Tranio1

This is a wonderful film. I couldn't help but find comparisons to Scorsese's film and Nikos Kazantzakis' book The Last Temptation of Christ. Gawain has a chance to avoid death and live a full life just like Christ. I don't want to include spoilers, so I leave it at that.

Beautifully shot with excellent performances, especially from Dev Patel. It works, it's visually fascinating, and it matters.

Artful? Absolutely! Pretentious? Not at all. It's moving and thoughtful and well crafted.

I fully expected to snore through this film. It is made on an obviously low budget. When you realize that the monster is invisible you know it is because they couldn't afford to show it to us.Why make a dinosaur movie? Why not get a guy in a suit to play the monster if it will be cheaper? However, I did find myself getting caught up in the action. Credit for this must be given to director J.A. Nieves Conde. The film moves at a fun, brisk pace and there are a few effective suspenseful moments. This is no small feat. The screeches produced by this creature are ridiculous in that they are clearly made by a man, but somehow it sorta works. Go figure. Jess Franco regular Soledad Miranda and Hammer goddess Ingrid Pitt look great in early roles, by the way.

Boris Karloff, typecast in the horror genre, was one of our most underrated film actors. Here is a typical film of his middle career that showcases his versatile skills, equally strong as the benign, elderly scientist and his murderous, strangling younger self. This b-picture packs a lot of atmosphere and suspense into it's hour running time. Any shortcomings cannot be blamed on anyone but the screenwriter, Robert D. Andrews, who was just trying to keep things moving- not such a bad thing, actually. Nick Grinde does an excellent job making the most out of the script and witness Karloff's fireside confession for an example of the film's above average cinematography. It's also nice to see Karloff side by side with Edward Van Sloan again nine years after Frankenstein. If you need proof of Boris Karloff's talent and charisma aside from Frankenstein, check out Before I Hang, as well as The Black Room, The Body Snatcher, and Targets. I wish we had a star like him today...