The Curse of the Komodo (2004) Reviews

• So Lame, Illogical and Trash that Becomes Funny

  claudio_carvalho2017-01-07

  In the Isla Damas, a group of soldiers lands on the island and are attacked and murdered by a Komodo dragon. Two men, Hanson (Ted Monte) and Jason (J.P.Davis), leave a building surrounded by an electric fence to seek out survivors. They run back to the building and a woman, Rebecca "Becky" (Glori-Anne Gilbert), who is the daughter of the scientist. Nathan Phipps (William Langlois) deactivates the fence. Phipps and his assistant Dawn Porter (Gail Harris) contact the Chief of a Naval Base at Hawaii, Foster (Jay Richardson), to discuss the dragons that are genetically-engineered by them to produce food that have turned into war machines by Foster. Meanwhile, a casino is robbed in Hawaii by the thieves Drake (Paul Logan), Tiffany (Melissa Brasselle), and Reece (Cam Newlin) that flee to Damas using the pilot of helicopter Jack (Tim Abell). Soon they meet Phipps and Dawn shooting at a Komodo dragon and they learn that they need to team-up with the scientists to survive. Further, the contact with a Komodo turns the person onto a zombie. However the fuel of the generator is finishing and Foster does not have the intention of rescuing the group that knows too much about his project Catalyst. How will they survive from the dragons? "The Curse of the Komodo" is one of those movies so lame, illogical and trash that becomes funny. The plot is absurd and stupid. Why the soldiers have come to the island? If fuel is primordial to keep the protection against the dangerous creatures, why there is not enough fuel and a backup generator? If bullets do not affect the dragons, why the group insists in shooting at the Komodo? In addition the ham acting is hilarious inclusive with the participation of soft-porn actress. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Criaturas" ("Creatures")

• Probably one of the worst movies of the kind...

  KenVeryBigLiar2005-05-12

  The only thing i can say about this film is that it's awful in every aspect. The script is terrible. The story is a poor excuse and the dialogs are very badly written. The actors look like amateurs. Two actresses were selected probably because they have large breasts (and only because of that), since their acting skills are as good as the Komodo's. And even the visual effects are surprisingly bad, since this film is quite recent. There is almost no interaction between the Komodo and the actors. The result is a movie with not a single point of interest to show for. Even if your are fan of this genre of movie, my advice is look elsewhere.

• If you want to feel psychic . . .

  jaywolfenstien2004-03-17

  Watch Curse of the Komodo, and guess what the next line is going to be; you'll be amazed how frequently you not only get the gist of the coming dialogue, but predict it verbatim. But wait! It gets better! You can also quite easily predict what will become of essential items such as the generator keeping the electric fence going, all the vehicles, most of the communication devices, the thoughts of the higher up personnel. I personally loved how the Komodo just stood there whenever it was in frame. It opened its mouth and roared with its 1950s-ish monster movie look and stock-sound-effect roar that's been used in such intimidating places as Scooby Doo (side-note, do Komodos roar?). Might as well make the movie about an oversized Chihuahua that just bounces up and down barking. People shoot at it. It stands there, not even bleeding. People fire more rounds, it still stand there. At this point I think at least one person would try something a little different like aiming for universal soft-spots such as, I dunno, the eyes? We have to assume that they're not standing their firing randomly, but the director fails to communicate that idea. They get into a truck and drive, and now the thing decides to move and try to dine. Why not charge while they're all just standing there? Characters and creatures do what the plot needs them to do when the plot needs them to despite the fact that the plot defies logic on so many levels that it can't be ignored (this coming from a fan of low budget horror films which always defies logic). Let's think about this, guns going off and bullets hitting a Komodo is going to provoke it to take a little more action than standing and roaring. If it hurts or confuses the thing, it's probably going to go away. If it doesn't hurt it, it's probably going to p*ss it off which means its going to attack. You know what? Even if it is hurt/confused, it might still attack, actually. I'm no expert on Komodo dragons; maybe they would just stand there and smile . . . but would they still be around then (Komodo . . .dodo bird . . . hmmm). Anyway, logically, wouldn't we see a more curious creature investigating these people before it started eating? And if the answer is `because the creature mutated, it would be more aggressive.' Okay fine . . . so why didn't it show this aggression during a logical moment like being shot at? And to answer the above question - well, the Komodo effects were not well designed. In cinema, creature effects become an actor requiring a performance which requires a high degree of articulation (not present here). After all, we are creating organic beasts with a wide range of expressions, gestures, that would communicate its intentions. The plot needs the thing to roar and run, so that's all it does . . . hey wait, that's not far off from what the cast has to do - talk and run. I waited through the whole film for an intelligent decision, and found only one - "Let's backup our data so we can let the world know the truth.' Too bad I couldn't get an intelligent decision *and* an unpredictable plot element, but maybe I'm asking for too much. Especially in light of the final few scenes involving an air strike, which I'm assuming was cut together with stock footage since the planes changed from shot to shot. The high point of the film was the character Jack thanks to the actor. All the actors played this quite stale like they realized they were making a goofy monster movie and just wanted their paycheck so they could get out of there. Kinda strange that the actor to breath some life into his role was the character stuck in a place he didn't want to be in and just wanted the hell out of there. Maybe I just detected a hint of ironic honesty in the performance. Go figure.

