Z/Web

Strange movie. I never saw the original, but I like Ray Wise (of Twin Peaks fame) and there’s really nothing else out there, so I gave it a go. I’d give it a C- or C+, depending on my mood. It’s basically a mere survival story, but it’s done in such as way as to make you think the plot’s more than that, which makes it a bit of a letdown when you realize that’s all it is. There’s some flying goblin creature (it’s never named — no idea where the title comes in) that comes alive every 23rd spring and eats for 23 days. It’s apparently thousands of years old and no one can kill it. A schoolbus full of a high school football team and cheerleaders breaks down in the middle of nowhere and is picked off one-by-one by the creature. The early “scare” scenes I thought were lame because what made them “scary” was that we couldn’t see the creature. Once we get to the schoolbus at night, however, we really get to see the creature, which is cool. As he lurks about the schoolbus, we see him leer at the terrified teens, watch him eat and heal from horrible wounds, and more. The kids are all stereotypical and overdone, but there are a few suprises here. Then we get Ray Wise as the angry dad (he son was apparently killed by the creature in the opening scene though that was woefully unclear) who’s built himself a homemade harpoon which he uses to spear the creature. In the end, the humans win — sort of. The creature goes into hibernation, and he’ll be back… in 23 years.

Whatever. Who comes up with this stuff? It’s rather arbitrary. What’s significant about 23 years? Why not 25 or fifty? Why not link to to the position of the stars or something? We get no explanation about the creatures’ origin, and why can’t he be burned or disassembled or locked in a steel coffin or something? Oh wait a second: I’m using logic. Sorry about that. I forgot what movie I was talking about. Forget all those negatives. This is a modest thriller. Not as humorous or as clever as Freddy vs. Jason, but okay, and the creature is a little scary, especially when he grins at you just before he pounces.