Tags:
Film: Carnosaur II
Year: 1995
Director: Louis Morneau
Writer: Michael Palmer
Starring: John Savage, Cliff De Young and Don Stroud
Review:
This film starts in a mine. They are trying to get it back up and running, but they are having some issues. We see a guy checking to see why the power is out in a section of it. He finds that the wires are all torn up. The film cuts to two teenagers who are breaking into a room. The one who is using the computer is Ryan Thomas Johnson. They find dynamite, but are stopped by the guy we saw earlier. It turns out to be Johnson’s dad.
The two of them leave the base and Johnson talks with a guy who is working a forklift. He allows Johnson to learn how to use it, including a switch that will open these giant doors to a freefall to the bottom of the pit. Johnson then goes into the cafeteria where everyone inside is attacked by something. Johnson manages to hide from the carnage.
We then shift to a unit of freelance soldiers. They are being called in for a mission. One of them is John Savage and he looks like he is dealing with a hangover. There is a big guy, Rick Dean. He is upset about being called in. There is Arabella Holzbog and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Their leader is Don Stroud who comes in with a man from the military, Cliff De Young. It turns out that this unit is the closest to the base we saw. Young can’t give them much information as it is classified.
The unit arrives at the place and investigates. They find the cafeteria and it is full of blood. Johnson is found hiding. They take him to in the infirmary, having been in shock. They make it to the control room and start to figure out what happened. There is an issue with radiation leaking. They go to try to close it, but Young still will not give them more information about what is happening here.
It then turns out there are dinosaurs on the loose. They are velociraptors. Stroud is pulled down a ladder by one and then Núñez is attacked in the control room. Savage wants to know what is going on here, but Young still won’t give them information. It is decided to seal off the tunnels so the dinosaurs won’t get them. Johnson also comes up with a plan in order to get a rescue team to come.
Will Johnson be able to alert the evacuation team before the base has a meltdown? Can they seal the tunnels before the dinosaurs pick them all off?
Now I was turned on to from a horror film encyclopedia and heard about this on a podcast. What I had gathered is that this film wasn’t good, but it was fun. I do agree with this. There isn’t much to the story. The base that they go to is for disposing of nuclear warheads and uranium. It gets started really quickly into this. I do find it weird that the government would hire this unit if this was as top secret as Young keeps letting on. They don’t really explain why there are dinosaurs here. They do explain this in the original film and was a pretty elaborate as well. It feels like this film is banking that you’ve seen that. I do like that science could create dinosaurs and not be able to control them. This film really sets up the plot points, slapping you in the face with them pretty much. The story is just lacking things to really make me care.
The acting in this film isn’t really that good either. There are some solid actors in the film, but I don’t know if it was a poorly written script as to the reason they are so flat in their performances. I’ve seen Young, Stroud, Dean and Núñez in other films, where I’ve been much more impressed by all of them. Everyone was really just bland in my opinion.
Now the effects, I was actually slightly impressed by. The dinosaurs look good at times and others you can tell they aren’t real. Now the gore was solid. There should have been more blood when someone is torn open or a limb is ripped off. Despite this, it still looks good. The editing of the film didn’t really build the tension it needed to. The film has a low running time, but I think the editing isn’t to blame for this issue. I think it is more how it is written. We never really get enough back-story to care and it hurts the building of tension. The score didn’t really stand out to me. It doesn’t hurt or help the film.
Now with that said, this film isn’t great. Don’t come in expecting much. This film is definitely one that is fun though. The story is lacking a lot. There is quite a bit left unexplained and it feels like you need to see the original in order to fill in some of the gaps. The acting is pretty lackluster, even from actors I personally like. The effects are good though. There are still some issues with it, but the dinosaurs look pretty good and the gore was solid. The film has a low running time, but the editing doesn’t build the necessary tension we need. I think this is more due to the poor writing. The score doesn’t add much to the film, but it also doesn’t hurt it. This is a film I’d recommend watching with friends to laugh, but this film is really below average.
My Rating: 4 out of 10