Carnosaur

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.

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!

Carnosaur (1993)

** (out of 4)

Diane Ladd plays a mad scientist who plans on returning the Earth back to the dinosaurs. She's created a special serum that will have women giving birth to the creatures and soon they will take over everything. CARNOSAUR was producer Roger Corman's attempt to cash-in on Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK, which would be released later in the year. It's pretty funny that Corman was able to get this thing a theatrical release but sadly the movie doesn't live up to much because it's just a tad bit too mainstream for its own good. Overall the film does manage to get a good feel of those 1950s monster movies where there's really not much of a story and instead of one we just get a monster running around killing people. This is actually one thing that works with the picture and I think another good thing is that the filmmakers never take the subject or story overly serious. This works for a number of reasons but the biggest is that star Ladd takes the material so serious that you can't help but be entertained by her maniac style performance. I liked the fact that she was so serious in the movie simply because it adds a level of entertainment that you wouldn't have had had the actress simply shown up to cash a check. Obviously the special effects weren't going to be on the level of the Spielberg film but for the most part I thought they were good. Yes, it's obvious these things aren't real but that really doesn't hurt the film as they're at least entertaining for what they are. I think what hurts the film is the fact that it's a tad bit too pretty for its own good. With the Spielberg movie being what it is, usually these rip-offs try to just be exploitation 101 and CARNOSAUR really doesn't reach that level. The usually seen nudity isn't anywhere to be found and the death scenes are pretty lifeless and uninteresting. A film like this really needed to deliver for its lack of effects and story but instead we're just given a watered down version of a horror movie.

First and foremost: THIS IS NOT A JURASSIC PARK RIPOFF. Stop saying and thinking that it is! It takes a minute to do some basic research and realise that. What it is is a CASH-IN. I believe that Corman bought the rights to the novel so he could a) use the cool name and b) lend his new film some notoriety, so he could say the CARNOSAUR franchise (which he owns...) predates Jurassic Park (which it does). He may also have bought it to prevent some other filmmaker doing it. But ENOUGH with the ripoff accusations. This is not about a theme park.

"CARNOSAUR" (1993, Simon) is a really weird film. It's a really nasty film that features a lot of gore but also some surreal gross-out stuff; some is reminiscent of Ridley Scott's "ALIEN", which is weird in a dinosaur movie.

I really like the aesthetic of John Beuchler's special effects. It's unapologetic in style but always goes the extra mile. The Deinonychus has a dreamlike quality to it. It's uneasy and never quite fits in but yet it's there all the same.

As an adaptation this film is a 0/10 because it is so far removed from the novel on which it is based that it might as well not have been an adaptation. "CARNOSAUR" was written by John Brosnan under the pseudonym Harry Adam Knight in 1984 and it is a good book that could easily have been adapted faithfully on a tight budget so why Corman opted for this strange sci fi horror is a mystery only answerable by understanding Corman.

Something about this film really irritates me but I just can't put my finger on what it is. The acting's not bad, it's off the wall and mad, and I at least like the sequels. Plus I would take the CARNOSAUR franchise over Jurassic Park purely because there's more onscreen Dino action.

A brilliant but deranged geneticist Dr. Jane Tiptree (Diane Ladd) finds a way to bring Dinosaurs back to life by using DNA from Chickens Eggs! Which these Dinosaurs gets bigger by eating flesh's and creating panic in a small town somewhere in the desert. Which slowly several different kinds of Dinosaurs starts to breed like Rats. Which Tiptree is planning to destroy the world by unleashing an lethal virus and letting Dinosaur ruled the world once more.

Directed by Adam Simon (Brain Dead) made an watchable but forgotten horror/sci-fi effort by that was made in the wake of Steven Spielberg's Big Budget "Jurassic Park". Which this movie was out a few weeks earlier before Spielberg's take on Dinosaur. Which oddly enough, Ladd's daughter is the lead actress in "JP". For all it's cheapness, the dinosaur sequences are well done (despite some funny unintentionally moments of the F/X sequences). Which it will recalls films of the special effects era from the 1950's. It is quite gory as well, which it's delivers the good often in a schlock way. Simon's film is surprisingly bleak with some moments of playful black comedy but it is not quite fun as we would expect from a Roger Corman production. A cast of familiar B cast tries to keep it lively. The third act of this thriller is extremely unsatisfying and the quite dark looking cinematography of this film could have better filmed. If u want to see Simon's better work, watch "The American Nightmare". Which it's a documentary on the horror movies of the 1970's. "Carnosaur" is more of a curio movie than someone might actually enjoying. I always find it funny on the VHS Cover of this effort, since the late Gene Siskel enjoyed it very much. If u enjoy this, it's followed by two direct-to-video efforts! Based on a novel by the late Harry Adam Knight (Who's real name is John Brosnan). Simon wrote the adaptation of this depressing movie. (** ½/*****).