Chupacabra: Dark Seas

Without John Rhys-Davies, I have to admit that this would never even register on my movie-meter. But in spite of that single fact, this is not a bad little thriller, considering the low budget, the low quality effects, the stiff acting and the Sci Fi Channel aspects. The blood effects are very convincing, and the Chupacabra actually looks realistic... regardless of what you think a Chupacabra looks like this is one good-looking Chupacabra.

Aside from the positives, this runs kind of like Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Darren McGavin, remember?) meets the Love Boat, but in spite of the ultimate cheese of this work, it still holds something resembling a plot, and actually attempts to gain your respect while making you laugh and roll your eyes.

As conflicted as this work is, I still managed to find some enjoyment herein. Maybe you will, too.

It rates a 5.2/10 on the Made 4 TV Scale.

It rates a 4.1/10 on the Movie Scale from...

the Fiend :.

Otherwise known as Chupacabra: Dark Seas this notable Scyfy Original type isn't as bad as I expected.

Starring industry veteran John Rhys-Davies and the annoyingly annoying Chelan Simmons it tells the story of a cryptozoologist that captures a chupacabra and smuggles it on board a luxury cruise liner as means of transporting it. I'm sure I don't need to say anything more for you to understand exactly how the movie plays out.

Unexpectedly it did go in a couple of directions I didn't expect. Though the cast are lackluster the character development is solid, the practical effects are above par and overall it's really not that bad.

On the flipside however the cgi is poor, it's cliched to hell as you'd expect and did I mention how annoying Chelan Simmons is? Seriously, that girl has no place in the movie industry whatsoever.

Take your brain out stuff, not good by any stretch of the imagination but for what it is there's considerably worse out there.

The Good:

John Rhys-Davies

Passable practical effects

Fairly decent characters

Good setting

The Bad:

Needless animal death

Poor cgi

Chelan Simmons

Dr. Pena (Giancarlo Esposito), a "crypto-zoologist" (fancy term for one of those self-deluded losers who likes to study extremely rare - read: nonexistent - animals) and his crew of hunters manage to trap a Chupacabra, a big, scaly, elusive fast-moving beast. To get it to the mainland, they smuggle it on a Grecian cruise ship and some idiots open up the crate containing it despite being told specifically not to. I guess the strange growling noises coming from inside weren't a good enough deterrent either. The monster then does the monster thang; running around biting chunks out of various passengers until the ship's captain (John Rhys-Davies), a square-jawed special agent pretending to be an insurance salesman for some reason (Dylan Neal), a squeaky-voiced blonde Tai Bo instructor (Chelan Simmons), a bunch of guys with machine guns and others try to stop it. The main victims (who I think are supposed to be the comic relief but it's hard to tell) are an old rich bitch (Paula Shaw) with a yippy terrier and a snobby effete gold-digger (David Millbern). Apparently the monster can be knocked out with a single tranquilizer dart, but can live through dozens of bullet hits. The Chupacabra design is acceptable (though unoriginal) but the rest of the movie is devoid of suspense, surprise or interest. A boring Sci-Fi Channel "original" movie; they've made dozens of movies just like this with nearly interchangeable characters and plots, but with slight alterations on the creature. Enough already!

Well, the Sci-Fi channel keeps churning these turkeys out... and they seem to get worse every time. When normally good actors like John Rhys-Davies and Giancarlo Espositto come off as rank amateurs, you can imagine how abysmal the REST of the cast in this waste-of-your-time effort is. The only halfway decent thing is the rubber outfit of the creature(which is glimpsed in such quick flashes that you don't really have time to see how phony it really is). The dialogue...the plot...if this "movie"(and I use the term loosely) was food, Jack-In-The-Box would be a gourmet meal compared to this. Watch a re-run of "The Munsters" for the 372nd viewing- your time would be better spent(and a lot scarier as well)!

I've loved John Rhyes Davies ever since Indiana Jones and Sliders. But not even he could save this movie from being downright awful. The story is stupid and goes nowhere, there is not history or explanation of the Chupacabra, the action is nothing more than a monster loose on a ship.

Don't waste your time with this movie, the creature is obviously a guy in a suit, only added effects are sped up footage, nowhere near enough to make this a good horror movie.

I cant understand how John agreed to make this garbage after LOTR, what a waste. The specials/segments on the chupacabra in other documentaries and shows are far superior to this movie, watch them instead.