Synopsis
An university expedition (two profs and a handful of students) is financed by a (improbablyyoung) tycoon. Their goal is to find traces of the long-vanished Calusas in the Evergaldes. Theyfind that evidence, all right, but they themselves are found bya monster, who kills them one byone. Behind a very banal title lurks a very banal film, with dialogue that is utterly lazy (any scriptthat uses “Let’s get out of here” as its second line is in serious trouble), characters so stupi… whenit comes to survival they make the Friday the 13th crowd looke like Ripley, and a rubber-suitmonster that looks like a cross between the Predator and a sumo wrestler. Those of us who willwatch absolutely anything with a monster in it (and I include myself in this group) will find someamusement here. Anyone else should stay the hell away.
Audio
The music is given a nice mix, and the dialogue is distortion-free. It isn’t alwayscomprehensible however. In one sequence where two characters whisper, subtitles are necessaryto make out what they’re saying. The surround effects are enthusiastic. Too enthusiastic, in fact:minor sounds are blown out of all proportion, especially in the early goings. The ticking of awhat must be a titanic clock is one thing, but most hilarious is when the prof turns a page in amanuscript, and the page goes WHOOSH from all sides. As well, an absolutely essential screameffect is completely flubbed. The scream is inaudible, and you wonder why everyone is reactingto it. Amusing too is the inappropriate sound of a plane passing by overhead — one of the joys ofvery low-budget filmmaking.
Video
The colours are very strong, and the blacks and flesh tones are solid. The picture (presentedin fullscreen) is acceptable, but of variable quality. The image often blurs during pans and oncescene is completely out of focus (though I tend to blame this on the film itself, rather than thetransfer). There is also some very occasional flicker and speckling. No grain, though.
Special Features
The menu has an animated main page, intro and transitions, and that is about as special as thefeatures get. There’s a photo gallery, and there are trailers for Deadly Species, Bloody Murder 2,The pool, Down Time, and Legion of the Dead.
Closing Thoughts
As monster movies go, this isn’t quite the bottom of the barrel, but it is scraping dangerouslyclose. If you enjoy bad movies, there is some marginal entertainment value, though.
Special Features List
- Still Gallery
- Trailers
