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Creature

Movie review by
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media
Creature Movie Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 18+
(i)
Derivative horror movie is violent and depraved.
  • R
  • 2011
  • 95 minutes
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Parents say

age 18+
Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 16+
Based on 3 reviews
X of Y
Official trailer
Creature

A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

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 Models & Representations

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.

Violence

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.

Sex

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.

Language

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.

Consumerism

One scene takes place in a store, and some brand names are visible in the background.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

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.

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."

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User Reviews

  • Parents say
  • Kids say

There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Add your ratingSee all 1 parent review.

Teen, 17 years old Written byabbacus January 16, 2013
age 18+

Terrible.

SO bad! I do not understand why this movie was released into theaters! It is something that should have gone straight to the SyFy channel on T.V. Or better yet,... Continue reading
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Teen, 13 years old Written bycerealkiller189 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... Continue reading
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Add your ratingSee all 3 kid reviews.

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.

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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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Talk to your kids 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?

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Movie details

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