Where’s the dino, you might ask? Without the budgets granted to Oscar winners like Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, pulling off an authentic prehistoric flick probably isn’t the easiest feat. On an indie budget, here’s a novel idea: Why not lean into the major drawback? Chad Michael Murray’s new Netflix Christmas movie has been taking a bit of heat on social media for trying to finagle fake ice-skating on camera, for example. But if an indie filmmaker really wishes to produce their own sort of grand spectacle, one where a dinosaur breaks loose on mainland U.S., maybe the best route is to embrace what Spielberg pulled off with Jaws instead of Jurassic Park. Let’s not forget, the shark only had four minutes of total screentime in Jaws. So, what if you went a whole dinosaur movie without seeing a single one? The Invisible Raptor gives it a shot.
From director Mike Hermosa, The Invisible Raptor — a title that sounds like a euphemism for something, but most certainly is not — feels like the kind of grindhouse flick that would screen at an old drive-in, but in a good way. There’s some outrageously cheesy dialogue and stoner-grade jokes spoken by grown-ass men. Learn to accept the cheapness for what it is, and you’ll probably enjoy the horror-comedy frights that accompany it. Hey, it’s clear that co-writer and star Mike Capes is certainly committed, and the climactic third act might even make it all worth it.
What if Dr. Grant Were Disgraced?
Just as the similarly outrageous horror-comedy Piranha 3D (2010) commenced with a veteran big name (Jaws alum Richard Dreyfuss) in focus for its introductory death scene, The Invisible Raptor also tries its hand at the format. Before the in-universe expands to the local town in which the film is entirely set, we’re first inside a dimly lit laboratory with professional Goonie Sean Astin, channeling his Stranger Things energy as scientist Willie Walsh. He’s an admittedly lonesome man who spends his nights running tests for some sort of top-secret experiment he and fellow lab rat John Sykes (Bobby Gilchrist) are monitoring. Of course, Willie’s experiments catalyze a whole mess as their mysterious creature gets loose and sets itself free.
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And like any B-movie, the local community that will face the creature’s wrath is dominated by an eclectic spread of colorful characters. The more senior residents include Henrietta (Sandy Martin), Murray (Larry Hankin), and Sheriff Grimley (Richard Riehle) — all familiar faces from past classic films and TV shows who heighten the cozy, lived-in feel of this otherwise gory frightfest.
But the A-story ultimately zeroes in on a disgraced paleontologist (Capes), who now spends his days teaching brats about dinosaurs at the local amusement park. His name is Dr. Grant, of course, paying homage to Sam Neill’s hero in Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece. In this new-and-(un)improved Dr. Grant’s world, he’s hit rock bottom with the dead-end job alongside equally jaded coworker Denny Denielson (David Shackelford) and younger A-hole boss, Todd (Bill Kottkkamp). But when Grant’s gorgeous, long-lost ex-girlfriend Amber (Caitlin McHugh) happens to stumble upon his place of employment one day, sparks start to fly once again.
‘The Invisible Raptor’ Is a Rowdy, Silly B-Movie
And just as Simon Pegg had to juggle rekindling romance against a zombie-apocalyptic backdrop in Shaun of the Dead (2004), Grant’s stakes certainly escalate once he and Amber discover that bodies are mysteriously dropping around town at the hand of a creature they simply can’t seem to locate. Thank goodness Grant is a certified paleontologist, and when one clue leads to another, Capes gets to deliver a one-liner with wide-eyed glory on par with Samuel L. Jackson’s from Snakes on a Plane. “It’s an invisible raptor!”
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Expect rowdy cheers from the audience if you catch this one in theaters. And perhaps the same sort of viewer response can be anticipated at other points throughout this ludicrous tale. There’s a lot of fun to be had as the band of local misfits and bumbling law enforcement personnel band together to track down the unseen velociraptor as it continues to ravage its way across town, endlessly hungry among a sea of prey. The film is a self-aware, fun callback to endless ’50s monster movies of the same ilk, such as The Killer Shrews, The Deadly Mantis, and Them!
You Get What You’d Expect
You’ve again been warned here that this is very much an irreverent picture at the end of the day, perhaps best consumed with pizza and booze. So if you don’t go in primed with this sort of understanding, you’ll feel underwhelmed time and time again in The Invisible Raptor, pondering to yourself, “When are they going to reveal the dino? What a ripoff!” This is the kind of film that you need to know about before seeing. Its cheesy stupidity can be either a pro or a con depending on what type of movie you want to see.
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The third act certainly has a few shining moments tied to the raptor, but otherwise, bask in the town’s idiocracy as folks bicker endlessly about whose plan is the least stupid in bringing society back to safety. Some of the one-liner insults dished between certain dimwits read as if the writers ripped a lengthy bong hit, exhaled and spilled whatever nonsense that popped into their heads onto the page.
The film’s lengthy runtime of nearly two hours might also be a turn-off for moviegoers who could rightfully expect something like The Invisible Raptor to cap at 85 minutes, if not shorter. And the splash of actor Astin, beloved from The Lord of the Rings franchise, in the movie’s opening will certainly leave fans wanting more from his short-lived cameo. Oh well. The rest of the cast is peppy enough to keep you invested — and who knows? If there’s any success, let’s not be surprised if The Invisible T. Rex comes into fruition as a sequel. From Well Go U.S.A., The Invisible Raptor will be released in theaters and on digital December 6.
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