Chupacabra Terror (2005 Video) User Reviews

John Rhys-Davies IS charismatic even in stupid movies.

[stormruston · 4/10 · 4 August 2005]

A Cryptozoologist captures a mythical chupacabra on a Caribbean island.To get it back to civilization he bribes his way onto the cargo bay of a large luxury cruise ship with funny and I think the script intended disastrous results.

Lets start with the one thing I really did not like about this movie.... The monster really just looked like a guy in a rubber suit.The CGI scenes looked like a different movie. OK thats off my chest now onto all the enjoyable bits about this B movie.

The best thing was John Rhys-Davies(his daughter the eye candy a close second.)John was intermittently funny and suave and no matter what the writers made him say, he said it well.Good job given what he had to work with.The Cyptozoologist was over the top and fun to watch too,he had some funny bits.The marines all were OK and make good cannon fodder for the monster as did some of the crew and guests.There are a few pretty funny lines in this movie,and a pretty amusing sub plot involving a thief.

The special effects are generally med to low and I swear they reused the same blood spray on the wall scene in about four different parts of the movie. I did like the gore of the legless man.Really since this movie was not scary at all I feel a bit more gore would have gone along way in improving the watch ability of this movie.

All in all if you like B monsters this one is worth a visit.

A bad idea, poor FX, and laughable acting

[bhcesl · 3/10 · 29 January 2005]

First, and foremost, I take issue to the title of this movie. 'Chupacabra' is not a Spanish word. The name to which they are referring is 'Chupacabras'. I imagine they dropped the 's' because it sounds plural that way, but I assure you, it is singular in Spanish.

Next, I thought this movie had been done years ago. It came off as one of those B horror flicks I watched when I was an early teenager at home when my stepdad was out of town. Then it would have been kind of scary.

Let's talk about the special effects. The most important 'effect' is the costume used for the Chupacabras. Given that it is the main character, you would think some serious money would have been put into it, but that isn't so. The shape, color, and texture were all goofy like some stupid haunted house at Disney World.

There were times when the Chupacabras was walking where no man could walk. His movement were jerky and strange at these times, but moving around on the floor looked like any normal man.

Another thing I take issue to is that there is no animal in the world that goes around slaughtering everything it sees with no regard to actually eating it. The Chupacrabas would kill one, then the next, but it never seemed to actually eat the victim. You say, "It's just a movie," and I agree. But the idea is so far out there that it's stupid.

What country is Dr. Pena from? He sounds sort of Jamaincan/Hawaiian/British/Something-Else, but I think he's supposed to be Latino. The problem is, his accent is so bad that even a Russian could tell he wasn't Latino.

The soldiers fired round after round at this thing, and weren't making a dent, yet the continued to fire. I'm no military man, but don't soldiers, especially the special tactical forces such as this, have to have some wit about them to perform their duties? Wouldn't they figure out that it was a waste of time to shoot and try something new? They didn't. They just kept firing away while the Chupacabras continued to slaughter, and not eat, them.

Did they have to kill the little dog? :) Anyway, my vote was 3 for this flick, because it was bad. Why did I watch the whole thing? I'm sure you've done the same on occasion, so don't give me an flack. ;)

Chupacabra Terror: I expected worse

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 8 April 2019]

Otherwise known as Chupacabra: Dark Seas this notable Scyfy Original type isn't as bad as I expected.

Starring industry veteran John Rhys-Davies and the annoyingly annoying Chelan Simmons it tells the story of a cryptozoologist that captures a chupacabra and smuggles it on board a luxury cruise liner as means of transporting it. I'm sure I don't need to say anything more for you to understand exactly how the movie plays out.

Unexpectedly it did go in a couple of directions I didn't expect. Though the cast are lackluster the character development is solid, the practical effects are above par and overall it's really not that bad.

On the flipside however the cgi is poor, it's cliched to hell as you'd expect and did I mention how annoying Chelan Simmons is? Seriously, that girl has no place in the movie industry whatsoever.

Take your brain out stuff, not good by any stretch of the imagination but for what it is there's considerably worse out there.

