DOA Review Case #0100
For those unfamiliar with my DOA reviews, in which I first wrote at The Horror Syndicate, I autopsy very, very bad horror or those with poor ratings to see if that contains the right justification, but done with detail. Hence, this review slated as #100, thereby a new series starts on this site, because there’s far too many laying scattered in the unmarked graves for just one site to handle.
Director and writer Steve Lawson, who brought you Nocturnal Activity (2014) and Survival Instinct (2016) sandwich this cheap dino doo-doo movie, Killersaurus between them. Let’s try to understand the dinosaur world in horror, first noting the high-budget of the Jurassic Park franchise and then b-movie trilogy creation of Carnosaur (1993), but it also includes the granddaddy of them all, Godzilla (1954). However, the genre of dinosaurs and horror, likely started with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), which continued through the fifties and into the sixties with The Giant Behemoth (1959) and Reptilicus (1961). It is obvious the subgenre of dino-terror still reigns well with the fans of these, especially with Jurassic Prey (2015) recently released by the same company, which distributed by you guess it Wild Eye Releasing. The film delivers the best it can for the meager budget yet it still suffers quite a bit.
AUTOPSY OF THE FILM
Lawson reteams with actress Helen Crevel (Survival Instinct) as Kayleigh Ma, a scientist working at a seedy corporation doing some unorthodox procedures in bio-printing, think of a 3D printer of plastic models and transfer it to DNA, or in other words the Darkman basis of skin regeneration. It starts with a fine prologue (again understanding the basis and limitations stretched to their max) and Vicki Glover, who the year prior to this movie starred in Bikini Girls v Dinosaurs (2014) stars as Amy a friend of Kayleigh, but doesn’t stick around for much of the film. First a key factor this is not rampaging T-Rex movie, in fact it really never appears that much, a brief usage of claw and body props, not fancy, just basic, hence action finds itself very absent from the flick. The actual essence of the movie comes from a very wordy script and endless silliness makes one wonder how the actors keep a straight face when performing their lines. After a major death, the site closes but Professor Peterson (Steven Dolton) remains privately on site under an investigative reporter filled with thoughts of false flags, conspiracies and grandiose future plans Jed Bailey (Kenton Hall) arrives to reveal the truth in X-Files mannerism. Dolton attempts for a serious performance but character portrayal falls flat, likely to the budget with the character found months later wearing the same outfit (fairly clean) in the exact same chair and in an empty research building months later after the facility closed down. The audience is not seeking a Dr. Frankenstein but give them something more creative, how much for coffee stains and fake blood.
CAUSES OF DEATH
The reasons the T-Rex even exists become easily apparent, where else do researchers get funding from the military but this never generates further script development, but one who watches this film, not seeking a higher level of involvement it is just a time waster. Although a scant 75-minute production it still drags on at the halfway mark, receiving shifting in the chair, and groans as well as massive distraction from a viewer. The script oversimplified, one positive aspect limited usage of CGI relying more on puppeteer of the rarely seen dinosaur, and amazingly some actually consider a positive move on the score, which works to fit the tight confines of the bank account. As is the case with many DIY projects, it uses the smoke machines and cheap costumes possibly located from someone’s Halloween props, but completely forgot to show any gore or blood-splatter, monsters never cleanly eat anything.
SUMMARY FROM INVESTIGATOR:
Killersaurus never connected any dots in the script and just could not keep one thoroughly entertain, if one makes a dinosaur movie, then one needs to show the beast in full display, not just parts, this aspect of not showing anything works for a paranormal story on the cheap not a creature feature.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4699624/
https://www.facebook.com/wild.eye.releasing
IMDb Rating: 2.6/10
DOA Rating: 2/10
Trailer: