Another movie chosen completely at random. Sounds like a really stupid title and surprises with its quality. It's hokey. Oh yeah it's hokey. But that just adds to the experience.
A quiet mining town in Colorado appears to be hiding something. When An old mine is disturbed allowing an ancient turtle thing to awaken, and it's hungry. It starts eating its way through the usual cast of characters. Our main heroes are two dorks just cruising for some scootch. They meet up with two girls and there you have your recipe for a survival monster movie.
It's not a terrible movie. Not completely. It has some moments of crap but overall ends up being just another mediocre horror flick with some decent blood and a few scarce creatures. That's the main issue here. The movie does a good job with establishing the young group. But that's really it. The movie doesn't really show you much, not until your three quarters of the way through.
This was made in '81 but it might as well have been made in '77. You can tell that the cast and crew were very much still living in the 70's. I am not a fan of that late 70's style, and this movie has it in spades. It's like everyone during that time was a little greasy and a little scummy. Just my opinion. Maybe it was the hair.
The movie introduces a small, yipping dog as a character and this is actually the downfall of the picture in my eyes. I can't stand the continuity with the dog. Scenes that come afterward don't make sense. The story starts to become pretty inconsistent.
The effects are laughable. It's understandable that this was made on a shoestring budget, but it just drags you along with uncoordinated suspense for an hour and twenty minuets before revealing that the off-camera antagonist is kinda adorable. It deflates an already deflated balloon.
This movie isn't without a few key scenes that entertain. You get a mediocre love scene, but mostly the entertainment comes from the corny cliches and unintentionally funny moments. Watch this with friends at a party and you will not be disappointed. Watch more horror.
Director: James L. Conway
Starring: Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren and Jeff Harlan
Style: Giant Monster Survival
Country: USA
Studio: Taft International Pictures
Did ya know...
Anne-Marie Martin originally agreed to do nudity when she signed on to act in the film, but refused to disrobe when the shooting of the movie commenced.
Only one creature was made for this film.
Some believe that "The Boogens" is an actual term once used by miners to describe the fear some would experience while spending too much time in deep mines. In fact, it was a word fabricated by screenwriter David O'Malley, using the word "boogeyman" as it's root.
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