The Good:

John Rhys-Davies

Passable practical effects

Fairly decent characters

Good setting

The Bad:

Needless animal death

Poor cgi

Chelan Simmons

The dignity has left the building... uh, boat...

[hoversj · 1/10 · 6 February 2005]

OK, if you are a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and love to mock movies, then you will have a lot of fun with this. Otherwise, it may really be TOO painful to see.

Plot: Obsessed cryptozoologist sneaks a huge crate containing a Chupacabra onto a cruise ship (apparently not having to declare it at customs, or even mention that he's bringing aboard a live animal -"no really, it's research equipment, the air holes are just an accident"). Some dipsticks he hired to lade it open the crate, figuring he paid bunches of money, maybe there's something to steal. Once the WOOD CRATE is open, the Chupacabra breaks through the STEEL BARS inside and goes on a killing rampage.

Yeah, whatever.

By a stroke of sheer coincidence, a Marshall (I assume a U.S. Marshall, since he was in the gulf war, not just some guy named Marshall) is on board, investigating some money that went missing from the ship's safe. He's posing as an insurance salesman ("Lady, I'm the best insurance you've got..."). Other scintillating characters include the captain (John Rhys-Davies, and sadly his dignity is the first victim of the film), his tae-bo instructor daughter (snicker - Tae-bo), an annoying old stuck-up lady with a tiny dog which should be fed to a cat (guess WHAT eats it...?) and an incredibly unpleasant gigolo who might have been believable in a movie made in 1964, not in anything more recent. Much of the acting was really bad, and the characters were just there so that you can laugh hysterically when they died.

Overall - SCREAMINGLY bad. Bad on many levels. BAD BAD BAD. What??? Bullets don't even make Chupacabra flinch, but the Tae-bo bimbo can punch him and scare him away???? Hey Sci-fi Channel, you desperate for scripts or what?

Forget the Chupacabra... it's the PEOPLE who are really scary!

[Chromium_5 · 8 February 2005]

Yet another bland Sci-Fi movie, this time involving a monster that is immune to bullets but not Tae-bo. Some of it is well-done, and the Chucacabra does look scary. But I thought the most interesting, and slightly disturbing, element was the human victims... they are immortal! They can't be killed! At one point, the Chucacabra tears a guy in half, leaving his intestines spilling all over the room, and he WAKES UP after supposedly dying! Yes, all of sudden he comes to, sees his guts on the floor, and starts screaming. How he managed to wake up from a cozy nap with 50% of his body missing is beyond me.

Also note-worthy is the man who gets his throat ripped out by the Chupacabra, and lays on the floor moaning. The other characters can do nothing to help him, and leave him to die. Well, about 10 minutes later, this guy gets up and starts staggering around the hall! It's like "Night of the Living Dead!" Other than the Victims That Wouldn't Die, however, the rest of this isn't too interesting. It is pretty silly and formulaic. I would only recommend this to hardcore B-movie fans.

4/10 stars.

This horrifying movie depicts the killing and wreak havoc that starts when the creature escapes , lurks and terrorizes aboard a cruise ship

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 26 May 2008]

This crackerjack horror movie concerns about the Cryptzoologist Doctor Peña(Giancarlo Esposito) traps a vicious monster inhabiting the Caribbean area, he's called the Chupacabra , Spanish for 'goat sucker' . Then , he smuggles it aboard the cruise ship . While being transported the monster is awakened and breaks out from the cargo hold . The monster is biped with humanoid shape, has reptilian skin, spines or quills on the back , muscular arms , large eyes, several sharp teeth and long extractor or tongue . The cruise ship is commanded by captain Randolph (John Rhys Davies) and aboard his daughter Jenny (Chelan Simmons), along with a Federal agent named Lance (Dylan Neal) and the Navy Seals commando intent on killing the weirdo thing . When Chupacabra begins a criminal spree and running rampant around the ship , they are forced to fight for their lives . The bulk of action surrounds their attempts to chase and escape from this bizarre creature , some weirdo in a latex suit.

