Can You Spot The Laughs? They're All Over "THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR" (REVIEW)

In the summer of 1993, a tiny, little dinosaur movie called “JURASSIC PARK” introduced the world to the beloved velociraptor. Not since the world swooned over the Great White Shark in 1975 have we been so thoroughly smitten by a being whose sole purpose might be to make a snack of you. Regardless, we’ve come to love these toothy titans of terror, and countless films have been made since featuring Raptors in all sorts of situations; there’s even a velociraptor in the clergy! The trend continues with Mike Hermosa’s appropriately titled, “THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR.” A wholly unique take on the Raptor sub-genre and a welcome addition to the incredibly strong year horror comedies are having in 2024. Written by Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham and starring Capes in the lead as Dr. Grant Walker, a paleontologist whose day goes from bad to worse when he discovers a raptor is loose on the streets in 2024…and it can’t be seen! You're dead wrong if you think the premise is too silly to work.  “The Invisible Raptor” not only brings Jurrasic-size laughs, but it also manages to charm the socks right off you at the same time. 

SYNOPSIS

After a top-secret experiment goes wrong, a hyper-intelligent invisible raptor escapes the lab and begins wreaking havoc in the surrounding neighborhood. When the creature’s identity is uncovered, it soon becomes clear that a disgraced paleontologist—alongside his ex-girlfriend, an unhinged amusement park security guard, and a local celebrity chicken farmer—is the town’s only hope for surviving the raptor’s ravenous rampage.

What we unearthed:

Often the first thing to go in a broad slapstick comedy is character development. Typically it’s sacrificed for the sake of adding more laughs or keeping the characters as one-dimensional as possible to make them buffoons. One of the highlights, and there are many to this film, is that the characters are sincere.  They’re fully realized even in the most insane of circumstances.  That’s not easy to pull off in a film titled “The Invisible Raptor.”  Much of this film's charm comes from the more minor interactions between the characters. Mike Capes is the perfect straight man to David Shackelford's loose cannon “Denny.” their relationship is the backbone of the movie. Some of the funniest and most consistent laughs come from Capes whispered responses to Denny’s off-the-wall schemes and plans. Because of the tight script, Hermosa can create set pieces that exponentially increase in both insanity and hilarity. We recently had the chance to talk to Capes, Wickham, and Hermosa (you can find that interview here) and learned that they felt unencumbered when putting the film together because they never actually thought it would be made. That freedom to take big swings is all over this movie.  The fact that they could see their vision fully realized is remarkable, not only for them but for us as viewers. We can’t stress this enough, “The Invisible Raptor” is laugh-out-loud funny and is a serious contender to become a cult film.  Because of the strong year horror comedies are having, we’ve indeed written about this previously, but it must be stated again, horror comedy is hard.  Lean too far into comedy, and you defang the horror; lean too far into horror, and you lose the laughs.  It’s a delicate dance that needs a light touch, even with the most outrageous premise. The fact that the creative team behind this film does that and manages to stick a landing that is no-holds-barred bonkers is a testament to their skill and imagination, as twisted as it may be.

What we’d leave back in the ground:

There’s damn little that needs improving in this film. From the start, it knows what it is and takes pleasure in bringing everyone along for the ride. For most of our complaints these days, the main gripe would be the use of some janky C.G.I.  I won’t say that it’s wholly forgiven due to the budget restraints, but we understand that indie filmmaking is a labor of love, and sometimes, you have to make do with less-than-stellar effects to tell an entertaining story. Do they pull the viewer out of the film? Not at all. I’d go so far as to say that for a movie about a raptor you can’t see, some wonky effect work might add to the overall experience. 

Is this Museum worthy?:

If you’re looking for a fun, laugh-filled movie to stream on a Friday night, this movie is calling your name.  It’s been gathering buzz online for weeks now, and we can say that it’s warranted.  This film delivers exactly what it promises: off-the-wall, invisible Raptor mayhem.  The fact that there’s a sweet little rom-com tucked away here adds to the joy of this romp.  Look for more than a few Spielberg references and set pieces here.  We caught three, but we’re returning to look for more and experience the fun of this film all over again.

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