KILLERSAURUS. (2015) DIRECTED BY STEVE LAWSON. MUSIC BY ALEX YOUNG. STARRING HELEN CREVEL, STEVEN DOLTON, KENTON HALL, JULIAN BOOTE, ADAM COLLINS AND VICKI GLOVER. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
Aw, if this ain't the cutest attempt at a low-budget horror flick I've ever seen...! The film-makers obviously hadn't a bean to their names, but they didn't let that fact deter them from making a film about the greatest beast to ever roam the Earth, the mighty- and mighty toothsome- Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Well, if you've got the loan of your Dad's garage and a box of your brother's old dinosaur toys, you can achieve as much as Steven Spielberg any day of the week. Well, nearly. I know I'm teasing the film-makers here but I absolutely loved this film and would recommend it to horror fans and fans of creature-features everywhere.
It's a sort of JURASSIC PARK in miniature, from a director that also loves films like JAWS and Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD TRILOGY. Check the credits for fake shemps, y'all...! Let's take a look now at the plot, which is simple but effective. Prepare to be, well, if not dazzled exactly, then at least mildly intrigued...
Attractive brunette Kayleigh Ma is still traumatised and having nightmares a good three months after an 'accident' at her job. She worked at a research facility until something went horribly wrong somewhere and the project was shut down suddenly, with all the staff being made to sign non-disclosure agreements before being unceremoniously chucked out on their ears. Goodbye and good luck, in other words, only I don't recall anyone saying good luck...
Now, Kayleigh's pushy journalist boyfriend Jed is encouraging Kayleigh to go back to the research facility to confront her old boss, Professor Peterson. This Professor fella is reluctant to let them in at first but he's eventually persuaded to see his old favourite employee, Kayleigh.
They're not long there before Jed realises that they're all sitting on the news story of the decade. Professor Peterson's got a creature locked up downstairs in a sealed chamber that hasn't walked the Earth in sixty-five million years... a genuine, bona fide Tyrannosaurus Rex...
The journalist in Jed cannot, nay, will not be denied. Down he duly goes to the garage, oops, I mean, the 'sealed chamber,' to see this miracle of invention for himself and maybe take a few photos for the newspaper he's hoping to get in good with. Tons and tons of smoke bombs later, he comes face-to-face with the tenant of the chamber. Put it this way. It's gotta lotta teeth...
I love when Professor Peterson's main investor shows up shouting the odds. The stroppy Mr. Andrews puts a horrified Kayleigh wise to the real reason Peterson's been growing a dinosaur in his shed, sorry, chamber, and it has little or nothing to do with the educational benefits to children and parents of having a real-life dinosaur pitching camp in their local Zoo. It's a million times more sinister than that...
The actor playing the soldier does a terrific job. He's exactly what you'd imagine a soldier returning from Afghanistan to be like. Full of stories about his big exploits on the outside, but scared shitless on the inside when something genuinely life-threatening occurs. Soldiers are all only human, after all, and I like this gritty, honest portrayal.
Oh, and by the way, Adam Collins, actor and stuntman, phwoarrrrrrrrr...! Very nice, very nice indeed. If only there'd been some reason for him to take his top off in the film. Oh, am I being sexist? Oh, I see. It's only okay if guys talk like this. I see. How silly of me. I'll know better next time. Not...!
Oh, and by the way, Adam Collins, actor and stuntman, phwoarrrrrrrrr...! Very nice, very nice indeed. If only there'd been some reason for him to take his top off in the film. Oh, am I being sexist? Oh, I see. It's only okay if guys talk like this. I see. How silly of me. I'll know better next time. Not...!
Professor Peterson also reveals the reason why he always gave Kayleigh preferential treatment when he was her boss. Does he have the hots for her? She's a very attractive young woman, after all. Or is it actually something a bit more innocent? We''ll see, anyway.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is, I suppose, the star of the show. He's adorable and fair play to the film-makers for working with what they had, which is something you've gotta do when you're a film-maker, but it kind of reminds me of an episode of THE SIMPSONS.
In the episode where Bart sells his soul to Milhouse, I think it is, Bart spends the five bucks he gets from his buddy for his soul on these little dinosaur-shaped sponges. They're supposed
to grow into massive scary monsters when you dampen them with water.
Bart fondly imagines terrorising his sister Lisa with these mighty beasts. Needless to say, they don't grow at all, and Bart is left disappointed with the damp squibs his purchases turn out to be. I won't labour the point but KILLERSAURUS is a bit like that.
Bart fondly imagines terrorising his sister Lisa with these mighty beasts. Needless to say, they don't grow at all, and Bart is left disappointed with the damp squibs his purchases turn out to be. I won't labour the point but KILLERSAURUS is a bit like that.
It's still my favourite of all the brilliant 88 FILMS, however, and as I said earlier, I'd heartily recommend it to any fans of horror in general or of creature-features in particular. It wouldn't scare a two-year-old, and any elderly grannies recovering from open-heart surgery can watch it without any danger whatsoever of further trauma to their poor pulverised organs, but there's something tremendously endearing about it nonetheless. Coulda used a dinosaur or something, though...
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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