The film packs bone-chilling action packed , thrill ride , suspense , terror and being quite entertaining. There is also a lot of gun play , several soldiers firing guns repeatedly for a long time . Contains lots of guts and blood , but it seems pretty mild compared to today cinema's gore feasts. The movie displays atmospheric blending of chills and scary thrills combined with a terrific ending . Lively cast includes illustrious veterans as John Rhys Davies at an inferior role despite his previous hits (Lord of the rings) and Giancarlo Esposito who long time ago left Spike Lee (Do the right thing , Mo'better blues , Malcolm X). Other movies about the creepy legend of Chupacabra are mostly Mexican films and is also starring one episode of X-files(Chris Carter), these are the following ones : Adventures of beyond : Chupacabra (1997) ; Guns of Chupacabra (1997, Donald Jackson) ; Bloodthirst , the legend of Chupacabra (2003) ; Bloodthirst 2 : Revenge of Chupacabra (2005) , among them.

Another by-the-numbers Sci-Fi Channel "original" (muhaha!) movie

[capkronos · 2/10 · 10 April 2007]

Dr. Pena (Giancarlo Esposito), a "crypto-zoologist" (fancy term for one of those self-deluded losers who likes to study extremely rare - read: nonexistent - animals) and his crew of hunters manage to trap a Chupacabra, a big, scaly, elusive fast-moving beast. To get it to the mainland, they smuggle it on a Grecian cruise ship and some idiots open up the crate containing it despite being told specifically not to. I guess the strange growling noises coming from inside weren't a good enough deterrent either. The monster then does the monster thang; running around biting chunks out of various passengers until the ship's captain (John Rhys-Davies), a square-jawed special agent pretending to be an insurance salesman for some reason (Dylan Neal), a squeaky-voiced blonde Tai Bo instructor (Chelan Simmons), a bunch of guys with machine guns and others try to stop it. The main victims (who I think are supposed to be the comic relief but it's hard to tell) are an old rich bitch (Paula Shaw) with a yippy terrier and a snobby effete gold-digger (David Millbern). Apparently the monster can be knocked out with a single tranquilizer dart, but can live through dozens of bullet hits. The Chupacabra design is acceptable (though unoriginal) but the rest of the movie is devoid of suspense, surprise or interest. A boring Sci-Fi Channel "original" movie; they've made dozens of movies just like this with nearly interchangeable characters and plots, but with slight alterations on the creature. Enough already!

Another Lame Horror Movie For The Sci-Fi Channel

[cvcjr · 2/10 · 12 March 2006]

In general, I prefer horror movies that creep me out so much I'm afraid of everything for the next day or so, not the ones where people act stupid and get killed by an indestructible monster. This is one of those movies. The chupacabra of legend is a dog-faced lizard-skin greenish-gray monster that hops like a kangaroo, has fangs and claws, has a row of sharp spines sticking out from its back, and sucks the blood of livestock. As in many horror movies, good and bad, this movie takes liberty with the legend. It not only attacks humans, but it eats their intestines and has a bulletproof, nearly indestructible constitution. So tell me, how can a hypodermic needle penetrate its skin when bullets can't? And why, when the marines figure out that armor-piercing bullets can hurt it, do they split up so the chupacabra can pick them off one by one? John Rhys-Davies gives a performance that rises above the bad movie, and Chelan Simmons and Dylan Neal deserve credit for their performances, too. Otherwise, the rest of the acting was poor to bad, just like the rest of the movie. My rating is based on Rhys-Davies, Simmons and Neal.

Chupacobblers!

[Rob_Taylor · 5/10 · 24 October 2005]

Anyone that's read some of my reviews of other SciFi channel productions will know I'm no fan of theirs. So, it may come as no surprise for you to learn then that, as the opening credits rolled and the SciFi channel name reared its ugly head, I let out a groan of dreary resignation. I feared the worst.

Luckily, this movie is one of the better efforts from SciFi. That doesn't mean it's any good! Heaven's no! It's awful! But at least here they weren't defiling a masterpiece of literature like they did with Riverworld. At least the script is original (in a "seen-it-all-before, help-yourself-to-every-cliché" kind of way).

