Yeah, such pointless dog-getting-hurtedness! There no reason they couldn’t have just had a baby get grabbed, instead! I hope everyone involved with that scene, including the writer, got or gets nipped by a dog(AFTER the movie)
Man 2000s animal attack/creature feature movies on Syfy were my childhood. I loved all of those god awful cheesy flicks. Couldn't tell you half of the names but something about them were gold to me. So many great memories of watching the new Syfy "Original" every Saturday, munching on pizza and drinking some cold off brand pop in the middle of summer. Those were truly an escape for me.
Well , no , it was always thought that bacteria in the mouth which included saliva was venomous but alas it was a myth . They later found that they have actual venom glands like a snake and things like the Gila monster . They later went on to find that Monitor's and Iguana's also have venom :)
I personally always thought this was a pretty fun movie. I was also always blown away by how good the effects looked for a lower budget movie. Now I know why. Phil Tippett knows what he's doing. The flare kill I always loved.
I'm a late 90's born kid and had grown up watching Jurassic Park Trilogy, Lake Placid, Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, and Komodo on VHS so I was lucky. Some of the Best Movies ever made don't always win awards and some of the ones that do win awards nowadays are just thumbs down all the way.
Jurassic park trilogy, lake placid, anaconda, deep blue sea , Komodo are all garbage…. Jurassic park 1 is good but you are starving for lizard content so ur bias tells you the movies are good but I’m here to let you know that are trash.
@@taintedsexpill5329 The story of Jurassic Park is great and along with the other movies I mentioned I'm only saying the practical and visual effects hold up to an extent today unlike other films.
That was a glorious time to be a Blockbuster employee. Decent and fun creature features were being cranked out. I remember really enjoying the movie when it was released. Mostly for the impressive CGI and animatronics for the time.
Carnosaur needs more love. Hell, the novel it's loosely based on needs more love (and the fact that the novel predates Jurassic Park itself by 6 years, and is basically the blueprint in SO many ways for what JP did, never gets said enough).
I felt like the movies were bad, especially the Aliens clone Carnosaur 2. I haven't read the novel, but I hope they do make a better film adaptation of it.
I agree, the novel is awesome and needs a reprint so it can be exposed to a wider audience. I also actually like the first movie a fair bit as far as low budget, schlocky creature features go. I believe the author of the book said something like "the movie is crap, but at least it's INTERESTING crap" and I agree 100%.
This was actually a great movie , I remember seeing it as a kid and getting inspired to do a school project on komodoes when I realized they weren’t extinct like the Dino’s in JP .
Same here. Made a little Lego animatronic and slathered it playdough then set it in a diorama. barely worked but I was so proud of it. More of an art project though not a report.
Used to be obsessed with creature features to the point I would beg my mum to buy every VHS that had an animal on the front cover. One year In particular I remember seeing both this and King Cobra in my local corner shop, but were only for rent (the good ol'days). We had little to no money at the time so mum said no. Literally a week later both films were aired back to back on Channel 5 here in the UK. I remember getting all anxious and sweaty that my tapes wouldn't record them. Eventually I got them both on VHS. I wish I kept my collection because I must've had around 100 animal attack movies.
Look. I'm gonna be honest. I just watched "Komodo" for the first time on Saturday night, and it turned out to be an enthralling surprise for me. Moving at a brisk pace, Michael Lantieri's direction is unpretentious, utterly suspenseful, exciting, and even subtle, as Lantieri embraces it's simplicity. When it comes to cheesy B-movies in the form of creature features, Komodo is a unique winner in this category, because, the script does not have to rely on a tongue-in-cheek tone or just comedy in general to win our affections. The effects are striking and convincing. The performances are just solid. The characters themselves are well-scripted and well-realized. The orchestral music score by John Debney is emotionally dynamic and richly textured. And of course, the Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard in the world (10 feet long and over 300 pounds heavy), as well as one of the world's deadliest/most dangerous animals. Although, they do have some motivation when they were abandoned as eggs in North Carolina, where it's polluted by a ruthless oil company. So, I think it's frustrating that Komodo did not get a nationwide theatrical release. I love it so much. Highly Recommended. 3.5/4
I've actually seen Komodo a few months back. Definitely a cheesy monster flick, but in comparison to what came out later, it's certainly NOT a bad film.
I remember watching this movie and then forgetting that it was actually a real movie and for years thinking it was a fever dream I thought up. Only to discover rather recently that it exists and the whole thing is still up on UA-cam.
I remember watching this as a kid. My mom loves creature films. She would go to the blockbusters and rent movies all the time. Few of the films you've reviewed, she would pick them up. Enjoy the channel
I've seen this (I even own a copy of it on good ole' VHS)! I concur it's nothing on the same story-telling level as the OG "Jurassic Park," but it does have its moments and the effects work that went into the Komodos themselves are well-done. The 90s really were a time to be alive for 'Creature Features!'
This movie and Sabertooth were my silly monster movie favorites growing up. The second house invasion scene was incredibly tense and the practical effects were remarkably solid for what it was.
Love this movie. Picked it up on DVD sometime in the early 2000’s & thought it was super fun. When my son was young our local zoo got a Komodo Dragon & he became a little obsessed with them. I eventually showed him this movie & it lead to us watching other killer animal films & his love for Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, Lake Placid & more recently The Meg & Crawl. Would love it if scream factory could get their hands on this one & get a remastered Bluray release out there.
I did see the movie, and I remember being surprised by the special effects at the time even if it dragged in places, if I remember correctly. But some scenes were surprisingly tense, like the long grass scene and yes, that but where she’s clinging to the Komodo and it comes back to life - that took me off-guard and definitely added some tension. Shame about the dog, though.
It’s nice to see someone actually mention this movie. I live in the UK, and in the early 2000s my parents used to rent me all of these monster flicks from our local video rental store, King Kobra, Lake Placid, Deep Blue Sea (on my 10th birthday) and Komodo. I don’t remember a lot about it other than vague flashes, but remember finding the opening scene pretty scary when I was like 8-10 years old. It’s a film I’ve never forgotten existed though!
