Release Date – 9/9/2011 (limited)
Six people set out on a road trip to New Orleans to take place in the Bourbon Street party atmosphere. During their drive, they make a stop at a convenience store in a backwoods town in Louisiana. The owner of the store tells them the local urban legend about Lockjaw, a half man/half alligator who haunts the nearby swamps. The oddball locals boast about how the very house Lockjaw was born in is nearby and they give the curious youngsters a map so they can check it out. They decide to take a little hike and camp out for the night while searching for this landmark house. But they soon realize the local legend is much more than a campfire story to scare tourists. This movie has a very old school feel to it like Friday the 13th mixed with a creature feature. It was enjoyable for the most part.
The cast is made up of relatively unknown faces. Lauren Schneider and Dillon Casey play siblings who are the most interested in the sidetrack trip to see this fabled house. Aaron Hill plays a former military officer who is trying to put the moves on his new girlfriend, played by Amanda Fuller. And finally Mehcad Brooks is looking for a little alone time with his chick, played by Serinda Swan. This is our young cast that every horror movie has to have. They’re attractive, rowdy, sexed-up and not afraid to show a little skin. We can’t have a good horror flick without a little nudity and there is plenty to go around here. That’s always a plus. And B-movie horror icon Sid Haig plays Chopper, the owner of the convenience store who talks the kids into following his map to see the Lockjaw house. The only problem I have with him is he was almost EXACTLY the same character from Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses. I mean even the plot to have him draw a map. It was EXACT! But of course he’s still great. The acting is subpar but what else would you expect with unknowns.
Horror movies usually have monsters, ghosts or just straight up psycho killers (Better run run run run run run run awaaaay). Creature goes the monster route. Well with a title like Creature, what would you expect? Lockjaw turns out to be a large beast with a face like Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas (a scarier version of course). It’s supposed to be a hybrid alligator man but you wouldn’t know it if they didn’t say it. Much like the recent homage to old horror monsters in Adam Green’s Hatchet and Hatchet II, Creature succeeds and fails in several areas. It’s still an enjoyable movie but it’s not one that will remain with you for years and years. It’s worth a watch for horror fans, definitely worth a watch for fans of the classic gorefests. Hell, I only wanted to see it because Sid Haig was in it. Gratuitous nudity, over the top gore and a monster running loose in the swamp were enough to have me give it the seal of approval. While the twists and turns weren’t anything to drop your jaw over, it was still a fun ride. You have to suspend disbelief like with any monster movie. One thing I know for sure, if I ever run into Sid Haig in a middle-of-nowhere shop, I will NOT follow his map. No sir.
IMDB – N/A
Rotten Tomatoes – N/A
Movie Wiseguys – 7/10