The “Velociraptor Horror” bar is fairly low outdoors Common’s Jurassic franchise. All Mike Hermosa’s The Invisible Raptor needed to outperform are titles like Space 407, Jim Wynorski’s Raptor, or The VelociPastor. On that scale, The Invisible Raptor proves extra competent than different prehysterical B-movies that you simply would possibly discover on the SYFY channel after midnight. It is promoting what’s on the tin — a goofy creature function with an unseen raptor and extra Jurassic Park references than Comedian Con. If that appears like brainless enjoyable, you are (largely) in luck!
Mike Capes stars as Dr. Grant Walker (purple bandana and all), a disgraced paleontologist who now works for a dinosaur amusement park. He is down on his luck, however Dr. Walker jumps into motion when an invisible velociraptor escapes its top-secret facility cage. With the assistance of DinoWorld’s redneck safety guard Deniel ‘Denny’ Denielson (David Shackelford) and his former lover Amber (Caitlin McHugh), Dr. Walker begins monitoring Tylercorp’s rampaging translucent beast. It will take heroism, micropenis distractions, and a abdomen for raptor droppings to avoid wasting the day — cue Dr. Walker’s bloody redemption tour.
The Invisible Raptor is as foolish as it’s overlong (The Invisible Raptor shouldn’t be a stone’s throw from two hours). As if Sean Astin’s Tylercorp tech being a Dennis Nedry doppelganger or Dr. Grant’s numerous Dr. Grant-isms weren’t blatant sufficient, Hermosa beats us mindless with Jurassic Park references till the ultimate credit. That and callouts to Jaws, Predator, Weekend at Bernie’s, Rambo, and numerous different style touchstones which were remixed for many years. The raptor — identified henceforth as Probability The Raptor, its lab-given identify — puppets a useless physique seemingly after placing sun shades on the corpse or roars in entrance of a falling banner. Subtlety is for cowards, and Hermosa is fearless.
Surprisingly, I fell for The Invisible Raptor as a result of the solid and crew play into inherent wackiness. A lane is picked, and we’re on cruise management. “What if motion pictures you recognize, however an invisible raptor?” Dr. Grant acts as an viewers proxy by calling out each asinine happenstance, from everybody’s favourite It is All the time Sunny In Philadelphia mom (Sandy Martin) performing a mating ritual whereas dressed as a human-sized hen, to Amber’s narratively unimportant baby (an A+ joke). Heck, The Misplaced World: Jurassic Park actress Vanessa Chester has a cameo as “DJ Malcolm” — the deep cuts are alive and effectively. Capes and co-writer Johnny Wickham aren’t forcing B-movie laughs like so many ill-fated scripts; humor comes organically and with an understanding of what makes audacious ideas thrive. The Invisible Raptor finds a throughline of cleverness that is robust sufficient to assist hornet-up, doodie-first, fossilized butthole humor.
Whereas character work will be earnest, arcs run too lengthy. Denny and Dr. Grant’s friendship follies are cute for a spell however too rudimentary on the movie’s marathon length. It is a “will they, will not they” broship that we have seen in goofball comedies a thousand occasions. Hokiness solely will get you to date in a film titled The Invisible Raptor, and there is gristle left on the bone. Hermosa pushes into Hallmark territory as a spoof at factors, whether or not that is Amber’s reemergence as Dr. Grant’s love curiosity or Denny’s simpleton showings of affection, but raptorless stretches start to nosedive. Credit score to Capes, Shackelford, and others for holding a straight face regardless of claws-out buffoonery abound, however sentimentality — whilst a ruse — is not a powerful promoting level.
What DOES flex is the ridiculous gore as Probability gnaws, tears, and slashes by means of our bodies. Hermosa avoids janky creature results since you’ll barely spot Probability outdoors a thermal imaginative and prescient sequence or when he will get … uhh … “moist,” we’ll say. That leaves loads of funds for violent assaults whether or not fingers are lopped off, heads are chewed off, or entrails are spilled like Dr. Alan Grant warns originally of Jurassic Park. Hermosa’s results division understands the task, and whereas some digital goop is not pristine, nearly all of carnage stays enjoyably twisted. You will get your murders and mayhem, in addition to some nifty visible results that recreate the presence of a see-through dinosaur in suburban areas.
Frankly, The Invisible Raptor overachieves with a shocking polish. I imply this as a praise: it is the dumbest not-dumb film I’ve seen this 12 months. Do not get me fallacious; complete length is a matter, and it is a greater raptor slasher than anything — however that does not destroy legitimate leisure worth. My expectations had been within the gutter after The VelociPastor, however Hermosa delivers greater than gimmicky wordplay. What can I say? The Invisible Raptor, like life, finds a method.
Film Rating: 3/5