So here's the story in a paragraph. Unstable scientist (cliche) captures unknown beast (cliche). He then smuggles it aboard (cliche) a cruise liner (never seen a monster movie on a cruise ship before, no sirree!) Creature escapes (CLICHE!) and runs amok (cliche). Creature is unstoppable (cliche) and they call in the marines (cliche). Everyone who is remotely bad or annoying gets killed by beast (cliche). Monster is eventually killed by true grit determination (cliche). The end.

The acting is fair, though poor old John Rhys-Davies looked a little embarrassed to be there. I think he's lost a little weight too! A couple of real stinkers in the acting stakes, but they generally die off pretty quickly.

Effects range from pretty good (the make-up and gore effects), to downright dire (the CGI cruise ship - at one point you actually see through a ship window and look at the inside of the 3D model as it passes by). But dire CGI is a trademark of the SciFi channel anyhow, so I was expecting something bad.

I actually find it quite amusing that, early on in the movie, the scriptwriters decided they needed to explain why the captain (JRD - a Brit) had an American daughter, but didn't think to explain any of the other even more ludicrous things, such as the ineptitude of the marines.

Speaking of which, it was just hysterical to hear the marine actors' "tough talk". Classic military catch-phrases such as "Hoo-Ha!" and "Let's get some!" fall out of their mouths like rain. But they are uttered with such a total lack of conviction that it's just embarrassing to listen to. Couple that with their total lack of logic when decision-making and they just appear as a bunch of idiots. Though the guy in charge of them cracked me up when he decided to stay on the bridge and direct them from there instead of sticking with his men. Priceless stuff.

As for the monster.....well....try not to be disappointed but....it's a guy in a suit! It has the strange ability of being able to make the camera under-crank, giving it the appearance of speed. Actually, I'm glad they did this rather than trying to CGI it everywhere, which would have looked awful. As it is, every time the monster makes its "rush", I can't help but thinking of various Benny Hill sketches. Very silly.

Classically bad dialogue includes the already mentioned elsewhere "I'm the best insurance you've got!" line and the mad scientist who keeps pleading "I've caught it before, I can catch it again!" several times before they let him try just to shut him up.

And as for his trap....well, let's just say that the average 2 year old wouldn't fall for it. And, when the beastie finally does go for the bait, we get a drawn out stalking scene where every time before the creature has just rushed up and savaged it's prey.

In short, the movie is pretty lame. Another example of the cheesy production values of the SciFi Channel. Best avoided.

Just another creature slasher with a cruise ship twist.

[urix-1 · 1/10 · 29 January 2005]

I found this movie to be a big disappointment, especially considering the cast. The characters are not believable, as are the ridiculous circumstances in which they find themselves. The only part of the film I enjoyed was when the most annoying characters finally get killed. The special effects consist mostly of scenes of gory dead or dying bodies. A typical unimaginative slasher flick.

It's hard to believe, make that impossible to believe that a reclusive creature that sneaks up on goats in the middle of the night could be captured by a group of clumsy, noisy idiots. Equally impossible to believe is how they knew exactly were to find it, in spite of the fact the creature has evaded capture, or even photographing.

The man that pulls off the impossible in capturing the Chupacabra alive is our one dimensional Dr. Pena (Giancarlo Esposito). The only thing Dr. Pena is more obsessed with than the creature is his dart gun. A dart gun that works were mere bullets fail.

The captain of the ship (John Rhys-Davies) is introduced as a 'war veteran'. He employs his military prowess by having his men shoot at the creature, regardless of were on the ship they happen to be. The Navy Seals that show up from nowhere repeat the pattern of shooting at everything.

Dylan Neal plays an insurance investigator brought on board the cruise ship to catch a thief. He spends most of the movie tagging along with whomever is trying to kill the creature at the moment.

The creature doesn't even closely resemble a Chupacabra. It doesn't behave like one either. Instead of a small, shy, secretive animal that hunts by stealth at night, we get a bulletproof Freddy Kruger, killing everything in sight. A simple search on Google would have been very helpful to the writers and the special effects crew.

