CREATURE (2011)

Directed by Fred M. Andrews
Written by Fred M. Andrews & Tracy Morse
Starring Sid Haig, Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Amanda Fuller, Daniel Bernhardt, Aaron Hill, Pruitt Taylor Vince, David Jensen & Wayne Pere
Find out more about this film here!

Back in 2011, when CREATURE was released theatrically, a lot of ire was placed on it by critics and fans alike. No, the film is not Oscar caliber, but the scrutiny placed upon this film when it was first released in theaters last fall with blogs and critics touting it as the biggest box office failure in cinematic history seem a bit off-base to me. Having seen my share of stinkers, CREATURE doesn’t even compete in the Worst of the Worst category. Sure, director Fred M. Andrews may have brought a lot of that scrutiny on himself by speaking back at the critics for panning his movie, but still after seeing the film, the unbelievable hate for the film because of mismanaged marketing which touted it as theater-worthy seems unnecessary. CREATURE may not be in the same category as big budget blockbusters, but shouldn’t fans of horror rejoice when a little film like CREATURE is given a chance to go for a stint in theaters?

CREATURE does seem to be a better fit for the straight to video market. The budget is low, the effects aren’t shiny and practical, and the acting is not the best. Andrews seems to focus a lot on horror mainstays which include gratuitous nudity, gore, and sexual perversion. The opening shot is of a woman bathing naked in a swamp then being eaten by either a monster or a crocodile or both. So Andrews right of the bat lets you know what kind of film you’re in for. If the description of that scene offends, then CREATURE is definitely not for you. But then again, there’s nothing in CREATURE that hasn’t been seen in other films and ire for the film could as easily be directed to horror films since Corman’s heyday.

CREATURE is your typical bog monster film in the same vein as BOGGY CREEK, SWAMP THING, and countless other Bigfoot/wilderness monster films. You have your group of kids aka soon to be corpses, your hillbilly locals warning the kids to watch out, and finally your monster, which is a man in a creature suit. For some reason, practical effects seem to equal low budget these days. It appears reacting to a green screen is much more interesting to the general populace than a monster with weight and presence. Though the suit isn’t the most frightening, Andrews does a great job of only showing portions of it, and that’s where the real skill lies with practical effects; the director has to be able to sell the monster. For the most part, because of close ups and quick cuts, you don’t see any zippers or seams in the monster. He is a large slimy, toothy, spikey mess reminiscent of a cross between the Creature of the Black Lagoon, Geiger’s Alien, and the UK low budget horror film SPLIT SECOND from the 80’s. Though the facial articulation is a bit stiff and mask, like the body makeup, is actually pretty great.

Andrews relies on horrors both gory and psychological with themes of incest, rape, and torture peppered through the entire film causing more than one uneasy feeling (the scene where the sister jerks off her brother while watching another couple have sex is just wrong). That said, it does add an element of horror that is unflinching and definitely leaves its mark. Moreso than the gore effects, which are a plenty, but less ooky than the sexual nature of the film.

Though the end of the film is rather contrived, the entirety of the film is saved by the impressive cast of genre actors. Eggs from TRUE BLOOD (Mehcad Brooks) stars as the hero while RED, WHITE & BLUE’s Amanda Fuller shows up as one of the campers. Character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince cameos nicely here as a schizophrenic hillbilly, while Sid Haig steals every scene he is in as the hill-jack who knows all there is to know about the creature in the swamp and ping pongs between wanting to help out the campers and wanting them to perish in as gruesome a manner as possible. The genre cast of character actors elevate this film above a lot of your run-of-the-mill horror films.

In the end, CREATURE is not a perfect film. If you go into the film expecting ALIENS will surely lead to disappointment. I found CREATURE to be a fun throwback to the man-in-suit monster days with enough low budget charm and a cast that makes the story all the better.

Check out the trailer here!!