Since Jurassic Park there have been a spate of low-budget b-movie genre films that have tried to replicate it. However, budget constraints have meant that it has been impossible to even come close to Steven Spielberg’s classic. This has not deterred filmmakers and so audiences have had to suffer through some wobbly practical effects and flimsy CGI. One director though, Mike Hermosa, has thought outside of the box, as his dino movie The Invisible Raptor proves.
As the title suggests, the dinosaur at the centre of the story from Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham is invisible. That it cannot be seen alleviates a significant amount of stress from the budget. It’s a smart move that serves The Invisible Raptor better as both a low budget film and a comedy movie. Even without any of the characters saying anything, the premise of an invisible dinosaur is ridiculously entertaining.
Hermosa and his team are unapologetic Jurassic Park fans. The Invisible Raptor is stuffed full of references, homages, and hidden Easter eggs for fans of the film. The script even eagerly calls out its inspirations with characters explaining the situation to each other by asking if they remember Jurassic Park. For some, the adoration on display will veer too far into silly, but if silly isn’t what you’re after then there’s little point in taking a chance on the film. The Invisible Raptor is a true b-movie comedy aimed at those with a juvenile – read potty-orientated – sense of humour. Many of the jokes are built around the toilet humours of farts and poop, which gore moments aside, makes it something of a fun-for-all movie.
Hermosa does everything he can to ensure that dino-mad viewers are having the time of their lives. Like a Saturday movie cartoon there is a lot of fun to be had with the film, it does however, have some drawbacks. The biggest is that as hard as Hermosa tries, there isn’t quite enough action or energy to sustain The Invisible Raptor for its almost two hour run time. There is little here that requires the extended runtime and it feels as if it might be punchier were it to be a fraction shorter. As it stands, the pacing sags a little and there is perhaps a poo-joke too many in places. Although most definitely a b-movie comedy that requires a certain frame of mind, The Invisible Raptor has plenty of joy waiting for those brave enough to commit.
Scenes ‘featuring’ the dinosaur are hilarious. From a conveniently exposition-heavy prologue in which the raptor escapes confinement in eye-opening ways – whether the maiming of dogs, children, and cats – the deaths are brilliantly wacky. The sequence with the cats is especially entertaining, relying on one of the oldest set-ups to achieve plenty of laughs. Whilst some might feel cheated that they can not see the dinosaur, others will find the concept more appealing. It’s far better to be able to imagine what the beast might look like than be disappointed by shoddy effect work. Plus there is something amusing about watching the character wrestle with negative space. Sure to be a film that works best in a crowd, The Invisible Raptor would be a great entry into any genre festival’s midnight madness selections.
The Invisible Raptor
Summary
A film that uses narrative ingenuity to skirt budget restrictions and production limitations, The Invisible Raptor embraces its silliness and encourages the audience to do the same.
The Invisible Raptor was reviewed at FrightFest Glasgow 2024.
