LIZARDMAN: THE TERROR OF THE SWAMP

LIZARDMAN: THE TERROR OF THE SWAMP

(A.k.a. LIZARD MAN)

The onscreen title is LIZARD MAN.

Opening text tries to convince us that the legend of the "lizard man" refers to a 'humanoid cryptid' said to genuinely inhabit areas 'in and around Lee County, South Carolina’...

And that's precisely where the film takes us first, as a lone cyclist is attacked one afternoon at the neck of local woodlands. The creature (Matt Easton) claws at him repeatedly but fortunately a passing motorist stops and the cyclist is able to escape with minor cuts.

40 years later, and the teenaged cyclist has become a hugely successful media mogul in the meantime. His name is Bill (Mike Gaglio), he owns his own plush multi-story offices, has a personal assistant called Craig (Michael Danaghue) and is revered as one of Carolina's greatest success stories.

But, despite all his wealth and stature, Bill is still haunted by what happened on that fateful day four decades earlier.

We soon learn that he's been funding a Special Forces Team for the last 12 months in the hope that they can track the creature down and bring it to him alive. Despite their cynicism, the wisecracking Jocks that make up the Team act swiftly upon the eventual suggestion that the equipment in their hi-tech base has found the beast's whereabouts.

In the woods, any scepticism is soon replaced by panic as the Team split up PREDATOR-style and, also in PREDATOR style, are picked off one-by-one. Leader Turnball (James Arthur Lewis) manages to round up the exhibition's survivors and somehow overpower the creature. Upon learning of this, Bill is cautiously delighted and wastes no time in making his way to a top secret laboratory where his alien nemesis is being held.

Enter Professor Reeves (Michael Harding), a TV scientist who Bill calls in on the QT to inspect the heavily sedated creature. Bill wants Reeves to introduce the creature to the world on his show, and effectively make Bill as famous as he is rich. But as business discussions get underway, Turnball turns up and is understandably keen to warn all concerned how dangerous flaunting the creature could be.

Turnball's restrained when his protests become more animated; undeterred, Bill tells his lackeys to "prepare the specimen, we are going to Los Angeles"...

Hmm. Care to hazard a guess how that turns out?

LIZARDMAN is very low budget in look despite a colour-corrected sheen and proficient editing which combine to help it resemble an episode of TV's "CSI". Performances range from the credible to the embarrassing; with some actors looking like they've simply turned up in the same clothes they'd wear to wash the car.

And yet, there's a refreshing ambition to allude to films such as KING KONG and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (the titular monster's rubber suit is either clear homage or blatant rip-off of the latter). So, instead of the predicted non-stop glut of boobs and gore, LIZARDMAN focuses on old-fashioned values such as strong characters, classic B-movie conventions and a desire to entertain rather than nauseate.

The film finds a lot of charm in this relatively innocent approach. And even when it does include scantily clad females or the odd moment of gore (of the post-production CGI variety), director Peter Dang never allows the film to stray beyond the confines of PG-13 fare.

Taut at 81 minutes in length, the film also benefits from an enjoyable screenplay by Francis Abbey. Abbey creates a throwback matinee-style of good guys-versus-bad guys, as well as allowing in some social commentary which in turn affords the monster a modicum of sympathy later into proceedings.

Overall, LIZARDMAN is an entertainingly old-fashioned and mildly humorous take on classic monster movies, the likes of which we get to see all too little of nowadays. Only the terrible rock-rap video that winds proceedings up spoils the tone...

Camp Motion Pictures release LIZARDMAN uncut onto US DVD. The disc is region free.

The film is presented in 16x9 widescreen and looks very good, with strong colours and agreeable detail throughout.

English 2.0 audio also plays without cause for reasonable quibble.

The ripples of a synthetic tide constitute an animated main menu page here. There is no scene selection menu on the disc but we do get remote control navigation through the film by way of 17 chapters.

In terms of bonus features, all we get is LIZARDMAN's 78-second trailer along with a handful of previews for other Camp/Alternative Cinema titles: ATOMIC BRAIN INVASION, BACTERIUM, BITE ME, DOCUMENTING THE GREY MAN, GROUND ZERO, I HEART U, INTERPLANETARY, SHOCK-O-RAMA and SPLATTER BEACH.

Cheaply produced and more than just a little derivative, LIZARDMAN also exceeds expectations with a well-pitched tone that leans more to 50s sci-fi creature feature schlock than empty body-count mechanics. That's got to count for something in this day and age, surely?

Review by Stuart Willis


 
Released by Camp Motion Pictures
Region All
Not Rated
Extras :
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