MONSTERZERO NJ’S 15 NATURE RUN AMOK FLICKS TO WATCH!
Crawl, finds a young woman (Kaya Scodelario battling alligators loose in a house during a hurricane!
Cocaine Bear has brought the nature run amok flick back into the limelight, so, while everyone is in the mood for critters and carnage, here are fifteen fun nature run amok flicks, old and new, to satisfy your creature cravings! You’re going to need a bigger couch!
Cutie Missy Peregrym has a problem with the local wildlife in Backcountry!
(To get to the reviews of the titles listed that were covered here at the Movie Madhouse, just type the title in the search engine to find the corresponding critique!)
Nature run amok flick finds Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) taking his two teenage daughters Mer (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries) to Africa to visit the homeland of their recently deceased mother. There he reunites with old friend and wildlife reserve manager Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley) who introduced him to his late wife. They also meet up with a blood-thirsty lion who is on a murderous rampage after poachers have killed its mate and slaughtered its pride.
African set thriller is well directed by Baltasar Kormákur from a script by Ryan Engle. It is tense and suspenseful and while paced very well, does give enough time to let us get to know Nate, Martin and the girls, so we care about them. It also makes our rampaging beastie a bit sympathetic as we witness the slaughter of its mate and thus understand it’s rage. This gives Beast a bit of emotional resonance, but also works against the film in that you never really see the animal as a monster or a true villain. In terms of the poachers…a real-life issue addressed here…you are actually on its side. Once the film gets going it is very entertaining and the attacks have impact though, again, like Frankenstein’s monster, the lion is not a creature you come to hate as its rampage has reason. You kind of feel bad for it despite liking Nate and his daughters. The cast are all good here and the added background drama involving the death of Nate’s wife, gives their characters and the proceedings dramatic weight, but it might have been far more effective if you weren’t so understanding of the massive feline’s fury. Hard to hate the cat when he lost his wife too! A good movie still worth a watch but could have been more effective done as an old-fashioned monster movie a la Jaws or Grizzly.
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Plot of the flick is fairly simple. When pesticides kill off their natural prey, the usually solitary tarantulas surrounding the remote town of Camp Verde, Arizona form a massive colony to attack larger prey such as farm animals and humans. Local veterinarian Rack Hansen (William Shatner) teams up with pretty arachnologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) to try to stop the wave of hungry spiders as it closes in on the town.
Nature run amok flick is directed by John “Bud” Cardos from a script by Alan Caillou and Richard Robinson. It’s a spooky flick with many chilling scenes, especially for those who might have a problem with spiders. Anyone with arachnophobia will definitely have a hard time here. This might possibly be Cardos’ best movie as he hits all the right notes and his straightforward directing style works perfectly, as a slow burn is what this story needs. A problem effecting one farm, slowly builds into an invasion of an entire town and it’s done very well. The presentation of armies of spiders is very effective and looks like hundreds were used in filming. There is also some decent enough make-up FX to simulate spider bites and who isn’t given the willies by seeing someone wrapped up in a web as a spider snack. There is suspense, tension and watching spiders pouring out of air vents or surrounding a little girl on her bed, are goose-bump inducing. There are a few cheesy FX, such as the matte paintings used during the still very effective climax, but otherwise this is a little movie that smartly stayed within it’s means and spent it’s $1 million budget well. By today’s standards it could be seen as tame and slow moving, but the restraint and pace does work in it’s favor. When things do happen it’s all the more effective.
Cast are really good here. Cardos even reigns in Shatner a bit. Sure Shatner plays his country veterinarian as a bit of a Romeo, but the character also has some depth, as he is a bit of a drinker and torn over the feelings he has for his dead brother’s widow, Terry (Marcy Lafferty). It makes him more of a human hero. Tiffany Bolling is good as the sexy scientist that catches Rack’s eye, as well as, investigates his spider problem. She stands on equal ground with the heroic veterinarian and it makes it interesting. The then Mrs. William Shatner, Marcy Lafferty, is sweet yet a bit emotionally troubled as Terry. She has feeling for Rack, too, but is still mourning and loyal to her husband, who died in the Viet Nam War. Again it gives the characters a little depth. Little Natasha Ryan is cute as Terry’s daughter and Rack’s niece Linda and legendary athlete turned actor Woody Strode is perfectly cast as a farmer with a serious arachnid problem.
