If you like this *type* of film, you can't help liking Wyvern. It's got all the required bits: mysterious, deadly creature; feisty heroine; brick-jawed hero; and an assortment of quirky characters to serve as monster-chow.
But where so many similar films miss the mark, Wyvern manages that perfect balance of characterization, storyline and gory thrills. It's all in the writing: the tightly-constrained situation feels real, even when it's clearly preposterous. And the people react in credible ways, the way *we* would probably react, under similarly unlikely circumstances. Several characters even manage to surprise us by rising far above the clichéd responses we're expecting.
True, this is clearly a low-budget effort, and the special effects are fairly tame by today's standards. But the CG creature is plenty real enough, especially the way it's shown in very believable small-town settings.
Wyvern isn't going to win over anyone looking for a light romantic comedy. But if your taste runs to gleefully gruesome survivalist adventure, you're in for a bone-chomping good time.
