Unnatural

I saw this boring B-movie under the title MANEATER and whichever title you give it, it's a real dog of a film. And that's coming from a reviewer who can gain mild enjoyment from the usual kind of monster nonsense churned out by the likes of both the SyFy Channel and Asylum, so I feel like I've got some experience with the genre.

The story is about a group of researchers in Alaska who uncover a nefarious government conspiracy style plot involving genetic testing on polar bears, of all things. What this boils down to, somewhat inevitably, is seeing a bunch of has-been actors being chased by a polar bear. Said actors include the likes of James Remar, Sherilyn Fenn, Graham Greene, and Ray Wise, all of whom look very tired and bored by the production. It's probably only the thought of their slim pay-cheque getting them through this.

By B-movie standards, MANEATER is a dull film. There's little in the way of genuine tension or horror and the action scenes are very badly staged. The special effects are really poor as well so it's little surprise that the actors are menaced by the unseen for the most part. This is a truly terrible film though and even with a decent monster it would have been poor.

This one has some scientists making hybrid creatures by messing around with DNA and some gene splicing. They create a polar bear from hell that ends up escaping the facility. Being in Alaska you would think they were all alone, but not far from there a swimsuit shoot is taking place in the snow. All the crew involved slowly become eats for the bear.

This wasn't good at all. They didn't know how to create tension or even how to keep us engaged. No CGI was used but the bear looks fake when you do see it. I was surprised to see Graham Greene in a creature feature but he was only in it for a few minutes. Even less screen time was Ray Wise. Sherilyn Fenn dominates the screen time and she looks puffier these days.

The only thing unnatural is the way they put this film together. Avoid this one.

Unnatural,or Maneater which is the title I saw it under, is a fun nature-runs-amok horror movie.

Some of the reviews here made this movie out to be a statement on the ecological effects of global warming. I completely disagree. Although the subject gets its mention, its pretty much isolated to the final reels of the film; the audience is not beaten over the head with it. Like cooking with bourbon, the alcohol is in there, but not anywhere near enough to get you drunk. This is not an ecological thriller. Its a killer bear movie.

Although this film is not as effective as The Edge (probably the best movie dealing with a rampaging bear) or as the gore-soaked guilty pleasure Grizzly, its the better of the killer bear movies as of late.

Thanks to the a great cast of character actors who play this story straight, truly gorgeous photography & a high body count, Unnatural is entertaining movie junk food. No heavy thinking required here. Just some horror movie-loving buddies who brought beer & wings.

Will admit having low expectations before seeing 'Unnatural', with a concept that sounded mildly intriguing but also incredibly silly and like so many other low-budget creature films seen. That there were actors who have been good in other things involved sparked some interest.

There are certainly far worse films, in terms of creature films and overall, than 'Unnatural' and there were a few redeeming merits that saved it from being unwatchable that were sadly outweighed by the numerous things done wrong and to such a big extent. 'Unnatural' is still not a good film though and was more or less what was expected before watching. Unnatural, as much as it saddens me to say it, sums it up very well.

James Remar and Sherilyn Fenn do well in their roles, and although they are not in the film anywhere long enough Grahame Greene and especially Ray Wise do more than reasonably with what they had. Generally the acting and their chemistry made 'Unnatural' a better film than the disaster that it could easily have been.

The scenery is also lovely and atmospheric and for low budget there has been far more amateurish photography than here.

However, the bear looks absolutely terrible, very cheap-looking and goofy. It does affect is impact on screen, which it doesn't leave much, there is not much menace here or even unintentional humour, just there for the sake of it bland. The dialogue is utter gibberish and truly juvenile and unnatural.

Nothing thrilling, tense, suspenseful, emotionally investable or fun about the story. The predictability may have been forgivable if the film was actually engaging let alone exciting but it fails to be either throughout, and instead ruined by draggy and sometimes unnecessary padding, ridiculousness and ideas that didn't belong and just muddled the film's tone and intent.

Didn't find myself rooting for or liking any of the characters that much, despite the actors' best efforts. The direction is pretty leaden.

Overall, not irredeemable but not good. 3/10 Bethany Cox

"Unnatural" could have been a better movie if there was more of what people watch horror movies for. Morbid as it may be, horror movies focus on gore and blood and disfigurement, but "Unnatural" fails to provide much of that. Aside from a cast of mostly unlikable characters, except for the role played by James Remar, one doesn't really care much when each one gets eaten up along the way. The trouble is most of the gore occurs in the dark and basically all you see is the blood. The villains in this movie are generally not the focus, and it is unclear exactly what the company at hand was trying to do when it seems their mission was to preserve species. I was surprised who survived these attacks but all in all, a disappointing movie.