Pterodactyl opens with the single greatest gore sequence in the short history of Sci-Fi Channel originals, and the DVD confirms it was uncut. As one of the resurrected title creatures swoops down, it picks off a hunter right at the waist, leaving one half of his body on the ground, the other half in the creature's claws. It's unmatched, and right around (if not over) the decency line for standard cable.
That immediately makes Pterodactyl far more enjoyable than most low budget fare. Unlike the other junk spewed out by the network, this one never drops its pace. The few goofy, forgettable sub-plots are always present, but never the focal point of the action. It's weird that the title is simply Pterodactyl considering there's a full flock (pack?) of them, yet it doesn't matter.
This film is simply too much fun to deny it credit. The special effects are way above the usual fare, and when the creatures are at a distance, you can see how stunning the work is for low budget made-for-cable schlock. The final sequences, along with numerous shots on the ground, do go horribly wrong and bring the viewer back down to cable TV/direct to video level. Still, considering how many there are (and how long they last), it's not going to be perfect.
Outside of the dinosaurs, the horrible characters (including Kate, played by the adorable Amy Sloan) are just ridiculous. The nerdy guy, the spoiled rich chick, the stuck up girl, and the college professor who dragged them out to the site for a paleontological dig are simply too much. It's also impossible to forget the special ops team fighting terrorists too, especially considering the team is led by Coolio who is stuck with some of the more cringe-worthy dialogue in years.
The gore continues as the cast is slowly dismantled (literally), though they do manage to get in a few shots. It's a mystery as to why a special ops team would conveniently have a rocket launcher to perform its original task, but the weapon surely comes in handy, and it gives the special effects crew (Worldwide FX, the same group who did Mansquito, amongst others) something else to blow up into gory mush.
Article comments
1 - Aaron Fleming
Sounds great! Always good to see a Mark L. Lester vehicle out there in the ether, even if it's not a Commando or Class of 84.