Director: Mark Atkins
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Giant Monster
Plot:
To quell his detractors’ claims, a deep-sea drilling expedition is launched to determine the cause of a potential accident on the sea floor, only to find the cause of the accident to be a monstrous starfish that wrecks havoc on humanity and forces a team of scientists to find a legendary creatures' hiding spot to battle the menace.
Story:
This one isn’t all that bad for this kind of effort. The opening here with the destruction of the mining equipment and forcing the group to go look for it offers a strong starting point, especially with the series of strange interactions that are shown on the ocean floor which makes the early setup with their discovery of the giant starfish-like creature so much fun and shocking. To lead in from that to the first battle that serves the fine point of bringing about the discovery of the creature through its connection to ancient legends that brings about their method of being able to combat it. That’s a far more enjoyable setup than usually expected here and gives the film a really intriguing setup to lead into the final half which is the series of confrontations with the monsters.
The introduction of the monsters has a lot to like here as well. There’s an inclusion of ancient folklore and mythology included here which is quite interesting and enjoyable, moving the monster starfish out of the ordinary creature that hasn’t been seen for millennia and tacking on the idea of the creature being responsible for various supernatural disasters and catastrophes that have been documented throughout history. It’s a nice and unique touch that adds a different gravity to the creature than would otherwise be expected here had there not been this kind of extra weight attached to a random monster appearing in the world. That the legends used to enhance the ploy of announcing the main creatures from appearing as well as signaling the need for bringing the big monster at the end to close off that connection makes for a nice and enjoyable story here.
Special Effects:
As is to be expected from an Asylum film, the creatures here are decidedly and overwhelmingly low-tech CGI that resembles cut scenes from video-games. They’re blocky, splotchy and really look exceptionally cheap and cheesy, especially with the consistent problems that usually emerge from these films also becoming present throughout here. The creatures tend to shift size and scale throughout an individual sequence, as the starfish arm is one of several different scales during the scene of the ship stuck to its arm and it really becomes more highlighted when added alongside the underwhelming CGI. The birth of the flying creatures is just awful, and their fire-spewing powers look absolutely laughable with their effects as they’re so ludicrously unrendered CG that the effects float on-screen in a way that’s completely absurd to witness. That is exactly the same for the giant killer creature at the end which is a moving blur of badly-pixelated mess that never looks close to being realistic.
Despite that, there are some positives to be had here. The designs for the creatures come off rather nicely, with the first creature shown to be the massive starfish that looks really cool with the massive limbs, glowing orbs on its body and some rather unique additions to its biology in the form of molten lava for blood that can heal it from damage. As well, with the second half making it aware that the creatures’ ability to dislodge the eggs on its arms and turn into the flying creatures which have a nice flying bird-like appearance themselves, there's plenty of great monster designs on display. With the twin-prongs on their heads which resemble flamethrowers for a mouth, a bat-like body and massive wings they make an enjoyable impression as they look reasonably appealing with the best design in the film. The rock monster is somewhat appealing with it's giant stone body and massive head but isn't on-screen often enough to make an impression, a real missed opportunity here.
As well, some of the other special effects work here is quite nice when it gets featured. The opening destruction of the mining rig is quite impressive through the video camera feed and the subsequent attack on the submarine looking for it are really impressive, as is the ensuing naval battle at sea when they realize what’s going on with the creatures’ appearance. Several other fun encounters here, from the birthing of the flying creatures from the eggs to attack humanity to a close encounter while being transported away from their headquarters and finally onto the big battle on the island where they awaken the giant monster to battle the other creatures that arrive on the island, manage to make for some exciting sequences here. The finale on the island, featuring the bird attacks on the military as well as the big battle between the monsters with the crew standing around in the rocky outcropping, has some good work here with the realistic sets and interaction with the CGI creatures putting them in the heat of the battle.
Other Factors:
While on a technical level there may be a lot wrong here, the film is still quite fun. Since there’s plenty of creature action here, the film’s stellar pacing and tempo is the most impressive facet here with a lot going on. The starfish encounter is nearly twenty minutes into it and is followed up with a nice naval battle with a submarine to get even more action out of the situation early into the film. While the investigation into the creatures’ origins has its place here, there’s just enough of a let up to make the second half feel a little more straightforward with the series of confrontations here regarding the military looking to stop the creature from continuing its assault on humanity and finding the second battle with the eggs sprouting the new flying creatures.
However, there’s also the rather disappointing final fight here that ends this on somewhat of a downer note. Supposedly trying to get the massive monster awakened as he’s the only one to really stop the swarm of flying creatures that are now spawned on Earth, an act that has been a part of the entire last half of the movie turns into a letdown when they rarely interact with each other featuring only a few moves overall. This is massively disappointing considering the monster they’ve been trying to awaken looks cool and has been seen as a powerful, destructive being making it’s battle out to be a rather fun one. Instead, a few moves and a blur from the human crew fighting the creature which is about all the main fight consists of which is a real disappointment. Otherwise, there isn’t a whole lot really wrong with this one.
While it's technically the same kind of effort that usually appears in The Asylum productions, this is still fun enough with a lot to like in order to make for a fun time here. This is completely for those that appreciate and enjoy these kinds of genre efforts or looking for a nicely cheesy monster movie, while those not interested in any of these qualities should avoid altogether.
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