The Curse of the Komodo

The brainchild of military man Foster(Jay Richardson)regarding giant Komodo dragons against American enemies is given birth thanks to scientist, Professor Nathan Phipps(William Langlois)who has bio-engineered the supposedly extinct species into massive dinosaur sized monsters, quite carnivorous and hungry for food. Along with a few associates on an island compound near Hawaii, Phipps, his daughter Rebecca(..* starlet Glori-Anne Gilbert, who isn't in this flick because of her acting ability, having a nice little topless bathing scene near water falls), and his assistant Dawn(Gail Harris)attempt to find a way at controlling the beasts without success. Meanwhile, a trio of casino thieves hitch a ride with paid alcoholic ex-military pilot Jack(Tim Abell, an ex-* actor who gets a chance to play hero in an action adventure)who lands them on the island containing the Komodo dragon. Jack informs cranky muscular head heister Drake(Paul Logan), his lover Tiffany(Melissa Brasselle), and fellow thief Reece(Cam Newlin)that his chopper will need repairs, but they will soon find themselves joining forces with Phipps remaining crew against a giant Komodo dragon whose outer skin seems impenetrable from gunfire as everyone fires endless rounds at it without effect, just annoying the beast. Phipps' compound is guarded by an electric fence but they are low on fuel and the generator is on the fritz. With a plague deriving from a slime secreted by the Komodo dragon causing those infected to slowly succumb to horrible skin rashes, sickness and erratic behavior, and that Komodo loose and hungry, the group will attempt to make it for Jack's chopper due to the fact that Foster won't send a rescue team to fly them off the island. But, it won't be easy as the Komodo always returns to feast on human meat when it can corner victims. When inspired, director Jim Wynorski makes other films than just * spoofs which is the case with this creature feature. It's nothing that you haven't seen numerous times on Sci-fi channel(..for which Wynorski has been a major contributor with numerous killer monster flicks), but I found it an entertaining enough time-waster. You get to see the Komodo dragon gulp a few humans. For a low-budget horror adventure, the special effects of the monster are the standard you are use to seeing on the Sci-fi channel, not really that bad or mind-blowing, either. The film alternates between our folks on the island squaring off with their sharp-teeth beast and the military headquarters of Foster. Unlike many of Wynorski efforts, the film plays it straight, not layered with tongue-in-cheek humor. As usual, though, Wynorski has two actresses with large fake breasts. Gilbert is a Wynorski regular who has starred in several of his * spoofs such as "Witches of Breastwick" & "The Breastford Wives"(..also starring as a fantasy girl in another Wynorski creature feature "The Thing Below"). She attempts to emote, but couldn't act if her life depended on it. Abell isn't so bad and could make a living in these type of genre flicks. He'd probably made it well in Italian rip-offs back in the late 70's/early 80's. Brasselle is a major babe who serves as a very ripped source of eye candy. Logan as the brooding heavy Drake(..who shoots the late Buck Flower in his opening scene because Reece mentioned his name while they were looting a casino)might be familiar to those who have his seen him in a bevy of * flicks. The film has a nice pace, with decent inserts of military footage, and fulfills all the requirements of a B-movie adventure flick. It's supposed to be escapist fare and is geared towards fans of creature feature flicks. Could be better. Could be worse. It is what it is.

