‘Triassic Hunt’ Review
Stars: Michael Paré, Linnea Quigley, Ramiro Leal, Kristie Krueger, Sienna Farall, Sienna Farall, Kevin Keeling, Todd Karner, Sam Schweikert, Mike Ferguson, Tammy Klein | Written by Ward Anderson, Marc Morgenstern | Directed by Gerald Rascionato
The latest product from The Asylum, Triassic Hunt is a sequel of sorts to Triassic World, which was another “escaped dinosaurs” movie from David Michael Platt’s mock buster shingle. However this time there are shades of another dino-franchise at work and one that may surprise you… Carnosaur. Yes that trilogy of dino-terror from the 90s, in particular the third film in the series, seems to have influenced Triassic Hunt – well, that and the “dinosaurs as weapons” plot from Jurassic World; with Michael Pare taking on the “evil villain” mantel from Vincent D’onfrio.
Triassic Hunt sees two Allosaurus’ escape from the van they were being transported in after a crash and make their way to an industrial complex in the heart of an unnamed city. A group of mercenaries are sent in to track them down and make sure they’re captured before they can get out of the area and into the city itself and massacre innocent civilians. Only a massacre is EXACTLY what Michael Pare’s CEO Jordan Freedman wants – he’s live-streaming everything to prospective buyers over the web; marketing the escaped Allosaurus’ as the perfect weapon, replacing humans on the front line of war etc. And what’s a better advertisement for his killer dinosaurs than having them massacre trained mercenaries? Only these mercenaries aren’t going down without a fight…
I’ll be honest, I hadn’t seen Triassic World before watching this “sequel” but what caught my interest was just how familiar the films trailer felt – it really did feel like another entry in the Carnosaur franchise rather than yet another low-budget action horror from The Asylum. And thankfully the finished film did not disappoint. Yes, the dinosaurs might be CGI rather than the practical effects of the aforementioned 90s horror series but the CGI here is some of the best I’ve ever seen in a movie from The Asylum. Seriously. Of course I’d rather see them rendered practically but aside from one or two scenes – mainly when the dinos are attacking humans – the Allosaurus’ of Triassic Hunt look REALLY good!
If you’re one of those people who prefers action and excitement to drawn-out storytelling and exposition then Triassic Hunt is for you. This film kicks off with a car crash and the mayhem doesn’t let up until the closing credits. That’s not at the expense of telling the films story, it just keeps those scenes brief and succinct – stretching out the films “mystery” across a number of scenes, eking out the truth behind what’s happening with the Allosaurus’ for as long as they can without stretching it out too far. Though – for those of you have have seen a myriad of these kinds of films – that mystery is actually totally obvious (as I said earlier, this film pinches the “dinosaur arms dealing” from Jurassic World for example). What’s less obvious are the ridiculous swerves some of the characters in this film make – as in total 180 turns in motivation and characterisation!
Otherwise Triassic Hunt is in very familiar territory, both for those who’ve seen a myriad monster movies previously AND those fans (like myself) of The Asylum’s output. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, you DON’T have to have seen Triassic World before seeing this one… There’s enough flashbacks and exposition about what happened in that film to fill in the blanks for those unaware of what happened in the first movie!
Triassic Hunt is available on VOD, in the US, now.
