Dinocroc |
  • USA • 2004 • 90m •    • Directed by: Kevin O'Neill. • Starring: Costas Mandylor, Charles Napier, Bruce Weitz, Matthew Borlenghi, Jane Longenecker, Max Perlich, Jake Thomas, Price Carson, Joanna Pacula, Jamie Akhavi, Don Pugsley, Fred Burns, Ric Sarabia. • Music by: Damon Ebner.      Hoping to create a cheap alternative to expensive prescription medicines, the greedy Gereco Corporation genetically manipulates a small supply of DNA from a prehistoric creature called the Sarcosuchus. Suddenly revived and very hungry, this ancient "DinoCroc" kills indiscriminately but has a special fondness for human flesh. Professional herpetologist and crocodile hunter Dick Sydney is brought in from Australia to stop the rampaging beast, with the grudging assistance of female scientist Paula Kennedy and the more willing cooperation of Sheriff Harper and his ever-imperiled daughter, Diane.
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Directed by Kevin O'Niell I was pretty surprised to find out that Dinocroc wasn't an original Sy-Fy Channel film but was far less surprised to learn that cheap rip-off merchant Roger Corman was behind it, apparently had the working title Primevil & it's just about as bad as any of those awful Sy-Fy Channel creature features. The script for Dinocroc takes a little bit of Jurassic Park (1993) with it's DNA Dinosaur cloning aspect & adds a whole dollop of Lake Placid (1999) as a small community is terrorised by a giant Crocodile monster thing & it's up to a big game hunter & the local Sheriff amongst other's to try & stop it. The script is utterly predictable, throughly bland, truly forgettable & unforgivably uninspired as it's 85 minute duration plods along & feels like twice that. The story makes no great sense, there is no explanation given as to why this company Gereco are cloning prehistoric Dinosaur Crocodiles or why that stupid scientist decides to just open the door to it's cell & just sort of stand there totally unarmed, what did she think was going to happen? The Dinocroc wasn't going to invite her to sit down & have a cup of tea was it? Then there's the leading ladies affection for stray Dog's, I mean at the end her dad the Sheriff tries to use these stray Dog's to lure the Dinocroc into a trap yet Diane goes crazy & risk's not only her life but her dad's life, her boyfriend's life & everyone else there lives as well in order to sabotage the trap & save the Dog's. Are we really meant to believe that as a motivational factor? It's either the Dog's or possibly dozens of people. With a throughly predictable & sometimes embarrassing (the montage as Tom drowns his sorrows over his brother's death is really bad) script Dinocroc fails to deliver any sort of entertainment value, the attack scenes are dull & quite why the Sheriff didn't just call the army in I'll never know.
The CGI computer effects are average for this type of fare, while not the worst looking monster out there Dinocroc is hardly convincing. There's a little gore but not much, a boy has his head bitten off, a guy's severed legs are seen & there's a bit of blood splatter but nothing to excited about. The attack scenes are poor, there's no excitement or tension & no sense that Dinocroc is any great threat as it just sort walks a bit & roars. The makers never have it do anything else. The best part of Dinocroc is when Diane decides to stick up for Dick Sydney, without a hint of sarcasm or irony she says 'I like Dick'. That moment raised a smile from me & is probably the best part of the film.
Dinocroc has reasonable production values but nothing special, the acting isn't that good with seasoned actor Charles Napier slumming it here, Costas Mandylor turns up as the Australian hunter a couple of years before his star role in the Saw franchise started in Saw III (2006).
Dinocroc is terrible, it's as bad as it's Sy-Fy Channel counterparts & offers nothing new. Followed by the slightly better Supergator (2007) & the equally awful Dinocroc vs.
Review by poolandrews from the Internet Movie Database.
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