• Average Sci-Fi Channel Creature Feature

  slayrrr6662006-06-01

  "Curse of the Komodo" isn't that bad of a creature feature. **SPOILERS** After the loss of a special military operation on Isle Damas, Professors Nathan Phipps, (William Langlois) and Dawn Porter, (Gail Harris) are assigned to clean it up before people find out about it. Trying to get away from a casino robbery, Drake, (Paul Logan) Tiffany, (Melissa Brasselle) and Reece, (Cam Newlin) crash-land on the island during the middle of a tropic storm. Going inland to find some repair equipment, they stumble upon Nathan's daughter Rebecca, (Glori-Anne Gilbert) and the rest of the scientific team encountering a giant attacking Komodo Dragon. After fending off the attack, they are welcome back to their compound and invited to stay. When the compound runs low on equipment, they try to leave to the island before a military operation blows up the island. The Good News: Here we go with another Sci-Fi Channel creature feature, and here is actually a pretty good one. The one thing that really works is the connection with the giant monster films of the early 50s and 60s. Crashing-landing on an island conducting genetic experiments with creatures and then encountering the creatures along the way screams of a 50s B-movie plot, and it gives the film some familiarity. The look back to the past gives the film a charm that most similar films don't really have, and that's a pretty surprising feat to accomplish. However, there is a change that works out for the better over the other films. The giant Komodo in this film is a fully-grown animal, and isn't the baby of a larger creature that comes back later looking for revenge. That is a common factor in many similar films, and the fact that it's missing here with the Komodo being fully grown and attacking is a really original move that needs to be commended and recognized. The action comes across pretty frequently, and it keeps the pace going nicely. One sequence involving a chase in a fleeing truck is especially nice, and is easily a highlight that is quite exciting and a little thrilling in places along the way. Even more, we see the Komodo really and often, so even though they look really bad digitally, it isn't as terrible as it really should've been. And perhaps one of the greatest aspects is Glori-Anne Gilbert's extended topless scene. The Bad News: The creatures here look so horrible that it's almost a travesty to call these computer generated creatures the same name as the Dinos created for "Jurassic Park." The fact that the same technique was used for the monsters in both films makes it all the more apparent that the Dinos will forever be the standard against which all CG creations will forever be judged. The results here are that bad. There are some pretty gaping plot holes on display here, and even though knowing them won't seriously undermine the enjoyment of the film, they are still there and pretty noticeable. The fact that the film is also just a giant cheese-fest doesn't help matters. There's really no shocks, jumps or anything, and the film plays out like a giant cheesy good time. The Final Verdict: It's a giant cheese-fest, that's for sure, and Dinos from ten years ago still look better, but if you like the creature features from the 50s and 60s, then this isn't all that bad. Some kinks need to be either smoothed out or fixed, but there's far worse ones I've seen out there. Take it for what you will. Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Nudity

• Hilarious!

  straight_shooter_182005-12-04

  I just have to comment on this movie! I actually watched it with 2 of my friends and we couldn't help laugh at every single scene in it. Its a disaster as an action movie, but as a comedy this movie is an A-class one...There are just too many plot holes, you don't know where to start, and the komodo looks much like a clay lizard incorporated in the movie using stop motion animation. It just runs after the characters and they keep shooting at it (with unlimited clips in their guns by the way). When the characters are stuck in a corner, it will stand at a distance and enjoy the line of fire as bullets Pierce its scales, but if they are running away and shooting at it, it continues to run after them for some reason and the bullet holes never appear in its scales yet again for some reason and then a zombie appears at the end of the movie and you have no idea where it came from or what the hell its doing in the movie!!....Just take it from me, if you are ridiculously bored or drunk, gather some friends and watch this movie....for the laughs, and for the breasts scene!