Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to review The VelociPastor and passed on the film. It blew up and I vowed that I would take the next raptor themed film that was sent my way, no matter how cheesy it looked. Then, The Invisible Raptor came in and my initial gut reaction was to pass… it just sounded too cheesy. I stopped myself from saying no when I realized that Sean Astin was in the film. I’m a big fan of everything Astin does, so I figured why not give it a try.
About 20 minutes into the film, I wondered why I was still watching it. I don’t rarely walk away from reviews, but sometimes they are so bad that I just can’t do it. I was, at that point, wondering how The Invisible Raptor was ever made… and then it happened. The film found its footing and I was hooked.
We set out to make a creature feature with no creature! We knew that what you don’t see can be even scarier, but instead of focusing only on suspense, we leaned into the absurdity. Watching the cast and crew figure out how to bring an invisible raptor to life in their own ways was an absolute blast.
Mike Hermosa, director
The film really does lean into the absurdity of the situation and it plays so well. I found myself laughing out loud alone in my living room several times while watching this film. The gags, while juvenile, were hilarious. The interactions with the raptor are doubly hilarious, but again there’s a strong juvenile nature to most of the jokes. I didn’t mind it, it fit my humour perfectly, but for some people it might be a little over the top and, at times, a little raunchy.
The other aspect of the film that I loved was the gore. Now, this isn’t your typical horror movie – there are no jump scares, there’s no suspense, and there’s nothing remotely scary about the film. It is, however, filled with gore… cheesy, over the top, ridiculous gore that will absolutely make your day and delight you for the duration of the film. The raptor kill scenes are highly entertaining and a lot of fun.
I know I’ve used the word fun quite a bit to describe this film, but that’s really the only word that works. Other than a slow start, the film is filled with comedic brilliance and a perfect pacing. I found myself grinning ear to ear at how much stupid fun I was having watching a flick that had absolutely no right to be as good as it was. I want you to watch this film… I want everyone to watch this film. It is, to overuse the word, fun!
In the end, we made the kind of movie we’d all want to see—a ridiculous, suspenseful, and heartfelt ride. I hope the joy we had making THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR shines through onscreen, and that audiences have as much fun watching it as we did creating it.
Mike Hermosa, director
The only thing I disagree with this statement from Hermosa on is the suspenseful ride. The film is ridiculous and it really is heartfelt in many ways… I just didn’t see a lot of suspense. I suspect that’s because it was overshadowed by the humour. As I write this review, I’m literally grinning like a fool thinking about how much I’m looking forward to seeing the film again.
There are two minor things I want to call out about the film. The treatment of children in this film is amazing. There’s a boy named Elliot and a girl named Hannah and the scenes involving their interactions with their parental units are some of the funniest moments in the film. The other is how many actors you will recognize in this film. They may not be names you know, but they are faces that you’ve seen in hundreds of combined films and television episodes and they all do a fantastic job at their roles.
That’s actually something that’s worth pointing out… the entire cast does a phenomenal job of making this film work. I really hope that I get an opportunity to see outtakes from this film because they were having so much fun and did such a great job at delivering their scenes, that I have to assume there were scenes that they really flubbed and I bet they make for great outtakes.
If you get the opportunity, definitely check this film out.
The Invisible Raptor was released in theatres and on digital on December 6.
The Invisible Raptor
Movie title: The Invisible Raptor
Movie description: After a top-secret experiment goes wrong, a hyper-intelligent invisible raptor escapes the lab and begins wreaking havoc in the surrounding neighborhood. When the creature’s identity is uncovered, it soon becomes clear that a disgraced paleontologist—alongside his ex-girlfriend, an unhinged amusement park security guard, and a local celebrity chicken farmer—is the town’s only hope for surviving the raptor’s ravenous rampage.
Date published: 2024-12-06
Director(s): Mike Hermosa
Actor(s): Mike Capes, David Shackelford, Caitlin McHugh Stamos, Vanessa Chester, Sandy Martin, Bobby Gilchrist, Richard Riehle, Sean Astin
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Overall
4.5-
Overall
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Self Checkout
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Giggles & Grins
