Ogre

Other than John Schneider starring as the village leader, there's not much to recommend OGRE. This TV movie looks like it was put together by the same people who worked on that incredibly bad Nazi Frankentein monster flick a few years ago. In fact, the monster here is virtually identical to that one. A group of teens stumbles across an 18th century village stuck in time. Once a year, a villager is offered up to the title character to keep it appeased. The teens accidentally let it loose and all hell breaks loose. The goofy plot is right out of M. Night's THE VILLAGE, which itself was pretty shabby. Katharine Isabelle of GINGER SNAPS fame plays one of the teens, and I wish the ogre had killed her first. She was that annoying. The CGI is atrocious as usual, which is par for the course with a SciFi Channel flick. The monster walks around with no sense of weight or mass, and most of its kills avoid combining the actors in the same shot with the creature, a sure sign of a very low budget. Sad.

I didn't expect a lot from a lowish budget B movie but I admit I quite enjoyed this film for being eerily atmospheric and for the impressive acting by the main characters. The ogre's menacing growl from deep in the forest felt quite unnerving.

John Schneider slotted very neatly into his powerful convincing character. Clearly a versatile actor!

I would have given this film a 7 if it wasn't for ( and I think most people would agree with me here ) a very ify ogre that seemed to be dropped in from a below average video game. When you think of the possible great GGI available in 2008 the ogre certainly could have been vastly improved ( budget allowing ). Yep, a well presented, very well acted, partly 19th Century set sci-fi fantasy film let down by the 19th century CGI.

These ultra-low reviews are hilarious. What were these people expecting, "Citizen Kane"? An award-winning film? Look at the DVD cover and the name of the film "Ogre." Why would anyone even waste their time on a flick like this if they didn't at least embrace them as guilty pleasures?

Directed by Steven Monroe and written by Chuck Reeves, 2008's "Ogre" is a low-budget TV monster flick in the manner of "It Waits," "Sasquatch Hunters" and countless other Syfy movies. These films are the modern counterpart to the low-budget creature features of decades ago like "Gargoyles" (1972), "Prophecy" (1979) and the Kolchak: The Night Stalker films/TV series. You either enjoy these types of pictures or you don't. I do. As reviewer John Patrick Fischner so perfectly puts it: "Imagination and legend is... about good and evil and the power of selfless courage against impossible odds. There is nothing more heroic than man against monster."

THE PLOT: Four youths hike into rural Pennsylvania looking for a legendary lost town and are amazed when they actually find it. The town's inhabitants are still stuck in the 19th century and living in dread of a hideous creature to whom they must sacrifice one of their own once a year. Adventure and horror ensue.

Most viewers will note that the story is a mishmash of numerous other films like "The Village (Widescreen Vista Series)," "Bay Cove" (i.e. "Bay Coven"), "The Blair Witch Project" and various other monster-in-the-woods flicks.

Although this is essentially a serious story the film naturally pokes fun at the whole notion of an ogre. The youths take it as a joke and so do the cops; my wife and I cracked up numerous times and so will you. It's just really hard to hear or say the word 'ogre' without giggling. Be that as it may, the joke stops when the creature literally starts ripping people's heads, legs, and arms off. Of course, some people may continue laughing, but that's all part of the enjoyment.

"Ogre" no doubt tried to capitalize on the surge in popularity of ogres with the success of the Shrek: The Whole Story Boxed Set (Shrek / Shrek 2 / Shrek the Third / Shrek Forever After) franchise. In fact, the beast in the film even resembles Shrek, albeit less cartooney and more malevolent-looking. Another comparison would be the cgi Hulk in Ang Lee's notorious 2003 Hulk (Widescreen 2-Disc Special Edition); the ogre here sorta looks like that Hulk's homely brother, if you can imagine that. Interestingly, unlike other monster flicks you'll fully see the creature right from the get-go. Although this destroys suspense it didn't personally bother me (as I don't like it when films play out the same way all the time).

Believe it or not, John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard fame is on hand as one of the main characters and he does a fine job. He also looks great for being nigh 50 years-old. I don't get why people poke fun at him being in the film. So he played Bo Duke, so what?

Other cast highlights include Chelan Simmons who plays one of the two female protagonists. Chelan is one of the cutest freckled blonds you'll ever gaze your eyes upon next to Juliana Dever of "Sasquatch Hunters." Chelan also starred in "Chupacabra Terror." She has a very winsome disposition. Also on hand is Katharine Isabelle of "Ginger Snaps" fame. Both of these cuties have significant roles here.

Although the story takes place in Pennsylvania the film was shot in the sticks outside of Vancouver, BC. It's a good stand-in for PA except for one shot with a mountain in the background (the mountains of Pennsylvania are roundish ridges and look nothing like the mountains of the Great Northwest). Anyway, it's obvious the film was shot in the late Autumn; it has the cold/dreary Fall vibe throughout.

FINAL WORD: My wife and I had a fun time with this monster flick and so will you if it sounds like it'll trip your trigger.

GRADE: Borderline B- or C+

A group of teens find themselves in ogre their heads. No? :( In order to save themselves from a plague, a small town in the 1800s decide to create a magical pact with a hungry ogre. Each year the town sacrifices one resident to save themselves from the plague, but they also never age, and can never leave the town. Now present day, a group of teens stumble across the town and accidentally unleash the ogre. This isn't exactly original entertainment, but it does include some above par acting, courtesy of the likes of Katherine Isabelle, famous for her stints in Ginger Snaps movies. The dialogue isn't cringe worthy either, which makes a change. The ogre itself actually looked pretty cool as far as I'm concerned. certainly not realistic, but it had a sense of vulnerability which meant it wasn't the usual complete human destroyer. This certainly makes me feel more comfortable approaching the rest of Stephen R. Monroe's work.

As a fan of monster movies and not opposed to a little gratuitous gore, I was fascinated by the title and the brief synopsis in my programme guide, so decided to watch this movie. I confess that I missed the beginning so did not see what happened to the two teenagers who let the ogre out of his lair. I presume they were eaten but I didn't witness this. I started watching from when the other two were in jail along with the "chosen one" for the ogre's next dinner.

I particularly liked the acting of Katharine Isabelle who played Jessica, the female of the two teenagers. I thought she hammed up her lines a little but that she gave the plot a bit of realism and down to earth-edness that was missing from the whole surmise.

The programme guide listed this movie under "horror." I would think that is a bit strong for the mild violence and terror generated by this film, most of which could easily be bettered by an average computer game aimed at teenagers. The ogre himself is a bit of a joke to put it mildly. Extremely juvenile computer graphics, comic-book roars, (why do all dinosaurs and monsters have exactly the same roars, I wonder?) and slow enough plodding that left me wondering how he caught anyone that wasn't tied to a stake as a sacrifice. Anyone who wasn't actually in a wheelchair could have outrun him, I would have thought.

Then of course there is the ever-present disbelieving police. Where would a good monster movie (or even a bad one) be without a couple of coppers laughing their heads off at the idea that there's a monster in them thar woods? Despite all of this, and suspending disbelief whenever the star of the show appeared on screen to gouge and maim those unfortunate locals who stood still for the required ten minutes waiting for him to reach them, I found this film enjoyable, particularly due to Katharine's natural performance. Whoever did the CGI ought to be allowed early retirement, but otherwise it was an enjoyable romp...hardly horror though.