Finally , this movie EXISTS I thought it was all in my head, but for some reason I thought it was called Gargatuar, a freind had in the background in the early 2000s
I remember this movie! Especially that scene where the strung up and "dead" komodo decided to reanimate. Blast from the past right here. Best is still Lake Placid and Deep Blue Sea though.
Lake Placid is one of my favorite modern monster movies ever. Love that movie to death. Ever since then, I've watched every crocodile documentary I can find. I'm a huge fan of Gustav, the African crocodile allegedly responsible for 300 or so human kills (although the real number is probably closer to 60, still, he's a real life monster). I'm gonna need to find Komodo and give it a watch. You seem to have a fine taste in movies, Darren M.
Christ ! All the memories flooded back soon as you shown the front cover of the film ! I bought this movie from a boot sale and I loved it as a kid I think I'm gunna have to look at it again thanks for this upload subbed
an underrated movie from 1999. i rented this from the movie store several times. you could obviously see the similarities from all the other movies. but still awesome. an unforgotten gem and classic
Glad to see this film get more recognition, because to me, it's honestly kind of underrated when compared to some of the other 90s animal-horror flicks I even remember some shots of the Komodos themselves where I literally couldn't tell which was which, that's how good they were for their time and still are now. I also liked how the reason the lizards were so aggressive and dangerous was reserved compared to the likes of _Deep Blue Sea_ and _King Cobra_ around the same time, in that the dragons were literally just starving due to limited food, that's it. Now admittedly, yes, this being a low-budget 90s horror, the film does have issues here and there, but for me, they never really took away the qualities this film managed to bring to the table
I never said DBS's reason for the sharks being aggro was bad in any way. In fact, it's actually a very good explanation and fits very well with the story, not to mention despite not seeing the film myself, I can tell it's a good film. What I *AM* saying is that compared to the relatively complex background the sharks and cobra has, the Komodos have a much simpler reason for their behavior, a contrast to the other aforementioned creature flicks
@@zaheershaikh6879 I'll allow it. But I am a little disappointed in the fact that you haven't seen Deep Blue Sea. I'm gonna need you to stop everything you are doing. If you're at work, quit your job. And then imediatley watch Deep Blue Sea. I expect a 4000 word essay over what you've learned and how you'll never abbreviate Deep Blue Sea again. Think of LL Cool J.
@@zaheershaikh6879 alright... Well we can fix that. Tomorrow, I want you to go find a job. Then once you're done with orientation, And have your uniform, and you're on the schedule, I want you to quit said job. Then watch Deep Blue Sea.
I fully remember this movie. King Cobra, Carnosaur, Lake Placid; I saw 'em all and loved _most_ of them. Rented this from Hollywood Video as a kid, then bought it along with about 20 other VHS tapes and DVDs for $10 when they went out of business. Wish we could get more B-movies of this quality now.
I remember watching this film from a pirated DVD (I live in Southeast Asia, where pirated DVDs are a commonality). In that same DVD, there was also the Disney Dinosaur film and all episodes of Prehistoric Park. I fondly remember watching Komodo over and over again while covering my eyes at some scenes
I remember hearing about it but I never actually saw it. I loved the other three movies mentioned and I even like Godzilla '99. It's crazy to see Billy Burke and Kevin Zegers in it.
Man I actually have forgotten this movie. I remember seeing the trailers back in the day and really wanting to see this movie. Seen it once but should revisit it, thank you for reminding me of this.
This was definitely one of my favorites as a kid. I remember finding it in blockbuster and when I saw from the makers of jurassic park I had to watch. I still watch it from time to time. Would love to see this remade! I'm sure it wouldn't cost a lot and it wouldn't take much to make the plot a lot better.
I saw this one night on cable in the year 2001, I think, and then bought the DVD later that year. It's actually an entertaining monster film. And the fact that these lizards DO exist, and are pretty freaking dangerous for real, makes the story exciting enough. They can climb 45 degree angled hills, and smaller ones can climb trees. They can sprint/run up to 21 mph - but only for short time - so get your running shoes on and hope you don't trip!
I found a DVD copy at a thrift store. Definitely worth a watch!!! Love the review!! Very concise and informative!! Keep up the amazing work and have a great day!!!
When I was really young, I would watch Jurassic Park. I was never scared of it, because there were Dinosaurs. I wasn't afraid of my biggest obsession. My grandparents owned this movie, and I watched the intro scene. The first kill was SO sudden, it freaked me out enough that I didn't want to continue watching. I, to this day, have never gone back to it, but it obviously woke some fascination in me, because my second grade "pick an animal, tell the class something about it" was on the Komodo Dragon. It's been an animal that I really like, and any deep seeded fear was immediately demystified. I just never went back to the movie, because I honestly couldn't find it anywhere Lol Thank you so much for this trip to my early years
I actually fondly remember this film. It had some really effective scenes and genuine tension for a lower budget creature flick. Plus komodo dragons are cool
I remember renting this from when it first came out, and only chose it because of the Jurassic Park connections. It wasn't horrible, but I definitely enjoyed it more than Anaconda and Deep Blue Sea. Lake Placid beats them all because; Betty White, obviously! I do have to admit that I cackled once the kid pulled the whole Rambo routine, but he did it well and it didn't take away from the larger scope of the story.
Lake Placid was awesome. It focused a lot more on the characters and humor while the danger and appearance of the crocodile were sprinkled in but not overdone. Especially since the CGI was only so good back then. It was honestly like an X-Files episode with its pacing but made into a feature film. And who can forget Betty White's character and lines like "Officer fuckmeat!"
I remember seeing all of these covers in the video store. The best part of going was looking at all the bizarre and obscure movies that were on the shelves.
Oh god. I remembered this movie when I was a child. It HAUNTED me and It actually evolved into becoming obsessed with Komodo dragons. I would sit there sorrow filled there weren't more horror movies based around the Komodo as a inspiration for the monster. Thus I hold this film close to heart. And also that wonderfully terrible Curse of the Komodo movie. They're the only two I knew of.
