Dinocroc

Blimey, Mate

Cast: Costas Mandylor, Jane Longenecker, Matt Borlenghi, Charles Napier

Director: Kevin O’Neill

This is the third cheesy horror movie I watched over the weekend. And the best of the lot, although that isn’t saying it was awesome. But something produced by Roger Corman has its own quirky charm.

Gereco Corporation (your usual “movie evil big business”) is messing around with super-duper growth hormones. As is the case with these companies, they seem to have the most up-to-date technology and the most idiotic people working for them. At the beginning of the film an hapless scientist wanders into the big cage where they are keeping the growth-lizards and gets herself killed. More importantly, she leaves the door open and the critter escapes. Part croc, part- well, I don’t know, it proceeds to terrorize the small community.

The characters? Well, there is Tom (Borlenghi), an artist who has lost his parents and is trying to bring up his younger brother. There is Diane (Longenecker), a worker at the local animal shelter who has a history with Tom. And there is Sheriff Harper (Napier), Diane’s father. And then there is Dick (Mandylor), the Australian big-game hunter that Gereco Corporation brings in to capture the dinocroc. All these characters more or less join forces to track down and kill the beastie.

As for the action- well, it wasn’t too bad. Predictable, but at least it was competently directed and acted. I don’t ask for much with these things, especially the “critter is loose, kills things, is hunted and is killed” movies. Most of the time my low expectations are not met. They are here. Is that too faint a praise? I hope not. This one is worth a few hours, as long as you have them, a nice beer, and friends to laugh at the movie with.