Festival Release: Sitges Film Festival, Spain — 7
October 2023
Public Release: 6 December 2024
Written by
Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham
Directed by Mikey Hermosa
Starring
Mike Capes, David Shackelford, Caitlin McHugh
Produced by
Valecroft
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I first came across this
movie during a
Discord event hosted by Heavy Metal magazine called Movie Night –
Invisible Raptor w/ cast & crew. That is a
weekly movie event they have on Discord. Meant to lift up independent
movies. Love it!
Right away it felt special since the
screening also included writer Mike Capes and producer Nic Neary talking, there was also Johnny Wickham, another writer, hanging out in the chat. Having
them there added a lot of depth when talking about how the movie was
made. It was also nice to see the community chatting, very nice and
friendly setting.
The movie had me hooked immediately. Sean Astin popped up and I thought, what!!! That was such a fun surprise.
The premise is delightfully absurd yet clever. An invisible raptor
escapes from a lab and Dr. Grant Walker, a paleontologist at a
dinosaur amusement park called Dino World, teams up with the very
eccentric head of security, Denny, to hunt it down through a small
suburban town. Walker also has time for a romantic subplot with pretty Amber. The fact that the creature is literally invisible
sounds silly but in practice it worked so well and gave the movie its
own identity.
What really surprised me was the quality. I was expecting something rough around the edges but it did not look or feel like a low-budget production at all. It had a polished style with confidence.
The story itself leans hard into 80’s nostalgia. It is packed
with references like E.T., there is even a kid named
Elliott, Gremlins, Jaws, The Invisible Man,
The Shining and of course Jurassic Park.
At times it reminded me of Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. The humor is smart yet ridiculous and as the movie went on it only grew more bizarre. Talking about Mary, the actor that played the eccentric head of security Denny, David Shackelford, he even was in There’s Something About Mary, playing “coconut guy”.
The dialogue stood out as sharp and funny. I loved the way it balanced absurd comedy with an actual story. Cameos were another highlight with about four or five sprinkled in, adding even more fun for viewers who recognize the faces, we had some luck having the crew call em out as they passed by on screen.
Overall The Invisible Raptor is a weird, clever, nostalgic ride that embraces its own absurdity. It is clearly made by people who love 80’s movies and are not afraid to get a little ridiculous while still delivering quality. By the end I was laughing, felt surprised and honestly impressed.
Rating: 9/10
This was no B-Movie, it was
pure cinematic galore!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22090684/
https://www.facebook.com/invisibleraptormovie/
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