Creature

  • Review Date: September 9, 2011
  • R
  • Genre: Horror
  • 2011
Review

Common Sense Media says

Derivative horror movie is violent and depraved.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this horror film about a group of young adults who visit a creepy old house where a hideous man-monster is supposed to have lived has a high body count. There's lots of blood and gore, and much of the violence comes from humans threatening and/or attacking one another with weapons. One scene shows a person eating human body parts. There's full-frontal nudity as well as some perverse sexual situations, including a relationship between a brother and sister. The main characters (who may be of age but may not) drink beer and wine and smoke pot. Language includes multiple uses of "f--k" and "s--t."

  • Positive messages0
    Most of the movie is about terrible behavior. The movie seems fascinated by all this creepy, depraved stuff, and the voices of reason are eventually drowned out.
  • Positive role models0
    The majority of the characters behave badly, enabling the creature, killing each other, and otherwise engaging in debauchery. Only one character shows some bravery, but he also resorts to brutal violence, and his efforts don't add up to much.
  • Violence4
    Perhaps the most disturbing sequence takes place during a flashback, when a man kills a giant gator and begins eating the discarded human body parts nearby. Lots of monster attacks, as well as a surprising number of incidents with humans threatening, attacking, and thrashing upon one another. A few severed body parts, and lots of spurting blood.
  • Sex5
    The movie opens with a scene of full-frontal nudity as a woman goes swimming in the swamp. Two more women are seen topless. In a flashback, a man is shown to be in a romantic relationship with his young teen sister. In perhaps the most shocking scene, a teen girl manually stimulates a boy (the "action" is out of frame). The same teen boy tries to seduce another teen girl, but fails (though they kiss). Another couple has sex in the woods, though entirely off screen; viewers only see the foreplay. Additional kissing and some innuendo.
  • Language4
    Language includes frequent use of words like "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "ass," "hell," "goddamn," and "Jesus" (as an exclamation). Characters give each other the middle finger.
  • Consumerism1
    One scene takes place in a store, and some brand names are visible in the background.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking3
    Young people (possibly of age, possibly not) drink beer and wine and smoke pot around a campfire. A couple of hillbillies drink beer -- and some kind of homemade liquor -- until they're stumbling drunk.
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What's the story?

Six (presumably) college-age kids -- who don't seem to like each other much -- drive through Louisiana on their way to a fun getaway. Stopping for gas, they meet some creepy backwoods locals and learn about the legend of a man-monster supposedly living in a swamp. They decide to see the creature's home and wind up spending the night in the woods. Soon, the monster comes out of hiding and begins to attack. Unfortunately, the monster is looking for more than a meal: It's looking for a bride. What's more, it has some unexpected help.

Is it any good?

 

This monster movie is about as bad as they come. Its amazingly low-budget "effects" include an actual latex monster rather than the now-more-typical CGI. The creature isn't at all scary, but some of the behavior of the human characters can be disturbing; some of the behavior on display here includes incest and cannibalism.

 
On a pure storytelling level, the filmmakers steal from dozens of typical teen-road-trip horror movies, plus the old evil-hillbilly chestnut, and throw in a few depraved ideas from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And most of the characters are simply flat-out annoying. It's all so numbingly routine that it's not clear whether the filmmakers thought they were paying homage, making a parody, or just doing an outright rip-off. The casting of legendary character actor Sid Haig -- and a subtle mention of Haig's best movie, Spider Baby (1964) -- suggests some genre knowledge, but there's no inspiration in the cheap, lazy CREATURE. It's dead on arrival.
 
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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the movie's violence. How does it compare to other horror movies you've seen?

     

  • Is the movie scary? Do you think the goal is to scare, shock, or both?

  • How does the movie portray sex? Why do you think so many horror movies mix sex and violence?

This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Teen, 14 years old
October 2, 2011
AGE
18
 
:P
A movie like this normally wouldn't make me bat an eyelash. I love a good horror movie as much as the next guy. But this scared the creep out of me. Why? Because the girl opened her mouth and a HUGE green bug crawled right out. That was frightening.
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Teen, 13 years old
January 13, 2012
AGE
13
 
Think about it,of you shelter your kids to everything what are they going to do?
Ok,I gotta say my dads a tough guy and even me,my bro and him kinda freaked out at some parts but ok it they like horror movies,yeah.by the way,WE ARE A HORROR LOVING FAMILY!
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Helped me decide (2) | Had useful details (2) | Read my mind (3)
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This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Studio:The Bubble Factory
Director:Fred Andrews
Cast:Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Sid Haig
Genre:Horror
Run time:95 minutes
Theatrical release date:September 9, 2011
DVD release date:March 20, 2012
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:bloody violence and grisly images, some sexual content, graphic nudity, language and brief drug use
This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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