Creature (2011)

      The Creature from the Black Lagoon had a wonderful legacy to its name. From the Gill-man himself to the two sequels that spawned from this unforgettable Universal masterpiece; you could say that it was one of the most memorable 1950's monsters of all time. I'm a huge fan of this horror icon next to the classics such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman. I've always been open minded about an updated or remake of the film (even though it probably wouldn't be as inspiring as the original). When I heard about this Creature film coming out, the way it sounded like was a remake of the classic Black Lagoon's Gill-man. I was extremely excited about it, and I even made plans to see it in theaters (only if it arrived in one). The only problem though, as soon as the trailer was released; I was somewhat disappointed that I was tricked. The film had nothing to do with the Gill-man but, had something more terrifying in store. So eager to get my hands on a copy since it wasn't released in theaters nearby me; I bought Creature in hopes that it was good. I was terribly wrong on that subject for the most part. The film centers around a group of six friends heading through Louisiana's backwoods swamps where they stumble upon a legend. This legend centers around a man named Grimley Boutine whom becomes an alligator hybrid known as Lockjaw, a small town's very own Bigfoot-like monster. The only problem is that these six friends must fight for their lives not only with the townspeople or the monster but, with each other.

     The casting for Creature was alright to say the least. Three out six of the main characters were attractive women (Serinda Swan as beautiful Emily Parker; Lauren Schneider as Oscar's crazy sister Karen; and Amanda Fuller as hot but controlling Beth) while the other three were very masculine men (Mehcad Brooks as Emily's boyfriend Niles; Dillon Casey as hyperactive brother Oscar; and Aaron Hill as Randy Parker and Beth's boyfriend). Niles and Randy were portrayed to have military background while Oscar did not.  In addition to this list, the main four locals were played by David Jensen (Jimmy), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Grover), Wayne Pere (Bud), and Sid Haig (Chopper). Grimley/Lockjaw was played by Daniel Bernhardt whom did an excellent job playing as both the man and the monster in the film. 

    This film was a hard thing to watch because it took me a total of two times to watch it. I couldn't stomach it, not because of any gore or blood; but the story line was very terrible. By the end of the film, I was somewhat disappointed on the way things turned out. Don't get me wrong, the movie was okay for a one time deal but it was terrible (and I've seen way worst). Think of Creature as The Hills Have Eyes, Albino Farm, or The Wrong Turn series. First off, the film had lots of nudity and sexual situations in it. It had basically everything: full body, topless, incest, rape, interracial, and lesbian/bisexual. Also not to mention it consisted during the first half hour of the film for most of this stuff. That's a horrible way for grabbing your audience's attention in my opinion. The film does have a feeling of creepiness and gruesomeness in it but, you get use to it real quick. The blood and gore effects are really good (i.e. Grimley becomes cannibalistic after devouring an entire abnormally large albino alligator) but, some of the acting that goes alongside with it was terrible. There's a point in the film that Niles gets shot in the knee but, he moves around without any limping. Another thing about the acting, most of the things that happened to Niles could have cause serious damage or even killed a normal human being (i.e. being shot, being smashed by a swamp monster, or going into a water filled sinkhole in the mud). I don't know if the director wanted to show the willingness or his military training but, most of the stuff seemed impossible to accomplish in real life.

    The few things I did liked about this film was the atmosphere, filming location, and Lockjaw's design. With a feeling of mystery and creepiness; Creature did succeed on the horror aspect. Not to mention filming in the Louisiana swamps had some beautiful landscape shots. Even alligators and snakes were apart of the film (most likely stock footage and the snake seemed computer generated). The funniest part though was that the spiders, before the group finds Grimley's old shack; were in fact Pinktoe Tarantulas which aren't native to the United States. Now onto Lockjaw, a beautiful monster if you're into cannibalistic hybrids. With a mixture of the Gill-man with some alligator-like traits, Lockjaw looked pretty badass. My only complaint though was the face but, it gave off a human type emotion to it which was alright to say the least. Creature had a total weirdness to it as you go from one scene to the next. Lockjaw seemed like he was everywhere: with one moment he's killing Grover to the next that he's spying on the group. I don't know if there were more of his kind, or that it represented the feeling of being watched; but it gave off a huge misunderstanding to me personally. My only guess is that he had used the cave system underneath the swamp to move around quicker (which was explained earlier in the film by Chopper). Most of the major and minor characters, if you haven't already guessed; do die in this film but, the ending will shock you. If I had to choose a scene or two, I would go with the shocking ending and the first half of the final fight before Niles rescues Emily.

     My rating for Creature is a 2.5 out of 5. It was a horrible horror movie but, it had a few good points. First off, it broke the stereotype that the 'black guy always dies first'. Niles survived the entire experience with his girlfriend. The only other horror film I can think of that breaks the stereotype is Return of the Living Dead (not counting the nuke but, the zombies). Not to mention, he withstood a lot of pain and ended up walking away with Lockjaw's jaw. Second, Lockjaw was an unique monster even though he wasn't what I expected the film to be about. Finally, the shock at the end was pretty clever and filled in one of the many questions left behind. Creature is a monster movie that you should see once if you're up for a bad movie night or to cure boredom but don't expected a three or five star movie. Watch it if you want but, don't be surprised if you can't finish.

"If y'all going out there, you better watch your step. There's worst things than gators you know."