Attack of the Sabretooth (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

Phil Botana (story)
Tom Woosley (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Extinct no more!

Plot:

In the Fiji islands, the greedy and unscrupulous owner of the Valalola Resort Primal Park invites investors...

Plot Keywords:

Scavenger Hunt | Gene Manipulation | Secret Island | Science Runs Amok | Fetus

Cast

Robert Carradine	...	Grant
Nicholas Bell	...	Niles
Brian Wimmer	...	Brian
Stacy Haiduk	...	Savannah
Rawiri Paratene	...	Sachariah
Susanne Sutchy	...	Autumn
Cleopatra Coleman	...	Alys
Amanda Stephens	...	Alaina
Natalie Avital	...	Collette
Billy Aaron Brown	...	Kirk
Parry Shen	...	Robbie
Nathaniel Kiwi	...	Alan
Bonnie Piesse	...	Sharona

Also Known As:

Attack of the Sabertooth (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for creature violence and gore.

Runtime:

USA:90 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-18 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Fiji

Company:

Film Brokers International

Movie Connections:

References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Actually, full of surprises

"Attack of the Sabretooth" is just another good old Sci-Fi Creature Feature film.

**SPOILERS**

As the owner of the Valalola Park, Niles, (Nicholas Bell) prepares for the arrival of his brother-in-law, Grant (Robert Carradine) he gives the facility the last overview. His security team, Savannah (Stacy Heiduk) assures him that a re-occurring power malfunction is of no concern, just as Niles welcomes a small group of college students into his resort on the island. The winners comprise of Kirk, (Billy Aaron Brown) the jock, Alaina, (Amanda Stephens) the brainy chick, Alys, (Cleopatra Coleman) the Goth chick, Robbie, (Parry Shen) the token Asian, and Collette (Natalie Avital) the other brainy woman. A small glitch in the fences around the park allows a carnivorous Sabretooth Tiger to escape the park. The college students are unaware of this, and continue on a scavenger hunt. When Savannah informs Niles of the creatures' escape, he doesn't do anything about it, claiming that it would ruin the park's future. As the college students scour around, they end up disabling the entire security measures for the park. This lets the cats in to the park, where they prey upon the park's visitors and the college students.

The Good News: The beginning of the movie is really good. A security guard on duty comes up to a small opening in a fence, and wanders out into the open area on the other side of the fence. While investigating a stream, he bends down to check something, then notices that an arm is missing, with the shotgun attached, lying on the ground a few feet away from him. Blood spurting from the stump, he stumbles towards the gun, only to have the gun kicked away from the severed arm by a feline foot. A great way to introduce carnage early into the film. There was also a great shot a little later in the film that really stuck out in the film. Another security guard goes to check on the first one's disappearance, and he finds the pieces of the missing guard. He looks up, and in his sunglasses, you see the reflected Sabretooth coming straight for him in the glasses. That one shot really impressed me, mainly because it was so unusual, and I had never really seen a shot like that before. I also really loved the amount of gore in the film. We get the arm ripped off, a disemboweling, three decapitations, and a severe mauling, among others. The mauling I think is the best of the gore scenes, because the way the scene is set up is really great. A college student is split up from the group, and armed with a spear, sees a Sabretooth approach in the dark distance. The Sabretooth approaches and the student hurls the spear at it. It misses, and the Sabretooth leaps onto the student and begins attacking, savagely attacking. Another student hears the cries and goes to investigate, and witnesses the Sabretooth decapitate the other student, then hurl their head at him. The blood sprays all over the wall, leaving the students imprint on the wall in blood. A second decapitation also deserves special mention. A man and a woman are walking in the woods, and we see the Sabretooth sitting in a tree watching them. He lets the woman pass, and the guy walks by. The cat swings out with a paw, and we see the decapitated head land in a small cluster of bushes. The body, though, continues to walk down the path with the stump spurting out tons of blood. With all these great compliments, perhaps the greatest is that you never know who will die in the film. Based on the five people I've mentioned above, take three guesses about who will die, and you'll get two of them wrong. With the stereotyped characters in here, it was a great surprise to see that your judgments are sometimes proved wrong. With an action-packed second half that more than makes up for the slow first half, you become drawn in and it becomes a bit more entertaining than you would think.

The Bad News: This movie takes an eternity to get moving. We get a lot of scenes about Niles trying to set up how great his park is and trying to rub Grant's nose in his success. If the first forty minutes contained at least five minutes less of setting up the party and picked off a party guest or two or set up a great suspense scene, then it wouldn't be such a chore to sit through the beginning after the opening attack. Also, the absolutely horrible CGI used in the end of the movie is just embarrassing, as it looks like entry-level computer programmers could make those scenes. It is a shame, because there are plenty of great ideas stacked in there, but the weak CGI brings it down and really ruins it. Those are really the main complaints, as we get gore, good characters, and lots of surprises.

The Final Verdict: With some really great surprises and some satisfying gore, there is plenty to enjoy about the film. With a bit of patience, it pays off splendidly for a slow beginning with a great ending, so take the time to invest in it. It does pay off.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, some Language, Brief Nudity, and a suggested sex scene.