Curse of the Komodo


release year: 2003
genre: cheesy monster
viewing setting: home DVD, 9/15/04

synopsis: A military experiment has produced gigantic Komodo dragons, which lurk on a remote Hawaiian island and menace some scientists and crash-landed casino thieves.

impressions: This is grade-B monster cheese at its best. I will give the filmmakers credit for some things: a monster that actually looks decent and is on-screen a lot, gratuitous toplessness, getting cool weapons for the characters to use, casting multiple good-looking actresses. However, I noticed a number of plot holes or silly things: scientists' base that is actually just a house surrounded by an electric fence...Komodo ignores full-auto fire but is repeatedly stopped in its tracks by assorted single shots...inconsistency as to whether Komodo is active in the daytime or not...entire project's data fits onto a single 3.5" floppy disk...unlimited ammo factor...C4 explosive just happens to be lying around...slime left behind by Komodo results in weird zombie-ifying effects...giant Komodo would attack a group of people, end up eating one, and then just wander away...movie was obviously shot in widescreen but cropped for this DVD?!? One final, major gripe which I now address to the director: do not have a scene with a beautiful woman in underclothes preparing for a bath and then NOT SHOW THE BATH.

cast of characters: 
  • the Komodo - genetically mutated, it measures in at about 50' long and is able to eat a person in a single bite; it also seems immune to (yet strangely fascinated by) gunfire
  • Professor Phipps - vaguely resembles a balding Gene Hackman, married to his work, actually believed that the military funded his project for humanitarian reasons (as opposed to, say, creating a weapon)
  • Dawn - Phipps' busty girlfriend/scientist with British accent
  • Rebecca - Phipps' busty daughter, likes to skinny-dip for no reason, had a thing going with Jason
  • Jason - young helper #1, knows something about fixing engines, infected by Komodo slime and dies early
  • Hanson - young helper #2, fairly handy at fixing generators and deducing peoples' true natures
  • Drake - tough head crook, vaguely resembles a tall, buff Fred Ward, doesn't have a problem killing people
  • Tiffany - Drake's hot girlfriend, likes to stroll around in tank tops and low-cut jeans (this actress was the female lead in Raptor)
  • Jack - ex-military helicopter pilot hired by Drake, handy at fixing things, constantly drinks from a tiny dented booze flask that never seems to be empty
  • Reece - chunky young crook, associate of Drake but lacks killer instinct, likes to crack jokes about bad situations
  • Foster - high-ranking Navy guy who controls the whole project, vaguely resembles a younger R. Lee Ermey, doesn't give a damn about any of the scientists

    things to watch for: 
  • 27:00 gratuitous skinny-dipping
  • 32:00 the Komodo strikes!
  • 34:30 the Komodo runs! (and can't catch a Bronco containing 8 people)
  • 42:40 Tiffany (Melissa Brasselle) prepares for her bath
  • 57:45 the Komodo gets bored of being shot at, and just turns and leaves

    something this movie has that no other movie has: Komodo slime that turns you into a crazed, rotting zombie-type thing

    quotable: 
    "Do they always get that big?"
    "No, these are...special."

    acting: see "cast of characters" above for all you need to know

    final word: entertaining bad movie

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