Okay, stop me if you've heard this one before. Your usual bunch of scientists doing morally dubious and ill-advised experiments in a secret subterranean laboratory create a super-strong brain-eating mutant named Thor (handsome, muscular Dan Blom, who's actually quite good) who gets loose and goes on a destructive rampage. Fortunately, the always reliable Lance Henrikson as a bitter, cynical doctor who quit the project a few months ago arrives back on the scene to help save the day. Strangely enough, Henrikson brings along his estranged, rebellious smartaleck metalhead son (a then unknown, pre-stardom Giovanni Ribisi, who's every bit as obnoxious as you think), lusty hottie daughter (the luscious Natasha Wagner, looking mighty fine in skimpy shorts), and the daughter's libidinous tool of a boyfriend (the supremely irritating Adam Solomon). Swell dad, eh? I think you can basically fill in the blanks as to what happens next.
All kidding aside, this nifty little low-budget direct-to-vid horror item manages to be a great deal of enjoyably cheesy fun. It's directed with considerable rip-snorting verve by Joe Gayton, with a spooky, rousing, rattling score by J. Peter Robinson, dark, claustrophobic cinematography by Fernando Arguelles, funky make-up f/x by Image Animation, a cool lethal humanoid creature that's both scary and pitiable, and a nonstop breakneck pace. The solid cast do their best with their stock roles: tall, leggy, statuesque brunette beauty Claire Standsfield tackles her Ripley-like two-fisted tough chick heroine part with tremendous lip-smacking gusto while ubiquitous character actor John Diehl jerks it up nicely as the overbearing team leader. Bonus points are in order for the freaky and startling unexpected monster nightmare sequence. Granted, we're not talking work of art here, but this snazzy B-horror flick does the trick just the same in a pleasingly brisk and efficient enough manner.
All kidding aside, this nifty little low-budget direct-to-vid horror item manages to be a great deal of enjoyably cheesy fun. It's directed with considerable rip-snorting verve by Joe Gayton, with a spooky, rousing, rattling score by J. Peter Robinson, dark, claustrophobic cinematography by Fernando Arguelles, funky make-up f/x by Image Animation, a cool lethal humanoid creature that's both scary and pitiable, and a nonstop breakneck pace. The solid cast do their best with their stock roles: tall, leggy, statuesque brunette beauty Claire Standsfield tackles her Ripley-like two-fisted tough chick heroine part with tremendous lip-smacking gusto while ubiquitous character actor John Diehl jerks it up nicely as the overbearing team leader. Bonus points are in order for the freaky and startling unexpected monster nightmare sequence. Granted, we're not talking work of art here, but this snazzy B-horror flick does the trick just the same in a pleasingly brisk and efficient enough manner.