Maneater

A troubled policeman and his teenage daughter find that the rash of mysterious deaths in the small town they live to move on from a personal tragedy is caused by a marauding Indian spirit and race to stop it before it consumes more in the town.

A lot better than what it sounds like, though there's still some big flaws in here, mainly in the quick-cut editing that keeps the action really hard to make out and a lot of problems with the story, like keeping the father/daughter interactions more rooted in a Lifetime drama and basically shoe-horning the monster into the finale for a brief, barely-worthwhile encounter as well as keeping them off-screen and really mysterious as far as their behavior and motivations are concerned, but it's all made up for with a fantastic creature when we see it, tons of gore and lots of nudity, as well as a really worthwhile tactic of keeping their appearances limited to emerging from fog-shrouded tree-lines, so it's attacks have some atmosphere to work with. Far, far better than it should be, but still with some flaws.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, sex scenes and drug use

When I picked up this movie, I had no idea what it was about, or who was in it. I saw the DVD cover and decided to give it a go.

"Maneater" wasn't actually all that bad. It was, however, fairly mediocre, sad to say. There was nothing really unique that stood out in this movie.

It is about an native American Indian legendary creature called Wendigo. It supposedly drags off the impure, sinners and bad people and kill them. I am not personally familiar with the legend of the Wendigo, so I had no expectations for this storyline. And I found it to be adequate enough, just interesting enough to still be entertaining.

The effects in "Maneater" were alright as well, not top notch CGI and special effects, but still, they were working out well enough. However, the Wendigo itself sort of reminded me a bit of the Crypt Keeper from "Tales from the Crypt", though with odd glowing eyes. So it left me sort of in a dilemma; was this Wendigo undead or just some sort of creature?

Initially when I saw Dean Cain in the lead role, I sort of though this would be bad, as I am (clearly) not a fan of his work. But he actually did alright in "Maneater", and it is great to see he have finally shed that "Louis and Clark" mantle.

"Maneater" wasn't really particularly scary, so if you are in this for a scary movie, then this might not be the ideal choice. The story is alright, but there are far better horror movies available. Having seen this movie now, I somehow feel like it was meant as a TV movie.

"We got a thing, a people may be dead thing." After a brutal murder takes place Sheriff Bailey (Cain) is called to investigate. After his dreams become more and more real he wonders if they hold the key to solving the crime. This movie has a combination of many ideas from other movies, and when put together in this movie...none of them really work. This is pretty much a movie that has talking in between the sex, nudity and gore. The acting is not that impressive, and the effects are pretty low budget. The overall idea is that there is a serial killer on the loose and going after people while they are having sex, because when the killer watches, only then can it turn into the killing form. I'm not kidding. Overall, not a very good movie, but when Dean Cain is the biggest name they can get the expectations are a little lower. Overall, there have been worse horror movies that have come out, but not many. I give it a C-.

Would I watch again? - Nope.

*Also try - Mask Maker

Dean Cain plays Bailey, a small town sheriff whose wife disappeared and who is now overprotective of his 17 year-old daughter. He is convinced that his wife will return. He also might have witnessed the brutal murder of a girl in his teens with whom he was frolicking out in the woods. His deputies are a heavy guy who gets to play the chaperone of Bailey's daughter; and an older American-Indian.

Suddenly there's a brutal crime that reminds the Indian of something that happened long ago. Bailey realizes that it wasn't an animal attack but a human deed. Meanwhile a new teen guy arrives in town and Bailey's daughter falls for him, much the the chagrin of Bailey who wants her to remain pure.

More people start disappearing and Bailey discovers in his research and through his nightmares and memories that what may be out there on the loose is a windigo, a shapeshifting human who devours and tears apart other humans and even starts eating itself. The old town's doctor who acts suspiciously when confronted by Bailey finally admits that in the past a windigo was in town but was eliminated.

When finally the daughter and the boy are getting hot and heavy the windigo attacks but the sheriffs arrive in time. There's a surprise revelation as to the identity of the maneater.

This is a very good horror movie, hampered a bit by a low budget. Fortunately they did use all the resources on gore and violence. Acting is good and so is the script. Cain's character in his obsession about his wife can be annoying. There's a gorgeous diner owner/employee who has the hots for him but he claims to be married. It's not clear sometimes if some scenes are flashbacks, memories, or nightmares. The sexy teens are particularly likable and fun. They are still innocent and full of nervous excitement at the prospect of love- unlike cynical city kids. Their interaction is very well portrayed. What is lacking is better equipment and better lighting to give the movie a better look. Overall a very entertaining movie for horror fans that deserves a sequel.