Ogre

When I first saw the previews for this new sci-fi flick, I had the impression I was going to see a film that was as technically and artistically lazy and un-creative as its very title. The film is simply called "ogre" and it's about, well, an ogre. And not a talking one like Shrek. Just a big, lumbering, clumsy green hunchback wearing an apron who roars and likes to tear people into pieces. It's more like a troll.

"Ogre" actually turned out to surprise me, for it was much better than I was expecting. The graphics were just as poor as I anticipated, but everything else, notably the acting, was a major improvement over some of its other brother flicks that keep popping up on and off on the Sci-Fi Channel. Performances by the entire cast were worth writing home about. Not to say they were uniformally magnificent, but they were done by actors and actresses who had a clue of what they were doing and actually stirred to make an effort. The plot of the film was also more interesting...for a low-budget flick.

I am not, however, praising "Ogre" enough to say that it's a good movie. I still have to give it a marginally negative review because of the fact that it did prove to be a little tedious and slow over its running time with not enough action. And there was also some inconsistency I have to point out. Such as some of the secondary characters have old-fashioned muskets and the leading actor carries a contemporary police shotgun. And yet in the scenes where they're shooting it out with the ogre, he's firing shot-after-shot from his shotgun without the slightest recoil and the ones with the muskets are flinching back or falling over from the recoil of older, less reactive weapons.

Bottom line, "Ogre" was not a major surprise, but it was definitely more than I was expecting given the style and results that its brother and sister films on the Sci-Fi Channel have given to me over the years. What it really has to show for itself is its acting and the good performances of the cast. Still, it was a little too slow for me, and thus, I don't highly recommend it.

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.

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+

Ogre was not a good, let alone great, movie, but considering the uninspiring title that I was expecting schlock, I was pleasantly surprised. It does have a lot of flaws, starting with the terrible effects, sadly the Ogre is no exception. There is still the lame gore and cheesy dialogue, while the story is thin, predictable and at times tedious. On the other hand, it is one of the more tolerable movies I've seen on the SyFy channel, because while not mind-blowing the acting does look as though they are putting effort into their roles, John Schneider in particular is interesting to watch. Katherine Isaballe does at times overdo it with the shrillness though. The characters are not characters you remember for years, but they are not as irritating as other characters from the likes of the SyFy disaster movies for instance, and they are not as blatantly stereotypical either. Although the effects do cheapen the film, Ogre didn't look too bad to me, the editing was at least not slip-shod and there was attempts at an atmosphere. Again, the music is nothing extraordinary, but it has some haunting themes and it doesn't feel as though it is slowing the film down. All in all, not bad, not good, just scraping the average line. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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.