"Maneater" is really good for those who love the Sci-Fi Channel's Creature Features.
**SPOILERS**
In the Appalachian Mountains, Sheriff Grady Barnes, (Gary Busey) is inundated with a plethora of calls about missing people, and after finding the remains of one of them, it's decided that a wild animal is responsible. After another attack produces some evidence, they point to a Bengal Tiger as the culprit, and announcing it to the press, Mayor Earl Hunt, (Blake Taylor) is irate over it being leaked. When the National Guard is called in, Sargent Winshiser, (Aleks Paunovic) comes in to take charge of the situation only to have no success with hunting it down either. Esteemed hunter Colonel Graham, (Ian D. Clark) hearing of the rampage, offers his expert help with the animal, and soon makes a remarkable discovery about the creature. Using this to his advantage, he tries to take it down before it kills more townspeople.
The Good News: This here was a pretty pleasant surprise. This is especially important in that it's the first time that the Sci-Fi Channel's original films doesn't have a negative mark against it for it's creature. This one's got an actual creature that's not CGI, and that itself is a huge plus, since it eliminates most of their flaws right from the start. That it's seen rarely also works for it as well, as featuring it throughout the film would've lessened it's impact. The fact that it's also a really vicious creature helps, as it's got some really great gore in here. It's all in the mutilation and severing of limbs, half-eaten body parts and finding of devoured parts, as most of it is off-screen and the showing of what it did to them results in all the gore. They all look quite good and messy, with a partially eaten skull, including down to the bone in certain areas, and a lower-half of a body found being the big ones here. There's even some nice action in the film, as it's got some great moments in the second half. The involvement of the armed troops livens it up substantially, as it gets some great stalking going on with the creature in the jungle, and it's certainly suspenseful enough. That also helps to get the film going, as there's some nice kills and stalking, provided by flashback where it goes on the rampage that gets in on-screen kills as well as putting some life into it. That is one of the film's best qualities, and helps to make it really watchable.
The Bad News: There really isn't a whole lot wrong with this one. Perhaps the most grievous one is that there's way too much time spent on the subplot with the kid. It's clichéd to start with, having the ignorant kid believe that the outside force is actually friendly despite everyone in town knowing otherwise, yet the fact that it comes to play here and takes up the majority of the second half means that it gets a lot of time. It's incredibly irritating to have to be forced through these scenes since they're quite obviously based on the mentality rather than anything else, and it really makes it a struggle at times. These here make it the hardest part to get through, as well as it's other noticeable flaw. That is the film's annoying habit of cutting away from the gore scenes and instead showing the aftermath. Very rarely is the actual viciousness of the attacks displayed, but rather the attack occurs where it's impossible to determine what happened or just off-screen entirely. That it leaves the others mainly done in flashback at least offers up some, but most is still off camera, and is also something that can harm the film.
The Final Verdict: Without a whole lot of real problems, this is a really nice and enjoyable entry for those who go for this kind of film. Recommended to those who have a particular like for the Sci-Fi Channel Creature Features or those in general, while those who aren't won't really find much new with this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language
**SPOILERS**
In the Appalachian Mountains, Sheriff Grady Barnes, (Gary Busey) is inundated with a plethora of calls about missing people, and after finding the remains of one of them, it's decided that a wild animal is responsible. After another attack produces some evidence, they point to a Bengal Tiger as the culprit, and announcing it to the press, Mayor Earl Hunt, (Blake Taylor) is irate over it being leaked. When the National Guard is called in, Sargent Winshiser, (Aleks Paunovic) comes in to take charge of the situation only to have no success with hunting it down either. Esteemed hunter Colonel Graham, (Ian D. Clark) hearing of the rampage, offers his expert help with the animal, and soon makes a remarkable discovery about the creature. Using this to his advantage, he tries to take it down before it kills more townspeople.
The Good News: This here was a pretty pleasant surprise. This is especially important in that it's the first time that the Sci-Fi Channel's original films doesn't have a negative mark against it for it's creature. This one's got an actual creature that's not CGI, and that itself is a huge plus, since it eliminates most of their flaws right from the start. That it's seen rarely also works for it as well, as featuring it throughout the film would've lessened it's impact. The fact that it's also a really vicious creature helps, as it's got some really great gore in here. It's all in the mutilation and severing of limbs, half-eaten body parts and finding of devoured parts, as most of it is off-screen and the showing of what it did to them results in all the gore. They all look quite good and messy, with a partially eaten skull, including down to the bone in certain areas, and a lower-half of a body found being the big ones here. There's even some nice action in the film, as it's got some great moments in the second half. The involvement of the armed troops livens it up substantially, as it gets some great stalking going on with the creature in the jungle, and it's certainly suspenseful enough. That also helps to get the film going, as there's some nice kills and stalking, provided by flashback where it goes on the rampage that gets in on-screen kills as well as putting some life into it. That is one of the film's best qualities, and helps to make it really watchable.
The Bad News: There really isn't a whole lot wrong with this one. Perhaps the most grievous one is that there's way too much time spent on the subplot with the kid. It's clichéd to start with, having the ignorant kid believe that the outside force is actually friendly despite everyone in town knowing otherwise, yet the fact that it comes to play here and takes up the majority of the second half means that it gets a lot of time. It's incredibly irritating to have to be forced through these scenes since they're quite obviously based on the mentality rather than anything else, and it really makes it a struggle at times. These here make it the hardest part to get through, as well as it's other noticeable flaw. That is the film's annoying habit of cutting away from the gore scenes and instead showing the aftermath. Very rarely is the actual viciousness of the attacks displayed, but rather the attack occurs where it's impossible to determine what happened or just off-screen entirely. That it leaves the others mainly done in flashback at least offers up some, but most is still off camera, and is also something that can harm the film.
The Final Verdict: Without a whole lot of real problems, this is a really nice and enjoyable entry for those who go for this kind of film. Recommended to those who have a particular like for the Sci-Fi Channel Creature Features or those in general, while those who aren't won't really find much new with this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language