HELL NO DUDE. I remember this. I used to rent it a few times from blockbuster and brought it to my friends house. I knew what it was as soon as i saw your thumbnail. I was a huge JP fankid so it did spark my interest in movies like this, kinda cobra (RIP Pat Morita) and anaconda.
Honestly I think this is easily the gold standard for a low budget 'natural horror' film. There are some weird moments but I thought the acting was largely pretty good all things considered, and the creature effects were very well done. The one subplot that seemed hooky was the cover-up of the dragons, but a small tweak could easily just cut that out.
I came across this movie many years ago, and I totally loved it, especially the special effects and visuals in general! Right now it just makes me miss the good old days, and I feel like visuals and effects have taken a dive downward today. Don't know what you mean by "it's not a good movie". I mean besides it not having the best storyline, I don't have many complaints about it.
With all do respect on the Komodo movie, I enjoyed watching it on VHS back in the day and STILL today. I am learning even more about the making of it from your video. After reading the Lost World and seeing it, I'll gladly keep the book version! Luv your video!
I rented this from blockbuster back in the early 2000s as well. I was a kid who loved lizards and dinosaurs, and this movie really scratched that itch. So cheesey and fun.
This film was recommended to me by Amazon many years ago, in the wake of a bunch of similar creature-feature DVD purchases. I was VERY impressed by the creature effects, much less so the story. Having said that, there are a few moments where the CGI dragons have a weird, patchy green cast to them, like they've been composited into the shot badly during a glitch in the Matrix.
I remember loving this movie as a kid and renting it a few times. Haven't really watched it since as an adult but it's nice to see it getting some love. I didn't realize some of the people behind Jurassic Park were behind this one, but that's cool to know.
Komodo was one of my favorite VHS tapes I had as a kid. I'm sad to say I no longer have it, but the VHS box was what caught my eye when I got to pick out a new tape from Blockbuster at the time
I've seen this movie multiple times growing up, and I recently bought the dvd a year or 2 ago because I enjoyed it. These types of movies are some of my favorite, they're an underappreciated genre, and I wish there were more like it!
I loved this Era of movies as a kid and actually remember this one but I completely forgot about the quality of the effects. For some reason, I thought of this as being alongside the made-for-Sci fi channel creature features.
I love this movie! Always felt like it got overlooked! The story is no where near as good as the other movies if that year but the mood is so much more if a straight horror than Lake Placid or Deep Blue Sea! I think I’ll do a Lost World/Komodo double feature tonight!
What made it scary is that it's 100% plausible, exotic animals get let loose all the time. Like if I read some eccentric Florida Man let loose his illegal pet Komodo dragons on one of the Florida keys and they quickly became the alpha predators on the island I'd believe it lol.
I remember this movie! I rented it as a teenager. I more clearly remember Lake Placid, Deep Blue Sea, and Anaconda. Which probably shows the mediocre quality of Komodo. I'm glad you made this video, as this was a blast from the past. And, I forgot that people from the Jurassic Park team worked on Komodo. Seeing that on the cover definitely pushed me to rent this movie.
I vividly remember getting this film and other creature features mentioned in the video on rent back in 2002- 2005. Good old memories attached with them as i was just 6-7 at the time during the summer vacations, you must check all those movies out. Good popcorn flicks, plan to rewatch them someday. They haven't been able to replicate the B movie type horror, just look at scifi flicks.That being said, the cultural impact of the 90's will never be matched.
I remember seeing the cover of this in a movie rent store, it was kinda like a blockbuster with tons of vhs tapes and DVDs. I don't think i have seen Komodo but some reason i felt it wasn't what the cover promise. Or i must have heard of that i am not sure. But i am gonna check this one out. I did remember seeing anaconda and sone si fi films like Boa vs Python 😊
a bit of almost certainly true trivia about the lost world's "long grass scene" is that, in the tradition of recycling ideas from unproduced scripts (as most famously happened with jodorowsky's dune), the lost world actually used an element from one of the many, many, *many* unoptioned scripts for alien3. in an early version of the "monastery in space" version of the story there's a massive cornfield that supplies most of the food for the monks on their weird wooden space station. there's a scene with the alien stalking and killing monks in the cornfield, complete with overhead views (as also used in the recent film "prey") as it closes in on its targets. in desparation the monks set fire to the corn, knowing this will doom them all to starvation, but tragically the alien gets away anyway. what a cool scene that would've been eh
I never saw the entire Komodo movie, but I still want to ... I think it seems to looks very cool !!! Still, my favorite of all this creature feature movies mentioned here is Deep Blue Sea, I really love that movie !!!!
This came out when I was about 20... Me and my ex-wife use to sit around and have a few beers and watch a lot of "so bad it's good" movies on the weekends when I had off work (kinda like they do over on Jason Brant's UA-cam channel). This one was one of the better (B-rated) creature features in our collection! Thanks for the nostalgia!! 😆👍
i remember watching komodo as a kid, also the lost world is still a phenomenal movie even after all these years. the "professional" critics are almost always wrong anyway lol.
I always saw this movie at my local video store back when I was younger, and those things actually existed (RIP golden age of entertainment 😓) I never rented it but seeing those SFX for the komodos in this video makese want to check it out. I'm all for those fun cheesy creature features if the effects are good
A quick UA-cam search and full movie found...time for a rewatch ..🍿. Loved these old classics lol, there was a certain feeling to them you just can't get now and the effects on this were pretty decent 😉
Ahh, I was just getting nostalgic about one of my favorite childhood creature features. I only needed the vids title and I knew exactly what movie was gonna be discussed. Also, fun fact. Humans have more bacteria in our mouths than most creatures which could lead to bites causing sever infections in untreated wounds! We are like the komodo dragons of the mammal world!
there was also a similiar movie to this, only it used crappy yet hilarious and "interesting" cgi. it was called "the legend of komodo" or "the curse of komodo". i remember seeing it at a store in dvd, thinking it was interesting and bought it. i watched it when we got home and it both creeped me out, interested me in, and made both me and my mom die of laughter due to the lizards zig-zag movement. that was 8 years ago, and i still remember it. as a matter of fact i still have it in a box somewhere in the house! the lizards were huge and it was like jp:tlw just with massive komodo lizards, poisoned saliva that... turned people into weird zombies, and a pretty cool ending and plot twist at the end.
