action begins not long after reaching the waterfall & pool. When night falls, character by character are in grave danger of being picked off by the Chupacabra. These actual creatures looked really good too. Plus the blood & gore was realistic. As this type of movie goes, I'd say it's well worth a watch.