Carnosaurio

The real tragedy of this film is that the book (by Harry Adam Knight)on which it is based is actually a masterpiece. But this adaptation has absolutely nothing to do with the book. So why in the name of sanity have the producers paid for the license?

The plot of this film involves a crazed scientist who intends to re-populate the world with dinosaurs. Before long her creations are out and about and terrorizing the locals. Unfortunately I'm one of those annoying, awkward people who just refuse to be in the least bit scared or impressed by laughable rubber creatures which look like they'd be more at home on 'The Muppets'. The script is disjointed and often becomes tedious and there are no interesting characters. There is no sense of awe and wonder surrounding the subject of live dinosaurs. They're more like cartoon monsters. A dinosaur even laughs at one point.

Always be careful when selecting films which claim to be better than box-office hits. Everyone involved in this cheap, tacky, wasted license should be ashamed.

Roger Corman got the genius idea of going head-to-head with Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK the same summer and even cast Diane Ladd, the mother of PARK's Laura Dern. Sadly, the results aren't that good. Dr. Jane Tiptree (Ladd) has created some genetically modified eggs that house creatures made up of the blended DNA of various things including iguanas, ostriches, and chickens. It is all part of her plot to destroy mankind. Standing in her way are drunk night-watchman "Doc" Smith (Raphael Sbarge) and environmentalist Thrush (Jennifer Runyon). The only thing sadder than this movie is that I felt the need to watch it again nearly 20 years later to confirm, "Yeah, it still sucks." The film does have some bright spots in that the dinosaur attacks are gory and there are some funny Coca-Cola product placements. But the dinosaur effects are pretty bad and the script (adapting, but apparently not very well, a 1984 novel) is totally flat. Matching this flatness are woefully miscast Sbarge and the seemingly lifeless Ladd. Ladd, who probably only did 3 days max on this, has absolutely no pulse and delivers one of cinema's worst mad scientists EVER. The film holds the distinction of being the last Corman production to ever play in theaters, grossing $1.7 million over a period of six months or so. Corman did get two sequels out of it though, but I haven't seen them. I probably will now. :-(

I saw this film when I was 8 years old. Even then I was able to laugh at it. It wasn't a good movie, that's for sure. But the fact that I remember this film for its sheer mockability, well that alone is worth something. Not good, in fact it's terrible. Watch it if you want to be able to sit there and laugh at it with your friends. It's enjoyable in that sense, and isn't that the whole point?

Come on, did we really EXPECT a worthy rip-off of "Jurassic Park" here? If it's taken at face value, CARNOSAUR is a fun way to kill 90 minutes. The dinosaur effects are laughable at best, but overall it's better scripted than the average Roger Corman slaughterama, and Dianne Ladd gives an over-the-top performance that alone makes this one worth watching. You get the feeling that there was probably a decent movie here if only they'd had a big enough budget. It may not be saying much, but at least it's better than the two sequels that followed. If you're in the mood for a good, goofy, gory B-movie, CARNOSAUR shouldn't disappoint. Besides, you can buy it on DVD for only $5.99 (like I did). Can't beat that with a stick!

Well, what can I say? I'm a huge fan of b movies, so I've seen some great big piles in my life. I was going into this expecting a poorly-shot, bad-humor-filled, crappy-effect-infused, pox-ridden Corman romp of "Night of the Blood Beast" or "Wasp Woman" proportions. I was rather surprised, actually. The effects were nothing to write home about, but they weren't horrible. At least this was before CG was on the open market, so they stuck with practical effects (which, in my opinion, are underrated). The acting was par for the course, but I feel Diane Ladd did a pretty good "mad scientist" with Tiptree. Mainly Raphael Sbarge was a good washed-up drunk with Doc Smith. Some things made the movie a little tedious (the romantic plot between Thrush and Doc, Clint Howard's character, etc.) but I found this an overall enjoyable cheesy gore-ride of fun weirdness.

Watch if you are used to horrifically cheesy movies.

4/10