Director – Mike Hermosa (Dutch Hollow, The Righteous and the Wicked)
Starring – Sean Astin (Encino Man, The Stranger Things), Mike Capes (From Jennifer, Bachelor Party Massacre), and Sandy Martin (Speed, Jawbreaker)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 3/5
I love reviewing movies that are odd and not for everyone. In fact, the weirder and stranger the film, the more likely it is that I will want to see it. Its when goofy humor and imagination come together to create something memorable. A few weeks ago I was sent a press release for the film The Invisible Raptor.
I typically don’t watch trailers for films sent my way but I wanted to see if this was something I wanted to see. The title did intrigue me but I wasn’t impressed by the film’s poster. However, I was sold on the film after watching the trailer. I quickly reached out to them and they were kind enough to send over a review link.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a washed up archeologist who works for an amusement park and the security guard who find themselves in the middle of the biggest discovery in history when people are found ripped apart or missing and a pile of shit in their place. They soon uncover a conspiracy by a local corporation to cover up one of their experiments when an invisible raptor escaped from their facility and is wreaking havoc all over town. **Spoiler Alert**
The Invisible Raptor was a lot of fun and fans of Spielberg and drive-in cinema will enjoy. However, those looking for a fun sci-fi comedy may not appreciate it as much. It has a lot of hang ups that stops it from being the best movie it could be but it’s still worth a watch.
The acting in this one was a lot of fun. Sean Astin makes a short appearance in the film. I knew his screen time would be short lived when I saw his name and picture on the press release and poster. It’s one of the biggest marketing plows low budget films use and it’s a damn shame. I would have loved to see more of his character in the film. With that being said, the rest of the cast is still solid. The characters are enjoyable and the cast does a great job at giving them memorable personalities. There was a few scenes where the dialogue was rushed through and had very little conviction behind it. Luckily, these scenes are few and doesn’t really take away from the overall film.
The story for this one reminds me a lot of the cheap drive in “invisible” films of the late 60s and early 70s meets fans of Steven Spielberg. The drive-in invisible film trend seems to have begun with a few invisible hits in Japan that spawned some cheap knock offs here in the states. Instead of spending money of special effects for the creature in question, they would say that it was invisible and just act out their scene as if its there. Honestly, it’s funny to a fault but the joke runs it’s course fairly early on. The same can be said for the movie itself. The way the story unfolds is just too damn long. The scene where the co-workers have a falling out and split up has no place in the film. It ruins the pacing of the film and does absolutely nothing to move the story along.
Finally, the film is full of visual effects that are rather cheap but do insight several laughs. The movie doesn’t shy away from the blood but that is about it aside from the visuals. Overall, The Invisible Raptor may not be making anyone’s favorite films of the year lists but it’s still a fun one to watch. Check it out.
