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Manticore
Horror movies have a long-standing history of rendering the zeitgeist in celluloid form, in particular expressing unspoken fears during and immediately after times of war. While we are still waiting four years later to see if the mission has really been accomplished in Iraq, horror movies have mostly been dinking around rehashing '70s horrors for teeny-boppers. Perhaps culturally we're unable to face the fact that we might be mired in another Vietnam, and thus are looking nostalgically back at those movies for black comfort.
At any rate, only recently have the horrors caught up (in strange fashion) with mainstream movies, with things like Homecoming from the MOH series and Stir of Echoes 2. The Sci Fi channel, by way of Sci Fi Essentials, weighs in with Manticore, a decent potboiler that envisions an ancient Babylonian beast returning (as a sort-of counter-surge) to restore centuries-old order to the region. Robert Beltran, (Star Trek: Voyager) Jeff Fahey (Grindhouse) and Heather Donahue (The Blair Witch Project ) star as American soldiers called away from their regular duties to rescue a pair of reporters searching for WMDs (I guess someone still believes). Trouble is, the reporters have stumbled upon the ancient titular beast, a vicious, near-indestructible creature with the body of a lion, head of a real ugly man, tail of a scorpion, and wings. The manticore is indiscriminately killing anyone in its path, and it's up to the soldiers to overcome disbelief before their guts are strewn over the scorching desert sands.
Manticore starts with promise, modestly portraying in believable fashion the tension, confusion and uncertainty soldiers face every day in Iraq, never sure if Iraqis that they are trying to help won't just pull an Uzi on them in a sudden firefight. Some movie-of-the-week disbelief sets in as the obnoxious reporter and her photog hit the scene, but it's OK, as it reminds us what we're watching; a down-n-dirty, low-budget TV horror movie with topical pretensions. As such, it's nowhere near as bad as you'd expect. Decent performances emerge from the grouping of stock characters, a surprising amount of gore (mostly in aftermath form) will please the bisection fans in the audience, and even the adorable Donahue proves that - if she's not quite Marines material - she's a capable actress.
Even the Xbox-quality CGI manticore is dispensed in relatively sparing fashion, so instead of laughing at it, you're mostly worried when it's going to spring up and stab its tail through your chest. With a sturdy foundation, Manticore moves at a sprightly pace, parlaying obvious sets meant to represent an Iraqi village, and an attitude lifted wholesale from Aliens, into a fun, saucy little time waster perfect for a late night or rainy afternoon.
The DVD
Video:
Presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio enhanced for 16:9 TVs, Manticore looks clear and sharp, colors are bright (though representative of the desert setting) especially where blood is concerned, and the only quibbles would probably concern the level of detail revealing deficiencies in the CGI.
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo sound are your audio options. My TV speakers did a nice job with the stereo sound, highlighting some nice bits of dimensional audio placement. Lots of explosions, stealthy manticore tail-swishings and the like add a good amount of oomph to your listening experience.
Extras:
Extras are non-existent on this DVD release, save chapter selections and trailers for three other Sci Fi Essentials releases (more cheese!) that you might want to stick in the ol' DVD player some time.
Final Thoughts:
There's a time and a place for cable-made TV horror, and it's usually a place of low-station. This sets up dynamics that allow low-expectations to be welcoming of cheese, and gives writers freedom to take a few jabs at touchy subjects. Manticore nicely takes advantage of this, churning out a derivative but satisfying horror-actioner that doesn't take itself seriously, even while looking askance at a timely and serious subject. Select aficionados of bad TV movies, bargain horror, and / or Heather Donahue won't feel cheated if they Rent It.
www.kurtdahlke.com
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