I had both Komodo and Curse of the Komodo which in my opinion was the bad one of the two. Man it was horrible beyond belief if you ask me. The disappointment still floatz around me to this day mentally it createz constant remembrance falling deeply in a pointless hole.
Damn, I thought this was the movie I've been searching for. I vaguely remember watching a movie where there was this shark creature that was experimented on and eventually had legs. It stayed in the water for awhile before learning it could walk on dry land and started killing people soon after. The scientist who created it thought the creature recognised him and tries to hug it but then it kills him. Weirdest movie I've ever watched but can't for the life of me remember the title.
Based on Peter Benchley's book, "White Shark"... the TV movie, "Creature" starred Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall and Colm Feore. Actually, a pretty good adaptation with the 'creature design' by veteran SPFX master , Stan Winston! The film is available on Region -free BluRay disc... I own a copy and love it!
I was in 3rd grade when I first watched it. I saw the trailer on TV then we rented one when a copy was out. My dad and I were amazed by the film and that's the first time we knew what a Komodo Dragon is (we had to look at our hard bound Encyclopedia (those were the days)). I rewatched it in 2007 and it was still good but some CGI are poor. Overall its still a good movie.
I saw this movie about two or three times and I believe it's free on UA-cam honestly I like it it's a good Pastime horror film and despite it not being up too much I like it for what it is don't like the movies that came after it. But I feel for what it's worth komodo is a good enough movie on its own
Thanks for the recommendations. I love Deep Blue Sea, Anaconda and Lake Placid, especially Lake Placid. Lake Placid has a ton of funny humor that has no good reason being in that movie, it reminds me of Tucker and Dale.
Yoooo! This is a movie I saw very young and loved it! Komodo Dragons were and still are one of my favorite animals. Almost nobody knows about this movie but when I mention it and someone knows it it is always awesome!
I REMEMBER THIS MOVIE! I could have sworn it was a fever dream, because I couldn't find it for years, but I occasionally think about it right after watching Jurassic park. I think I saw it on the SCI-FI channel back in the day and honestly, it was pretty good for an animal monster B movie.
I think I actually saw this movie and completely forgot about it. My memory flashed back to the scene of her hanging onto the "dead" komodo that woke up. I had completely forgotten that I saw this until your video. Thank you.
No! Not the dog!!!
Poor puppy, it's death was an earned jumpscare.
Agreed not the fluff baby
Yeah, such pointless dog-getting-hurtedness! There no reason they couldn’t have just had a baby get grabbed, instead! I hope everyone involved with that scene, including the writer, got or gets nipped by a dog(AFTER the movie)
so thats what the dog doin...
Thats the main reason this movies is burned in my brain! I was so scared of this movie as a child😂
Man 2000s animal attack/creature feature movies on Syfy were my childhood. I loved all of those god awful cheesy flicks. Couldn't tell you half of the names but something about them were gold to me. So many great memories of watching the new Syfy "Original" every Saturday, munching on pizza and drinking some cold off brand pop in the middle of summer. Those were truly an escape for me.
A fellow person of culture I see
Days like that were great
I loved that movie! Didn't consider it as a cheesy flick at all. Especially the effects who were great
Do you remember watching chupacabra dark seas? It had that actor who plays Gus Fring in breaking bad 😂
@@jongallardo8006 I remember that one
I really enjoyed this film. They even touched on the dragon’s saliva being venomous, which wasn’t entirely proven til years after. Secret genius!
Well , no , it was always thought that bacteria in the mouth which included saliva was venomous but alas it was a myth . They later found that they have actual venom glands like a snake and things like the Gila monster . They later went on to find that Monitor's and Iguana's also have venom :)
@@nodders6830
Wait, Iguanas are venomous?
@@MajorisMons Yeah , Iguanas possess atrophied venom glands that produce a weak harmless venom :) But still , venom .
@@nodders6830
Well shit, you just gave me some extra trivia knowledge 👍
@@nodders6830
I believe bearded dragons have them too, or at least something similar
I'm proud to say I've never forgotten this movie. And I watch it from time to time. It's a Great movie
I personally always thought this was a pretty fun movie. I was also always blown away by how good the effects looked for a lower budget movie. Now I know why. Phil Tippett knows what he's doing. The flare kill I always loved.
I'm a late 90's born kid and had grown up watching Jurassic Park Trilogy, Lake Placid, Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, and Komodo on VHS so I was lucky. Some of the Best Movies ever made don't always win awards and some of the ones that do win awards nowadays are just thumbs down all the way.
Hello do you believe in Jesus?
Jurassic park trilogy, lake placid, anaconda, deep blue sea , Komodo are all garbage…. Jurassic park 1 is good but you are starving for lizard content so ur bias tells you the movies are good but I’m here to let you know that are trash.
@@taintedsexpill5329 The story of Jurassic Park is great and along with the other movies I mentioned I'm only saying the practical and visual effects hold up to an extent today unlike other films.
@@taintedsexpill5329 And yet they are clearly happier than you >_>
Relic...
That was a glorious time to be a Blockbuster employee. Decent and fun creature features were being cranked out. I remember really enjoying the movie when it was released. Mostly for the impressive CGI and animatronics for the time.
Ya, i miss the Blockbuster days!
Blockbuster was great.
There were so many cool movies discovered just by walking the aisles on a Friday or Saturday night. Man, I miss those days.
Glorious times indeed. They would have deals like '7 weeklies for $7' & I would spend an hour walking around that place, trying to decide.
Carnosaur needs more love. Hell, the novel it's loosely based on needs more love (and the fact that the novel predates Jurassic Park itself by 6 years, and is basically the blueprint in SO many ways for what JP did, never gets said enough).
The novel is a hidden gem indeed. Hope it gets a faithful adaptation someday.
