Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Derivative horror movie is violent and depraved.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Creature
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 9, 2011
- On DVD or streaming : March 20, 2012
- Cast : Mehcad Brooks , Serinda Swan , Sid Haig
- Director : Fred Andrews
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : The Bubble Factory
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 95 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : bloody violence and grisly images, some sexual content, graphic nudity, language and brief drug use
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
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