Terrordactyl (2016)

This movie has Space Dinosaurs… let that sink in for a minute. Loyal readers of Crappy Movie Reviews (it could happen!) should know by now that I love a good monster movie. What you may not realize is that I also love a bad one. The cheesier the better I say. Without giving too much away I can tell you right up front that Terrordactyl scratched that itch for me.

Things kick off with a long-haul trucker pulling his rig into a rest stop. Something falls from the sky and smashes his truck in a giant CGI explosion. Crawling from the wreckage is a Pterodactyl, aka. a flying dinosaur! Things go about how you would expect and then we are introduced to our main characters. Lars and Jonas are doing some lawncare and then head to a bar. There they get the bright idea to go looking for meteors from a waitress because they can be worth piles of money. Lucky for them there is a lot of them suddenly in the sky and crashing to the ground.

Of course, we the viewer know that isn’t good. Before you can say “Meteor Shit!” there are Pterodactyls everywhere chowing down on the locals and making a nuisance of themselves. It is up to Lars and Jonas to save the day with some help from their friends from the bar. This leads to a big fight, the revelation that the meteors are eggs returning to Earth, and the miraculous reappearance of a character that we thought was dead. Though really if you have ever watched a flick like this you had to know he would return.  

This is a silly, dumb, and entertaining bit of cheese. Not everything needs to be art, sometimes I just want to have fun. Terrordactyl is just that! The story opens with some action, spends just a few minutes establishing the characters, and then jumps back into the good stuff with the rest of the movie being a running fight. There is nothing new here as it follows the typical monster movie formula, but for the budget it is executed very well. I was never bored or distracted as the movie held my attention until the final credits rolled.

Dig the creatures!

The cast is solid and does a decent job. But for me the real stars of the movies are the creatures. We get a lot of them and the filmmakers take the time to give a few of them unique looks and even personalities. This includes old “barbeque face” that chases the cast around for a good chunk of the story. Since the creatures are all brought to the screen with digital effects this extra detail is welcome. Plus, this movie is being played for some laughs and again is very cheesy, so the CGI doesn’t bother me too much. Especially since it allows for a giant queen pterodactyl to be defeated by a “booze bomb” in the big finale. I did mention that this is a silly flick, didn’t I?

Some other highlights are a skull being “horked up” by one of the dinos, a spectacular and patriotic kill, a montage scene where the characters are creating improvised weapons, and lots of explosions. How can you not love a movie that just goes for it like Terrordactyl does? While not a “good” movie in the traditional sense this is such a blast that I have to recommend everyone check it out. I found the movie streaming online so it is easily available and cheap to rent. Give it a chance.

© Copyright 2020 John Shatzer