I agree man
I saw Carnosaur 2 when I was 5 and was traumatized by the raptor yanking the girl's arm off lmao
I felt like the movies were bad, especially the Aliens clone Carnosaur 2.
I haven't read the novel, but I hope they do make a better film adaptation of it.
I agree, the novel is awesome and needs a reprint so it can be exposed to a wider audience. I also actually like the first movie a fair bit as far as low budget, schlocky creature features go. I believe the author of the book said something like "the movie is crap, but at least it's INTERESTING crap" and I agree 100%.
This was actually a great movie , I remember seeing it as a kid and getting inspired to do a school project on komodoes when I realized they weren’t extinct like the Dino’s in JP .
"Actually".
Same here. Made a little Lego animatronic and slathered it playdough then set it in a diorama. barely worked but I was so proud of it.
More of an art project though not a report.
Used to be obsessed with creature features to the point I would beg my mum to buy every VHS that had an animal on the front cover. One year In particular I remember seeing both this and King Cobra in my local corner shop, but were only for rent (the good ol'days). We had little to no money at the time so mum said no. Literally a week later both films were aired back to back on Channel 5 here in the UK. I remember getting all anxious and sweaty that my tapes wouldn't record them. Eventually I got them both on VHS. I wish I kept my collection because I must've had around 100 animal attack movies.
Look. I'm gonna be honest. I just watched "Komodo" for the first time on Saturday night, and it turned out to be an enthralling surprise for me. Moving at a brisk pace, Michael Lantieri's direction is unpretentious, utterly suspenseful, exciting, and even subtle, as Lantieri embraces it's simplicity. When it comes to cheesy B-movies in the form of creature features, Komodo is a unique winner in this category, because, the script does not have to rely on a tongue-in-cheek tone or just comedy in general to win our affections. The effects are striking and convincing. The performances are just solid. The characters themselves are well-scripted and well-realized. The orchestral music score by John Debney is emotionally dynamic and richly textured. And of course, the Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard in the world (10 feet long and over 300 pounds heavy), as well as one of the world's deadliest/most dangerous animals. Although, they do have some motivation when they were abandoned as eggs in North Carolina, where it's polluted by a ruthless oil company. So, I think it's frustrating that Komodo did not get a nationwide theatrical release. I love it so much. Highly Recommended. 3.5/4
I've actually seen Komodo a few months back. Definitely a cheesy monster flick, but in comparison to what came out later, it's certainly NOT a bad film.
Weird I found it on UA-cam a couple months ago too...that movie was my 💩 tho!
I have the DVD it's a good movie
If you think about it there were so many ideas for horror movies back then....compaired to today...can't blame em
saw*
Compared to garbage we get today, I wish we could get back to the days when we got funny and cheesy films
I remember watching this movie and then forgetting that it was actually a real movie and for years thinking it was a fever dream I thought up. Only to discover rather recently that it exists and the whole thing is still up on UA-cam.
I love this movie. If anyone wants to watch it let me know. Amazing practical effects and decent storyline. I did cry a bit
Bro i saw this movie on scy fi channel when i was a kid and i didn't know what it was called all i remember it from it that dog kill threw the door
@@fan41ife40 same here.
It was nice to finally see it.
I never saw this movie
@@fan41ife40 That's how I refound it a year or two ago.
Thank you for doing this! This movie is a beloved movie of mine, and rarely anyone has heard of it!
I remember watching this as a kid. My mom loves creature films. She would go to the blockbusters and rent movies all the time. Few of the films you've reviewed, she would pick them up. Enjoy the channel
I grew up seeing this on TV all the time back around 2001-2003. I was legitimately terrified by it.
I've seen this (I even own a copy of it on good ole' VHS)! I concur it's nothing on the same story-telling level as the OG "Jurassic Park," but it does have its moments and the effects work that went into the Komodos themselves are well-done. The 90s really were a time to be alive for 'Creature Features!'
Same here, except my copy is DVD.
@@91senas82 That’s cool, too (😎).
Hell yeah VHS BABEEE. bonus points for me cuz I got it at a thrift store lmao
@@Jerrremy Cool (😎).
I own one too. I think it is awesome. VHS IS BITCHIN.
This movie and Sabertooth were my silly monster movie favorites growing up. The second house invasion scene was incredibly tense and the practical effects were remarkably solid for what it was.
Love this movie. Picked it up on DVD sometime in the early 2000’s & thought it was super fun. When my son was young our local zoo got a Komodo Dragon & he became a little obsessed with them. I eventually showed him this movie & it lead to us watching other killer animal films & his love for Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, Lake Placid & more recently The Meg & Crawl. Would love it if scream factory could get their hands on this one & get a remastered Bluray release out there.
I did see the movie, and I remember being surprised by the special effects at the time even if it dragged in places, if I remember correctly. But some scenes were surprisingly tense, like the long grass scene and yes, that but where she’s clinging to the Komodo and it comes back to life - that took me off-guard and definitely added some tension.
Shame about the dog, though.
It’s nice to see someone actually mention this movie. I live in the UK, and in the early 2000s my parents used to rent me all of these monster flicks from our local video rental store, King Kobra, Lake Placid, Deep Blue Sea (on my 10th birthday) and Komodo.
I don’t remember a lot about it other than vague flashes, but remember finding the opening scene pretty scary when I was like 8-10 years old. It’s a film I’ve never forgotten existed though!
Have fun.
ua-cam.com/video/hC1mBU6GWF4/v-deo.html
Hello do you believe in Jesus?
Finally , this movie EXISTS I thought it was all in my head, but for some reason I thought it was called Gargatuar, a freind had in the background in the early 2000s
Lol. My mom hates horror movies. Whenever Anaconda was on, she'd either ask me to change it or would just stop watching TV and go do something else.
I unironically love this movie! My parents let me watch it when I was way too young and it totally traumatized me, though! Its fun and IMO underrated.
I remember this movie! Especially that scene where the strung up and "dead" komodo decided to reanimate.
Blast from the past right here.
Best is still Lake Placid and Deep Blue Sea though.
