Just the title The Invisible Raptor says a lot. The name alone almost makes a review superfluous; people will hear it and either flock to see the film, directed by Mike Hermosa, or avoid it at all costs. The title also summarizes the core premise: an invisible raptor wreaking havoc on an unlikely small town. Beginning with a series of Jurassic Park meets Hollow Man experiments (almost the exact words from the film), “Chance The Raptor” escapes from a hidden laboratory to spread carnage in his wake.
Dr. Grant Walker (Mike Cape) was once a famous archeologist but now finds himself entertaining kids at a local dinosaur theme park (but with no real dinos yet). After briefly reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend Amber (Caitlin McHugh), Walker and his best friend Denny (David Shackleford) are more than realizing the best years are behind them. But, when a local child goes missing, and investigators find what appears to be raptor feces at the scene, the two best friends fear there may be a real-life dino on the loose. But convincing Amber and the local officials that a raptor is attacking children proves challenging, especially when the raptor is (you guessed it) invisible.
“… an invisible raptor wreaking havoc on an unlikely small town…”
Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings and The Goonies fame is a fun and surprising addition to the cast. Astin’s Willie Walsh adds some humor to the opening scenes and gives a little more audience buy-in to the ridiculous world of The Invisible Raptor. Star and Co-writer Mike Capes is charming as the quippy Dr. Grant, deploying some of the better jokes in the film. More than a few jokes are eye-roll worthy, but a few laughs steer into the dinosaur mayhem and stick the landing. Capes and co-writer Johnny Wickham’s script probably contains the word “b******e” more than any movie in recent memory; that’s not a mark against the film, but almost impressive how much they sneak it into the script.
Even with evident Jurassic Park homages, The Invisible Raptor has more Jurassic Park references than most would expect. Yet, its most significant influence is Kevin Smith’s filmography. From the humor to the over-the-top premise to the climactic showdown with “Chance,” it’s very Kevin Smith; more Tusk than Clerks or Dogma, but a Jay & Silent Bob cameo wouldn’t feel out of place. Amidst the raptor attacks in the 2nd act, there is an investigation of “what could be doing this?” that drags and feels unnecessary, but when the movie decides to get going, the raptor destruction is out in full force.
The title and opening scenes show so much promise. On premise alone, The Invisible Raptor has a built-in audience of former video store devotees and Tubi disciples. But it does not leap to the heights of The VelociPastor and the better Sharknado films. Editors could cut an easy 20 to 30 minutes to make the movie a clean 90 minutes of action-packed SyFy-original inspired dino-fun. Just half the jokes and a leaner run-time could have made it epic. There is a lot of fun in The Invisible Raptor; Sean Astin is a delight, the kills from “Chance” are B-movie gold, and director Mike Hermosa’s love of filmmaking shines from the opening to the climax. The Invisible Raptor will have its fanbase, but it takes a little too long to get to the Raptor hunt.
"…Hermosa's love of filmmaking shines from the opening to the climax"
