Dr. Grant Walker (Mike Capes, Powerless, Action Team) was once a renowned paleontologist who discovered the first fully-intact dinosaur butthole. However, his partner took all the credit, leaving him with an inability to get close to anyone anymore. Now Dr. Grant finds himself working at museum/fun park Dinoworld, rapping and performing a dinosaur mating dance in front of groups of kids, alongside coworker Deniel “Denny” Denielson (David Shackelford, There’s Something About Mary, Kingpin) in a dinosaur costume. Denny also serves as Dinoworld’s head of security, a job he also isn’t that happy with. Ever since he was a kid, Denny had always wanted to be an actual cop, but a traumatic incident at his 6th grade talent show forever threw a wrench in those plans.
Deep in a secure underground lab, scientists Willie (Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Stranger Things) and Sykes (Bobby Gilchrist, Shapeless, NCIS: New Orleans) are working on a top secret project when their creation—a highly-intelligent invisible velocirator—manages to escape. The raptor starts wreaking havoc all around Speilburgh County, but when it leaves a massive pile of raptor poop at one of the crime scenes, Dr. Grant suddenly realizes what they are up against. However, the bumbling local cops—Sherrif Grimley (Richard Riehle, The Man from Earth, Casino) and Deputy Carlyle (David Thuene, St. Denis Medical)—don’t believe him, so Dr. Grant and Denny have to take matters into their own hands. Joining them in their effort to stop the creature is Grant’s newly-reunited former flame Amber (Caitlin McHugh Stamos, The Vampire Diaries), and crass celebrity chicken farmer Henrietta McCluckskey (Sandy Martin, Napoleon Dynamite, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). As they follow the raptor’s trail of blood and destruction they must come up with a way to stop this creature that can’t be seen, before even more innocent people wind up dead.
The Invisible Raptor is a really fun horror-comedy that knows exactly what type of movie it wants to be, and never takes itself too seriously. It has a tone similar to Tremors, with some Farrelly brothers-style gross out humor. It plays on the horror movie tropes as we “see” the raptor stalk and attack each of its victims. The film is also one big tribute to Steven Spielberg, with so many Easter eggs and callouts to his films, especially Jurassic Park, from the opening title font, to the score, to Sean Astin’s character’s Dennis Nedry-inspired Hawaiian shirt, to Dr. Grant’s name, and so many other homages throughout the film. The love interest is even named Amber, allowing Denny to quip to Dr. Grant “Someone wants to get their little mosquito stuck in Amber”. But the Spielberg references keep on coming, such as a young boy named Elliott investigating a sound coming from his foggy garage, and leaving a trail of candy for the creature. Oh, and the boy’s last name happens to be Kintner, so you can probably guess his Jaws-like fate. And the whole film takes place in Speilburgh County. The film also has references to many other non-Spielberg properties, such as an early nod to Weekend at Bernies.
The decision to make the dinosaur invisible is quite ingenious as it probably saved the filmmakers a fortune in effects, and also sometimes the creature you don’t see is actually scarier than the one you do. A lot of the raptor attacks happen off-camera, with the viewer just seeing shadows, floating limbs, or splashes of blood. Plus, there’s more decapitated bodies spurting blood from the neck than I can count (I guess the raptor isn’t that hungry and just prefers heads). However, the film also has some more creative moments to save money, like making a floating Mylar balloon feel like an approaching sinister serial killer.
The film may be lower in budget, but it is still fully entertaining, with some tense moments and lots of laughs. As long as you don’t take things too seriously, any horror-comedy fan should have a great time with this movie. My only complaint is that sometimes the scatological humor can be a bit over-done. While I wasn’t really familiar with the main cast, I found them to be quite entertaining and fun, especially when they have to deliver some of the most ridiculous lines, such as “They took my butthole and made me look like an asshole.” or ”Women. Can’t live with ‘em, Can’t convince ‘em a dinosaur might kill ‘em. Rational creatures.” Dr. Grant is like the straight man to Denny’s over-the-top ridiculousness, such as when Denny recounts his traumatic backstory, which is reminiscent of the Lard-Ass moment in Stand By Me. There is also some hilarious unexpected turns with the characters of Amber and her daughter. And the film features some great cameos from some recognizable character actors as some of the raptor’s victims.
Well Go USA has already released The Invisible Raptor on digital, and the film arrives on Blu-ray February 4. Normally in my reviews, I would comment on the audio and video presentation of the release, but since I watched this film via a watermarked screener, I’m not sure how it compares to the final quality of the consumer product. The digital release does not include any bonus material, and there is no mention of any on the Blu-ray case either. However, the film is definitely worth checking out for Jurassic Park fans looking for a ridiculously-fun new horror-comedy
What’s Included:
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Digital specs may vary by platform/retailer.
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French
Film: (1:53:57)
Extras:
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No bonus material included.
Final Thoughts:
The Invisible Raptor may be a low budget horror-comedy, but it is also a highly-entertaining homage to Jurassic Park and the works of Stephen Spielberg. A fun, wacky group of characters team up to try to take down an invisible enemy as it wreaks havoc in a small town. The dialogue is witty and humorous, the film is filled with so many pop culture and movie references, and the filmmakers have a lot of fun with horror tropes. My only complaint is that sometimes it goes a bit too heavy on the scatological humor. That said, I would defintely watch this one again, and highly recommend it for Jurassic Park and/or horror-comedy fans.
The Invisible Raptor Blu-ray
50% Off $29.98 $14.99 (as of January 17, 2025 12:44 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Invisible Raptor
$6.99 (as of January 17, 2025 12:44 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