source: The Curse of the Komodo

"Curse of the Komodo" isn't that bad of a creature feature. **SPOILERS** After the loss of a special military operation on Isle Damas, Professors Nathan Phipps, (William Langlois) and Dawn Porter, (Gail Harris) are assigned to clean it up before people find out about it. Trying to get away from a casino robbery, Drake, (Paul Logan) Tiffany, (Melissa Brasselle) and Reece, (Cam Newlin) crash-land on the island during the middle of a tropic storm. Going inland to find some repair equipment, they stumble upon Nathan's daughter Rebecca, (Glori-Anne Gilbert) and the rest of the scientific team encountering a giant attacking Komodo Dragon. After fending off the attack, they are welcome back to their compound and invited to stay. When the compound runs low on equipment, they try to leave to the island before a military operation blows up the island. The Good News: Here we go with another Sci-Fi Channel creature feature, and here is actually a pretty good one. The one thing that really works is the connection with the giant monster films of the early 50s and 60s. Crashing-landing on an island conducting genetic experiments with creatures and then encountering the creatures along the way screams of a 50s B-movie plot, and it gives the film some familiarity. The look back to the past gives the film a charm that most similar films don't really have, and that's a pretty surprising feat to accomplish. However, there is a change that works out for the better over the other films. The giant Komodo in this film is a fully-grown animal, and isn't the baby of a larger creature that comes back later looking for revenge. That is a common factor in many similar films, and the fact that it's missing here with the Komodo being fully grown and attacking is a really original move that needs to be commended and recognized. The action comes across pretty frequently, and it keeps the pace going nicely. One sequence involving a chase in a fleeing truck is especially nice, and is easily a highlight that is quite exciting and a little thrilling in places along the way. Even more, we see the Komodo really and often, so even though they look really bad digitally, it isn't as terrible as it really should've been. And perhaps one of the greatest aspects is Glori-Anne Gilbert's extended topless scene. The Bad News: The creatures here look so horrible that it's almost a travesty to call these computer generated creatures the same name as the Dinos created for "Jurassic Park." The fact that the same technique was used for the monsters in both films makes it all the more apparent that the Dinos will forever be the standard against which all CG creations will forever be judged. The results here are that bad. There are some pretty gaping plot holes on display here, and even though knowing them won't seriously undermine the enjoyment of the film, they are still there and pretty noticeable. The fact that the film is also just a giant cheese-fest doesn't help matters. There's really no shocks, jumps or anything, and the film plays out like a giant cheesy good time. The Final Verdict: It's a giant cheese-fest, that's for sure, and Dinos from ten years ago still look better, but if you like the creature features from the 50s and 60s, then this isn't all that bad. Some kinks need to be either smoothed out or fixed, but there's far worse ones I've seen out there. Take it for what you will. Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Nudity

this may or may not include things considered to be spoilers so i'm warning you just in case. OK. it's a bad, cheap movie. it probably counts as a knock off of everything ever, including a nice nod to jurassic park's giant electrical fence. cause how better to contain large lizards but with a giant charged fence. but. it's hilarious. it has a casino heist, military intrigue, monsters, crazed scientists, zombies, boobies... it's a great movie if you're into b-films. bad writing, bad acting, cheap effects, lame jokes... but my is it complex and snazzy. clearly, the crew is trying to move from more adult films to a reasonably ordinary market with this film. i think it's a good crossover into evil dead territory. completely different subject matter but equally campy and fun. watch this in a marathon with cannibal women of the avocado jungle of death.

Once again genetic experimentation has gone awry. A group of casino robbers crash land on a tropical island where scientists are already living in fear. The Army has been experimenting for years developing new weaponry...things have gotten a bit out of hand. Genetic tampering has transformed Komodo dragons into giant, human-hunting monsters intent with wrecking the jungle as they forage for nourishment. The casino bandits don't have to think twice when it comes to helping the scientists keep the creatures from escaping and making the rest of mankind high priority on the food chain. The story is pretty lame and the cast is pretty shallow too. Melissa Braselle and Glori-Anne Gilbert are an eye full in different degrees. Also in the cast are: Tim Abell, William Langlois, Paul Logan and Gail Harris. A much better Komodo movie to check out is KOMODO(1999).