Lake Placid is one of my favorite modern monster movies ever. Love that movie to death. Ever since then, I've watched every crocodile documentary I can find. I'm a huge fan of Gustav, the African crocodile allegedly responsible for 300 or so human kills (although the real number is probably closer to 60, still, he's a real life monster).
I'm gonna need to find Komodo and give it a watch.
You seem to have a fine taste in movies, Darren M.
I like Deep Blue Sea more than Lake Placid. Don't know why.
Check out Primeval. Came out 2007. It's about Gustave, well v loosely based
@@elliotgregory3356 Thanks for the recommendation! I will absolutely have to see that.
@@JohnSmith-mk1rj I believe it's on Disney but you could probably pick it up on DVD . I enjoyed it and allegedly Gustave is now deceased which is sad
Christ ! All the memories flooded back soon as you shown the front cover of the film ! I bought this movie from a boot sale and I loved it as a kid I think I'm gunna have to look at it again thanks for this upload subbed
an underrated movie from 1999. i rented this from the movie store several times. you could obviously see the similarities from all the other movies. but still awesome. an unforgotten gem and classic
Glad to see this film get more recognition, because to me, it's honestly kind of underrated when compared to some of the other 90s animal-horror flicks
I even remember some shots of the Komodos themselves where I literally couldn't tell which was which, that's how good they were for their time and still are now. I also liked how the reason the lizards were so aggressive and dangerous was reserved compared to the likes of _Deep Blue Sea_ and _King Cobra_ around the same time, in that the dragons were literally just starving due to limited food, that's it. Now admittedly, yes, this being a low-budget 90s horror, the film does have issues here and there, but for me, they never really took away the qualities this film managed to bring to the table
I agree with everything you've said. Unless you're talking shit about Deep Blue Sea... We will have none of that.
I never said DBS's reason for the sharks being aggro was bad in any way. In fact, it's actually a very good explanation and fits very well with the story, not to mention despite not seeing the film myself, I can tell it's a good film. What I *AM* saying is that compared to the relatively complex background the sharks and cobra has, the Komodos have a much simpler reason for their behavior, a contrast to the other aforementioned creature flicks
@@zaheershaikh6879 I'll allow it. But I am a little disappointed in the fact that you haven't seen Deep Blue Sea. I'm gonna need you to stop everything you are doing. If you're at work, quit your job. And then imediatley watch Deep Blue Sea. I expect a 4000 word essay over what you've learned and how you'll never abbreviate Deep Blue Sea again. Think of LL Cool J.
Sounds a bit much, admittedly, and I don't even have a job
@@zaheershaikh6879 alright... Well we can fix that. Tomorrow, I want you to go find a job. Then once you're done with orientation, And have your uniform, and you're on the schedule, I want you to quit said job. Then watch Deep Blue Sea.
This was a direct-to-video film and yes, it is a good creature feature for a direct-to-video one. Glad you brought light to this one, Klayton
I fully remember this movie. King Cobra, Carnosaur, Lake Placid; I saw 'em all and loved _most_ of them. Rented this from Hollywood Video as a kid, then bought it along with about 20 other VHS tapes and DVDs for $10 when they went out of business. Wish we could get more B-movies of this quality now.
I remember watching this film from a pirated DVD (I live in Southeast Asia, where pirated DVDs are a commonality). In that same DVD, there was also the Disney Dinosaur film and all episodes of Prehistoric Park.
I fondly remember watching Komodo over and over again while covering my eyes at some scenes
This movie terrified and captivated me when I was a kid! I absolutely remember it.
I remember hearing about it but I never actually saw it. I loved the other three movies mentioned and I even like Godzilla '99. It's crazy to see Billy Burke and Kevin Zegers in it.
Man I actually have forgotten this movie. I remember seeing the trailers back in the day and really wanting to see this movie. Seen it once but should revisit it, thank you for reminding me of this.
This was definitely one of my favorites as a kid. I remember finding it in blockbuster and when I saw from the makers of jurassic park I had to watch. I still watch it from time to time. Would love to see this remade! I'm sure it wouldn't cost a lot and it wouldn't take much to make the plot a lot better.
I saw this one night on cable in the year 2001, I think, and then bought the DVD later that year.
It's actually an entertaining monster film. And the fact that these lizards DO exist, and are pretty freaking dangerous for real, makes the story exciting enough.
They can climb 45 degree angled hills, and smaller ones can climb trees. They can sprint/run up to 21 mph - but only for short time - so get your running shoes on and hope you don't trip!
I never forgot this movie. These movies live forever
I found a DVD copy at a thrift store. Definitely worth a watch!!! Love the review!! Very concise and informative!! Keep up the amazing work and have a great day!!!
When I was really young, I would watch Jurassic Park. I was never scared of it, because there were Dinosaurs. I wasn't afraid of my biggest obsession. My grandparents owned this movie, and I watched the intro scene. The first kill was SO sudden, it freaked me out enough that I didn't want to continue watching. I, to this day, have never gone back to it, but it obviously woke some fascination in me, because my second grade "pick an animal, tell the class something about it" was on the Komodo Dragon. It's been an animal that I really like, and any deep seeded fear was immediately demystified. I just never went back to the movie, because I honestly couldn't find it anywhere Lol
Thank you so much for this trip to my early years
I actually fondly remember this film. It had some really effective scenes and genuine tension for a lower budget creature flick. Plus komodo dragons are cool
Thoroughly enjoyed this film when it came out... especially being a massive Jurassic Park and Michael Crichton fan as a kid!
This is one of the first movies i remember watching. Born in 98, i used to watch this and aladdin on vhs all the time lmao.
I remember renting this from when it first came out, and only chose it because of the Jurassic Park connections.
It wasn't horrible, but I definitely enjoyed it more than Anaconda and Deep Blue Sea.
Lake Placid beats them all because; Betty White, obviously!
I do have to admit that I cackled once the kid pulled the whole Rambo routine, but he did it well and it didn't take away from the larger scope of the story.
Lake Placid was awesome. It focused a lot more on the characters and humor while the danger and appearance of the crocodile were sprinkled in but not overdone. Especially since the CGI was only so good back then. It was honestly like an X-Files episode with its pacing but made into a feature film. And who can forget Betty White's character and lines like "Officer fuckmeat!"
