There’s a very large animal killing campers in the woods near a small lakeside town, and it has human help. “Vicious” is a good old-fashioned monster movie about a military experiment gone awry that plays absolute hell with the fishing weekend of a quartet of friends.
This nifty independently made horror/science fiction film has a good pace and a few twists that keep the viewer watching to the end. Co-writer and director Green (“Severed”) has crafted a tight and tense little movie here, filling it with horror favorites like Savini (“From Dusk ‘Til Dawn”), Moseley (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre II”), Stevens (“Real Time”) and Bremer (“Pumpkinhead”). Savini, especially, gives a fun performance as a rogue soldier keeping an eye on the creature.
The version of the film I saw had unfinished CGI effects, so it’s difficult to judge how effective the creature will be when all is said and done. However, the incomplete effects in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the film. Much of the film’s effectiveness comes from the suspense provided by the creature’s unique P.O.V. presentation, and even in the sparse CGI shots, the monster’s appearance is kept wisely to a minimum. In press releases, Green refers to this film as ‘“Jaws” on land’, and like that classic suspense film, the fear comes from a monster that is little seen.
