Chupacabra Terror

• USA • 2005 • 88m •

• Directed by: John Shepphird. • Starring: John Rhys-Davies, Dylan Neal, Chelan Simmons, Giancarlo Esposito, Paula Shaw, David Millbern, Mark Viniello, Joe Miller, Matthew R. Anderson, Luke Darnell, David St. Pierre, Garon Michael, Luciano Olz. • Music by: Penka Kouneva.

Doctor Pena is a cryptozoologist who has dedicated his life to studying the mysterious and elusive mythical monster, the chupacabra. When he finally manages to capture one on a remote Caribbean island, he stands to become a legend himself within the scientific community--that is, if he can manage to get the beast back to the US. He smuggles it on board a cruise ship, but it's not long before curiosity gets the better of a couple of porters, who open the crate to see what's inside; the released creature proceeds to go on a rampage, turning the ship into an enormous bloodbath.

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1:55

Review:

Released in 2005 and directed by John Shepphird, "Chupacabra Terror" chronicles events on a cruise ship when a cryptozoologist (Giancarlo Esposito) sneaks a chupacabra on board. It doesn't take long for it to be unleashed from its cage and a squad of commandos comes aboard. John Rhys-Davies plays the Captain and Chelan Simmons his tae-bo instructor daughter. Dylan Neal appears as a marshal while David Millbern is on hand as a venal charmer who milks the rich (Paula Shaw).

The monster is a guy in a suit rather than CGI and it looks effectively terrifying, albeit too tall for a creature that's supposedly the size of a small bear. Freckled-blond Chelan is cute as ever, but not enough is done with her. The film generally fumbles the ball on the female front. The ship sets are fine, and the movie may even have been shot on an actual vessel, but the long shots of the ship are cartoony CGI, and it's too obvious. There's a lot of action as the crew & militarists try to take down the chupacabra, but the creature is SO invulnerable it's unbelievable. In its favor, the tone is austere and the likable cast takes the material seriously. There's quite a bit of gore.

I can handle any of the negatives cited above, except for prosaic writing. And that's the problem with this movie: A by-the-numbers script with no meat on the bones. The flick's thoroughly banal and it kills it. Kids might like it though. The movie runs 88 minutes and was shot in Turks and Caicos Islands. The script was written by Steve Jankowski & the director.

Review by Wuchak from the Internet Movie Database.

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