by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, Mike Hermose, Valecroft, and Showbiz Baby Productions present The Invisible Raptor.
Synopsis
An amusement park paleontologist (Mike Capes) and a hapless security guard (David Shackelford) team up to stop an invisible raptor from wreaking havoc on their small town.
The Good
Joseph: There’s no denying the energy of The Invisible Raptor. It’s a creature feature comedy that aims to please as many viewers as it can, and it doesn’t pretend to be something it is not. Its arch humor doesn’t mind reaching for the lowest hanging fruit while also aspiring for more sophisticated comical aspects. Co-writers Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham drop enough genre-film references to make a hole in the floor — the Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment gags alone come fast and thick, which is fitting for the homage on display — while also crafting characters for whom it is easy to cheer, including down-on-his-luck paleontologist Dr. Grant Walker (Capes), his amusement park coworker and wannabe best buddy Denny “Deniel” Denielson (David Shackelford), and Walker’s ex-girlfriend from their university days Amber (Caitlin McHugh Stamos). Director Mike Hermosa keeps the looniness and lovability in pretty much perfect balance. To quote legendary rock band AC/DC, “If you want blood, you got it,” as Special Effects Supervisor Steve Johnson and Special Effects Makeup Artist Eric Yoder turn in plenty of goopy, gloppy amusement.
Mike: It shouldn’t take long before viewers will know whether or not The Invisible Raptor is for them as there’s some ample blood and gore, a few jokes, and the “reveal” of the monster all within the first few minutes. The rest of the film just amps up the blood, guts, and gags to an almost Spinal Tap-ish eleven with sight gags, beheadings, eviscerations, and potty humor all at a nigh-perfect pace.
For eagle-eyed viewers (and even for those with bad eyesight), there are visual and verbal homages to dozens of movies such as the inevitable Jurassic Park to Jaws to E.T. and nearly every other Spielbergian cinematic offering, just to mention a few.
The acting is great with perfect timing and delivery by everyone, from the leads to characters who die with a small amount of screen time which is no easy feat considering the fact that the smartest aspect of The Invisible Raptor is that, no matter how insane, immature, subtle, or “slapsticky” the humor is, everything is played dead serious.
The Bad
Joseph: The humor runs the gamut from lowbrow to highbrow, so naturally some jokes won’t work for some viewers, but you can’t blame Hermosa, Capes, and Wickham for trying. Other than that, I don’t have much about which to quibble.
Mike: This is, without a doubt, going to be a film that people either totally love or hate. The extreme stupidity of some characters or situations can verge on the cusp of almost being a parody of a parody and may come across as “dumb” humor, turning some people off from the film. I will admit that there is some rather sophomoric humor here in The Invisible Raptor of rather “R-Rated” subject matter, so there’s the caveat for that, if that sort of material bothers you.
The Verdict
Joseph: If the idea of having an invisible monster seems to you merely a way to get around having to do a lot of special effects work on a limited budget, clear your head of such thoughts and prepare to have a fun time with The Invisible Raptor. Highly entertaining and big hearted, I recommend the film for creature feature fans, horror comedy aficionados, and anyone looking to have a blast watching a movie.
Mike: This is the kind of comedy film that I love. The Invisible Raptor reminded me of a Zucker Abrahams Zucker film with a ton of humor running the gamut from the subtle to the outrageous with a cast playing it totally straight, despite the absurdity of not just the premise but the characters themselves. Some jokes don’t work, but many of them do, and much like our recently reviewed Villains Inc. I found this an absolute blast to watch. I look forward to the hopeful day when this gets a physical media release so I can own a copy to watch whenever I want to.
Highly recommended for fans of movies like Airplane!, Top Secret!, and The Naked Gun, and don’t mind a showering of blood and guts.
The Invisible Raptor
Directed By: Mike Hermosa
Written By: Mike Capes, Johnny Wickham
Starring: Mike Capes, Sean Astin, Sandy Martin
Run Time: 1h 53m
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2023
No trailer was available at the time of our review