Raptor Ranch

'Raptor Ranch' (audaciously retitled 'Jurassic Dark' with a D in my country) tells us about the waitress Abbi (Jana Mashonee). She has a really bad day: she is stuck in a boring countryside town, her car breaks down, her boss is really mean to her, and everybody she meets is an idiot. However the worst is yet to come when a bunch of dinosaurs escapes from a farm nearby - how they were bred there, we never really find out. Anyway, there is a lot of screaming, running, killing, more running. Two FBI agents (Declan Joyce and the only star Lorenzo Lamas in a rather small part) look for clues, but don't find much, although the hungry reptiles are running around all over the place.

I can't really say much to praise this movie. The animation is mediocre, acting skills non existing, and the narration and editing clumsy. For example, in one scene 2 characters find a safe place of a roof where the creatures can't catch them. They climb down again - why? Because they enjoy being chased?

In my view, there is only 1 thing that 'Raptor Ranch' does better than other low budget flicks of the genre, and that is the choice of characters. From the entertainer in a purple suit to the college kid who dresses as a Roman Centurio, there is a lot of weird characters, the comedy bits sometimes work well, which is why I don't regret too much that I wasted an evening watching this. One kid proudly announces men will finally defeat reptiles because they have a higher intelligence - this movie may not be the best example for that. I voted 3 of 10.

Is there some rating below one star? I have seen some pretty pathetic movies that I bailed out on post haste but I plead guilty to wasting about 20 minutes on this piece of trash.

I did not stick around to see the appearance of Lorenzo Llamas. I like a lot of his materiel but he must have needed the money pretty bad, did it for a hoot, or owed someone a favor. I bet he does not claim this on his resume'. I hope this did not damage any beginner actors' future careers.

Better luck next time.

I love movies and I also will check out most independent produced pictures as well. When I saw this had a small but functional budget, I gave it a chance.

All I can say is this. The best acting in this movie came from the animated creatures.

The script is weak and they managed to include almost every stereotype that has ever existed, yet not one of them could act!

Seriously, you will spend time that you can never get back and life is just too short to care! Don't waste your time.

Just my thoughts!

People might think, Oh no, another dinosaur flick, but they would be wrong. Raptor Ranch would be much more than just another dinosaur flick; it would be a thoughtfully laid-out project that made sure to cover all avenues of its intended plot, thus providing an entertaining watch for the viewer. Not only that, but Dan Bishop ensured he had the actors who could hit the standard of performance he was looking for in his characters, not forgetting the extensive work in their CGI to give you the most convincing-looking raptors/rex going. I certainly won't want to bump into them, especially at night. Frankly, Raptor Ranch was a delight to watch and one well worth eight at the minimum. Thank you.

Personally I don't get all the hate for this film, I thought it was entertaining and diverting enough to kill 90 minutes. Has some cool death scenes and fun acting by Lamas(reprising his role from Raptor Island and Raptor Planet), the CGI isn't horrible, i've seen way worse. The Story is nothing special, but then again with Sci-Fi Channel films you know not to expect Oscar-caliber writing. Is it a smart film, hell no, but it's infinitely more watchable then say those godawful Paranormal Activity films, the Twilight movies, those horrible remakes of foreign horror films(I.E. The Eye, Shutter, Pulse, One Missed Call, The Grudge, etc)