Okay, okay...so Ray Harryhausen isn't dead. This movie might drive him to commit suicide and then roll in his grave. Not that the monster effects are terrible for a low budget picture. They're passable in a "this would make an interesting video game" way. As previously mentioned, the game would have to constitute nothing more than the giant Komodo jumping out, having hundreds of rounds fired into its belly, then lumbering off for no reason. The stars of this movie are not the Komodos, anyway. They're the breasts of the female stars. At least, this is what one has to assume, as they're flaunted at every opportunity, despite being "hidden" by the barest of coverings. I saw this picture on the Sci Fi Channel, so I have no awareness how much T and A might have been cut out (this being a JW film and all). Regardless, it was obvious that this was intended to be the draw. The girls - there are three interchangeable blonds - don't have much to do but huddle together. It's almost as if the director told them: "The Komodo is coming, so huddle on this couch." "The Komodo is coming, so huddle by this tree." It goes on and on, with the tallest of the bunch going bra-less in a tank top, bouncing each time they have to run from one huddling location to another. And the guys? Most of them looked like they escaped from a GQ shoot. You know the types. Minor stubble to denote the "rugged outdoors-man" stereotype. Tank top on the "muscular hero" stereotype. It was almost comic enough to be enjoyable. But not quite.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* B-movie kingpin Jim Wynorski cranks out another one. He has grown to the point where he can now freely reference his own work. When the head Navy guy is asked how he came up with the idea of making giant Komodos, he gladly credits one of Wynorski's movies for the inspiration. "I got the idea from an old monster movie. You ever see Dinosaur Island?" In another scene, a bunch of robbers pretend to be a documentary film crew. A scientist asks, "What's the name of the show?". The hot blonde replies, "Treasure Hunt". "Treasure Hunt" was another Wynorski flick. There are also references to "Cool Hand Luke", "Ghostbusters" and, of course, "Jurassic Park". A bunch of people end up on Komodo Island and run for their lives. There are casino robbers, (with a hot blonde whose body has been aerobicized to death), scientists, (with a not-as-hot blonde with large breasts) and the head scientist's daughter who has extremely large breasts. They must work together to save themselves from the giant Komodo roaming the island. The action scenes are tedious. Basically they involve the cast shooting guns off screen at a giant Komodo. Bullets don't seem to faze the Komodo. He just becomes bored after having been shot a few hundred times and walks away. Soon the people bicker and argue over survival tactics and the viewer yawns. Of course it's all been done before and better but who can ever really get enough of giant monsters? I know I can't. On the plus side, "Curse of the Komodo" hums right along and doesn't hurt you too much. It's a B-movie and proud of it. We've got a giant Komodo dragon, some hot blondes and there you go. We have a movie! The best scene involves the scientist's daughter. She decides to go for a topless swim. This scene was magical. Even with a giant Komodo dragon roaming around, she still found time to enjoy herself. Good for her. Good for me too.

Absolutely the worst plot – OK, maybe tied with Solarbabies as the worst plot ever. So let's get this straight. You're a genetic scientist, you get your secret governmental funding from some upstart Navy commander who pays for your project out of petty cash and that empty coffee can next to the bottled water, you create giant carnivores to feed the world, left your daughter trapped on a deserted island with afore mention beasts for a meeting that you could have used your 1920's era two way radio for, power the "electric fence" and your only defense with a Honda generator the size of a shoebox, just happen to keep extra guns and explosives in that old shack a few miles away, know how to assembly any weapon but cant hit the broad side of a barn, just happen to keep some grain alcohol on hand for those downtrodden commando helicopter pilots that stop by for brunch, and cant wait to sacrifice yourself to save the love of your life. Right…… It all becomes so clear now. You just want yourself and everyone you know to die and get off this movie.

In the Isla Damas, a group of soldiers lands on the island and are attacked and murdered by a Komodo dragon. Two men, Hanson (Ted Monte) and Jason (J.P.Davis), leave a building surrounded by an electric fence to seek out survivors. They run back to the building and a woman, Rebecca "Becky" (Glori-Anne Gilbert), who is the daughter of the scientist. Nathan Phipps (William Langlois) deactivates the fence. Phipps and his assistant Dawn Porter (Gail Harris) contact the Chief of a Naval Base at Hawaii, Foster (Jay Richardson), to discuss the dragons that are genetically-engineered by them to produce food that have turned into war machines by Foster. Meanwhile, a casino is robbed in Hawaii by the thieves Drake (Paul Logan), Tiffany (Melissa Brasselle), and Reece (Cam Newlin) that flee to Damas using the pilot of helicopter Jack (Tim Abell). Soon they meet Phipps and Dawn shooting at a Komodo dragon and they learn that they need to team-up with the scientists to survive. Further, the contact with a Komodo turns the person onto a zombie. However the fuel of the generator is finishing and Foster does not have the intention of rescuing the group that knows too much about his project Catalyst. How will they survive from the dragons? "The Curse of the Komodo" is one of those movies so lame, illogical and trash that becomes funny. The plot is absurd and stupid. Why the soldiers have come to the island? If fuel is primordial to keep the protection against the dangerous creatures, why there is not enough fuel and a backup generator? If bullets do not affect the dragons, why the group insists in shooting at the Komodo? In addition the ham acting is hilarious inclusive with the participation of soft-* actress. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Criaturas" ("Creatures")

Good Lord, what a stinker! This one ALMOST makes it into the "so bad, it's good" category. Sadly, not quite. OK, you know what you're getting into just from reading the title. Trust me, there are no surprises after that. Imagine an Andy Sideris film, without the constant nudity, mixed with the most embarrassingly underwhelming special effects you've ever seen, and you pretty much have it. I think there's some kind of screenplay in there, but I kept falling asleep so maybe I missed it. Avoid this one at all costs. No redeeming value whatsoever.