I remember seeing all of these covers in the video store. The best part of going was looking at all the bizarre and obscure movies that were on the shelves.
Oh god. I remembered this movie when I was a child. It HAUNTED me and It actually evolved into becoming obsessed with Komodo dragons.
I would sit there sorrow filled there weren't more horror movies based around the Komodo as a inspiration for the monster.
Thus I hold this film close to heart. And also that wonderfully terrible Curse of the Komodo movie. They're the only two I knew of.
I worked on this at Tippett Studio. I’m so glad that people still enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing it!
HELL NO DUDE. I remember this. I used to rent it a few times from blockbuster and brought it to my friends house. I knew what it was as soon as i saw your thumbnail. I was a huge JP fankid so it did spark my interest in movies like this, kinda cobra (RIP Pat Morita) and anaconda.
Honestly I think this is easily the gold standard for a low budget 'natural horror' film. There are some weird moments but I thought the acting was largely pretty good all things considered, and the creature effects were very well done. The one subplot that seemed hooky was the cover-up of the dragons, but a small tweak could easily just cut that out.
Yeah, the CGI was better than it had any right to be for such a low budget movie made at that time.
I came across this movie many years ago, and I totally loved it, especially the special effects and visuals in general! Right now it just makes me miss the good old days, and I feel like visuals and effects have taken a dive downward today. Don't know what you mean by "it's not a good movie". I mean besides it not having the best storyline, I don't have many complaints about it.
Or anything with Jill Hennessy is a plus!
With all do respect on the Komodo movie, I enjoyed watching it on VHS back in the day and STILL today. I am learning even more about the making of it from your video. After reading the Lost World and seeing it, I'll gladly keep the book version! Luv your video!
I rented this from blockbuster back in the early 2000s as well. I was a kid who loved lizards and dinosaurs, and this movie really scratched that itch. So cheesey and fun.
This film was recommended to me by Amazon many years ago, in the wake of a bunch of similar creature-feature DVD purchases. I was VERY impressed by the creature effects, much less so the story. Having said that, there are a few moments where the CGI dragons have a weird, patchy green cast to them, like they've been composited into the shot badly during a glitch in the Matrix.
Loved this movie as a teen, randomly rented it one day at a video store and watched it several times
I remember loving this movie as a kid and renting it a few times. Haven't really watched it since as an adult but it's nice to see it getting some love. I didn't realize some of the people behind Jurassic Park were behind this one, but that's cool to know.
Komodo was one of my favorite VHS tapes I had as a kid. I'm sad to say I no longer have it, but the VHS box was what caught my eye when I got to pick out a new tape from Blockbuster at the time
I used to watch this movie all the time as a kid at my friend's place and it made the komodo dragon my favorite animal as a kid.
I've seen this movie multiple times growing up, and I recently bought the dvd a year or 2 ago because I enjoyed it. These types of movies are some of my favorite, they're an underappreciated genre, and I wish there were more like it!
I remember watching this as a kid, I legit used to think the giant komodo dragons were real.
they were. they are just extinct. google megalania
Komodos still do get pretty big
Same
Same, my moms friend had a pet iguana and I was afraid to go to his house cause I thought it was a Komodo dragon
I've seen this movie when it was flying around on UA-cam and I actually enjoyed it a lot.
Thanks for making this! Brings back the magical days for me when as a kid I would get to go to movie gallery and pick out a few movies to rent lol
The main thing I remember about this was crying with laughter when the dog got nabbed through the dog flap. It looked so funny
I loved this Era of movies as a kid and actually remember this one but I completely forgot about the quality of the effects. For some reason, I thought of this as being alongside the made-for-Sci fi channel creature features.
I remember this show scared the living daylights out of me when I was a little kid...it was awesome!
I love this movie! Always felt like it got overlooked! The story is no where near as good as the other movies if that year but the mood is so much more if a straight horror than Lake Placid or Deep Blue Sea! I think I’ll do a Lost World/Komodo double feature tonight!
What made it scary is that it's 100% plausible, exotic animals get let loose all the time. Like if I read some eccentric Florida Man let loose his illegal pet Komodo dragons on one of the Florida keys and they quickly became the alpha predators on the island I'd believe it lol.
Y'know, as someone born in 1999, I couldn't be any happier knowing we'd get movies like this.
I LOVED Komodo! Went to great lengths to track down a DVD and watched it MANY times since '99! Its a fun movie!
I remember this movie!
I rented it as a teenager. I more clearly remember Lake Placid, Deep Blue Sea, and Anaconda. Which probably shows the mediocre quality of Komodo.
I'm glad you made this video, as this was a blast from the past. And, I forgot that people from the Jurassic Park team worked on Komodo. Seeing that on the cover definitely pushed me to rent this movie.
I vividly remember getting this film and other creature features mentioned in the video on rent back in 2002- 2005. Good old memories attached with them as i was just 6-7 at the time during the summer vacations, you must check all those movies out. Good popcorn flicks, plan to rewatch them someday. They haven't been able to replicate the B movie type horror, just look at scifi flicks.That being said, the cultural impact of the 90's will never be matched.
Cool and by the way, this looks scary and intimidating in my opinion.
Great video Klayton and keep it up.
One of my absolute favorite movies, not many genuinely scare me and this one did just that.
I remember the overall effect of this movie being kind of goofy. Some of the effects shots were really good, but the shaky ones stood out.
I remember seeing the cover of this in a movie rent store, it was kinda like a blockbuster with tons of vhs tapes and DVDs. I don't think i have seen Komodo but some reason i felt it wasn't what the cover promise. Or i must have heard of that i am not sure. But i am gonna check this one out. I did remember seeing anaconda and sone si fi films like Boa vs Python 😊
boa vs python was great haha.