In conclusion, this is a solid and sometimes chilling nature run amok flick. It keeps it’s story simple with nature, in the form of tarantulas, making lethal adjustments to their habits to counter man’s interference. The spider sequences are really well done and effective and director John “Bud” Cardos’ down to earth style, keeps the flick grounded, realistic and scary. The FX are effective, for the most part and the film knows how to give you the willies. A solid horror with a good cast of humans and spiders.
MONSTERZERO NJ’S 12 NATURE RUN AMOK FLICKS TO WATCH!
Similar to Crawl, Burning Bright has a tiger, instead of gators, loose in a house during a hurricane!
Crawl has brought the nature run amok flick back into the limelight, so, while everyone is in the mood for critters and carnage, here are a dozen fun nature run amok flicks, old and new, to satisfy your creature cravings! You’re going to need a bigger couch!
Cutie Missy Peregrym has a problem with the local wildlife in Backcountry!
(To get to the reviews of the titles listed that were covered here at the Movie Madhouse, just type the title in the search engine to find the corresponding critique!)
(Clicking the highlighted links brings you to corresponding reviews and articles here at The Movie Madhouse!)
Stung is an old fashioned giant insect horror that is moderately fun, though could and should have been a lot more entertaining. Film has caterers Paul (Matt O’Leary) and Julia (Jessica Cook) catering a large party at a remote estate. The party comes under siege by a swarm of large, aggressive wasps whose sting implants it’s young inside a host which, in turn, grows into a creature matching the size of that in which it was laid. Soon, there are an army of human-sized wasps on a rampage and Matt and Julia are trapped with a few survivors in the estate cellar. Now the two must, somehow, find a way out, while the giant insects are quickly finding their way in.
With plenty of gooey insect FX and a lot of splattered blood and gore, this should have been a lot more fun than it is. The problem is simply some very by-the-numbers direction by Benjamin Diez from Adam Aresty’s script. With a silly script like this, Diez should have taken the ball and run with it but, despite all the gruesome insect hi-jinxs, the film moves at a very moderate pace and there is never the energy and fun of similar nature-run-amok flicks, like Piranha (either version) or the cult classic Tremors. The FX are well executed and our critters are menacing but, there is no energy to the proceedings and the attempts at humor fall flat. It’s a scenario that has fun written all over it though, director Diez isn’t able to bring it. The film is also supposed to take place in New York State but, is filmed in Germany and the location looks completely European and isn’t fooling anyone. It’s off-putting. Even the vehicles look foreign despite the left hand side steering wheel. It’s a shame. It’s a story of fertilizer-mutated wasps that could have been a real blast under the guidance of someone who just had a good time with making a bloody, slimy mess…like the recent Zombeavers, which is a good example of taking the ball and running with it. Deiz seems to take his subject far too seriously, even with the script’s attempt at humor and some of the outright goofy situations. The direction is simply too leaden and flat for material like this.
The cast are adequate but, again most of the performances are very by-the-numbers. Only genre legend Lance Henriksen seems to really be having a good time with his part as a swaggering mayor, as is Clifton Collins, Jr. as the owner’s very odd son, Sydney. Leads O’Leary and Cook are both attractive and there is the obvious cliché romantic sub-plot but, both actors are a bit bland and the chemistry between them seems forced. Out best performers are our prosthetic and CGI critters…though, in a flick like this, that’s OK.
The movie passed the time but, nothing more. It was somewhat amusing but, not the full blown blast it would have been so much better as. When you start out with a story as outrageous as this, you need to go with it and have a good time. A brooding tone and slow pace does not really fit with giant wasps bursting out of their victims at random. The leads didn’t seem to get the material and neither did the director…if he did, he didn’t convey it convincingly enough to make this a real treat.
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