@@HAYL0W i just didnt like the obvious CGI ending.
a bit of almost certainly true trivia about the lost world's "long grass scene" is that, in the tradition of recycling ideas from unproduced scripts (as most famously happened with jodorowsky's dune), the lost world actually used an element from one of the many, many, *many* unoptioned scripts for alien3. in an early version of the "monastery in space" version of the story there's a massive cornfield that supplies most of the food for the monks on their weird wooden space station. there's a scene with the alien stalking and killing monks in the cornfield, complete with overhead views (as also used in the recent film "prey") as it closes in on its targets. in desparation the monks set fire to the corn, knowing this will doom them all to starvation, but tragically the alien gets away anyway. what a cool scene that would've been eh
I never saw the entire Komodo movie, but I still want to ... I think it seems to looks very cool !!!
Still, my favorite of all this creature feature movies mentioned here is Deep Blue Sea, I really love that movie !!!!
This came out when I was about 20... Me and my ex-wife use to sit around and have a few beers and watch a lot of "so bad it's good" movies on the weekends when I had off work (kinda like they do over on Jason Brant's UA-cam channel). This one was one of the better (B-rated) creature features in our collection! Thanks for the nostalgia!! 😆👍
Komodo was a good movie. I enjoyed it. Nice video!! Thanks for sharing!!!❤
amazing movie, if it had been theatrically released it wouldve been a huge deal
i remember watching komodo as a kid, also the lost world is still a phenomenal movie even after all these years. the "professional" critics are almost always wrong anyway lol.
I always saw this movie at my local video store back when I was younger, and those things actually existed (RIP golden age of entertainment 😓)
I never rented it but seeing those SFX for the komodos in this video makese want to check it out. I'm all for those fun cheesy creature features if the effects are good
You can find it on UA-cam and watch it for free.
@@jasonchandler9777 yeah I found the whole thing AI upscaled to 1080p. Watched it yesterday. It was fun
I remember this one!!! Rented it as a kid with my mom. I loved it
A quick UA-cam search and full movie found...time for a rewatch ..🍿.
Loved these old classics lol, there was a certain feeling to them you just can't get now and the effects on this were pretty decent 😉
I’ve got to say I never heard of it before, but I’m definitely going to watch it now I’ve just ordered the DVD!
Ahh, I was just getting nostalgic about one of my favorite childhood creature features.
I only needed the vids title and I knew exactly what movie was gonna be discussed.
Also, fun fact. Humans have more bacteria in our mouths than most creatures which could lead to bites causing sever infections in untreated wounds!
We are like the komodo dragons of the mammal world!
there was also a similiar movie to this, only it used crappy yet hilarious and "interesting" cgi. it was called "the legend of komodo" or "the curse of komodo". i remember seeing it at a store in dvd, thinking it was interesting and bought it. i watched it when we got home and it both creeped me out, interested me in, and made both me and my mom die of laughter due to the lizards zig-zag movement. that was 8 years ago, and i still remember it. as a matter of fact i still have it in a box somewhere in the house! the lizards were huge and it was like jp:tlw just with massive komodo lizards, poisoned saliva that... turned people into weird zombies, and a pretty cool ending and plot twist at the end.
I had both Komodo and Curse of the Komodo which in my opinion was the bad one of the two. Man it was horrible beyond belief if you ask me. The disappointment still floatz around me to this day mentally it createz constant remembrance falling deeply in a pointless hole.
I seen this! I probably wouldn't have never heard of any these movies and loads more if it wasn't for Jurassic Park, Anaconda, and Lake Placid.
I rember watching komodo on the sci-fi channel as a young boy. Loved that movie
Damn, I thought this was the movie I've been searching for. I vaguely remember watching a movie where there was this shark creature that was experimented on and eventually had legs. It stayed in the water for awhile before learning it could walk on dry land and started killing people soon after. The scientist who created it thought the creature recognised him and tries to hug it but then it kills him. Weirdest movie I've ever watched but can't for the life of me remember the title.
Peter Benchley’s Creature
Based on Peter Benchley's book, "White Shark"... the TV movie, "Creature" starred Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall and Colm Feore. Actually, a pretty good adaptation with the 'creature design' by veteran SPFX master , Stan Winston! The film is available on Region -free BluRay disc... I own a copy and love it!
I remember this movie it wasn’t all that bad it looked good and had decent effects and not a horrible story line I liked it
I was in 3rd grade when I first watched it. I saw the trailer on TV then we rented one when a copy was out. My dad and I were amazed by the film and that's the first time we knew what a Komodo Dragon is (we had to look at our hard bound Encyclopedia (those were the days)). I rewatched it in 2007 and it was still good but some CGI are poor.
Overall its still a good movie.
I watched this at least once as a kid. That poster was a core memory locked away. Thanks!
Emerald isle NC? I've been there! A giant kamodo attack there would be amazing. I've got to see this now! Thanks
I saw this movie about two or three times and I believe it's free on UA-cam honestly I like it it's a good Pastime horror film and despite it not being up too much I like it for what it is don't like the movies that came after it. But I feel for what it's worth komodo is a good enough movie on its own
Thanks for the recommendations. I love Deep Blue Sea, Anaconda and Lake Placid, especially Lake Placid. Lake Placid has a ton of funny humor that has no good reason being in that movie, it reminds me of Tucker and Dale.
Yoooo! This is a movie I saw very young and loved it! Komodo Dragons were and still are one of my favorite animals. Almost nobody knows about this movie but when I mention it and someone knows it it is always awesome!
I watched this back on SciFi back in the day. Was a great movie and freaked me out when I was young.
I never hear anyone talk about the movie "The Relic" made in 1997. Best monster horror movie ever.
I REMEMBER THIS MOVIE! I could have sworn it was a fever dream, because I couldn't find it for years, but I occasionally think about it right after watching Jurassic park. I think I saw it on the SCI-FI channel back in the day and honestly, it was pretty good for an animal monster B movie.
Loved Komodo. But then again I love all the creature features
I think I actually saw this movie and completely forgot about it. My memory flashed back to the scene of her hanging onto the "dead" komodo that woke up. I had completely forgotten that I saw this until your video. Thank you.
Oh nah, this movie definitely deserved more love. Definitely should've been played on SciFi at least once a month.
Komodo is one of my favorites!