Beyond BAD...

[Trampyre · 2/10 · 30 January 2005]

Well, the Sci-Fi channel keeps churning these turkeys out... and they seem to get worse every time. When normally good actors like John Rhys-Davies and Giancarlo Espositto come off as rank amateurs, you can imagine how abysmal the REST of the cast in this waste-of-your-time effort is. The only halfway decent thing is the rubber outfit of the creature(which is glimpsed in such quick flashes that you don't really have time to see how phony it really is). The dialogue...the plot...if this "movie"(and I use the term loosely) was food, Jack-In-The-Box would be a gourmet meal compared to this. Watch a re-run of "The Munsters" for the 372nd viewing- your time would be better spent(and a lot scarier as well)!

WOW this was Awesome

[Crueldesolation-1 · 8/10 · 25 August 2005]

Wow first off if u like garbage the The Ring, Others, Six Sense, Boogyman, etc... stay away. This movie is a throwback to the good old days of horror movies when they had blood, violence, people getting killed, lack of plot w/out stupid lame twists and ending, and an R rating. Without spoiling anything it starts in some remote desert location where some people led by Dr. Pena capture the Chupacabra, then take it onto a friendly cruise ship for delivery, well u can guess what happens from there as things get out of hand and US seals have to come in. This is also maybe the best Chupacabra based movie I've seen as all of his speed and indestructible power is shown and he gets to cut lose. The acting is OK but still better than stuff in todays theaters like The Ring 2, or The cave. john ryes-Davis is a cool Capitan and some pretty hot girl plays his daughter making some nice eye candy for the movie too

Overall this was really good movie and recommended to fans of the genre

The lost "monster" episode of The Love Boat

[BrandtSponseller · 7/10 · 4 February 2005]

Cryptozoologist Dr. Pena (Giancarlo Esposito) finally captures his long-sought-after chupacabra specimen on a Caribbean island. He has plans to transport it back to civilization, and tries to smuggle it as cargo on a luxury cruise ship with disastrous results.

While there's little ingenuity to the plot--just by hearing the premise and seeing a cast list, most genre fans could fill in the blanks, Chupacabra: Dark Seas is a fairly enjoyable film that obviously does not take itself too seriously and has little pretension to being a masterpiece. While it's nowhere near as funny as it maybe should be given that kind of self-awareness (think Lake Placid (1999) or any number of Troma films), it still earned a 7 out of 10 from me.

7 out of 10s, in my way of looking at scores, are equivalent to the grade of "C", or in other words, they're just average. Basically, they're doing as many things wrong as they're doing right. Let's look at the flaws first: The strangest flaw, especially given the Sci-Fi Channel's other recent original films (like the very good Larva (2005)) is that director John Shepphird never manages to rise above a "made for television" feel. Add that the film is set on a cruise ship, and it's suddenly just a monster on "The Love Boat" (1977).

While the dialogue doesn't take itself very seriously, at times it is a bit too hokey for its own good. Also, in that context, most of the clichés (and there are a lot of them) would be better spoofed than played seriously, as they are.

Like far too many post-Predator films, the Chupacabra has fluorescent green blood.

There is a bit of a Starship Troopers-angle, but again it's not taken far enough. It would have been better as a spoof.

Captain Randolpp (John Rhys-Davies, in an incredible casting coup) has an incongruous daughter--a kind of "Bimbo Buffy" who is too ridiculous in context to take seriously, but not quite ridiculous enough to be really funny. She is a pleasure to look at, of course, and that was probably the point.

Speaking of ridiculous, the plot is occasionally so. For example, a "Starship Trooper" throws a grenade in a small room full of explosive materials, and right at people he is trying to save. Or, a guy at the Navy station is able to spot three survivors from the ship in his binoculars, even though it was stated that the ship was 10 miles out to sea from the station.

There are some funny low-budget moves, such as milking the fire suit for all it's worth. It's one those things where you can hear them saying, "We paid for the suit and this stuntman; we're damn well going to show every frame of footage".

However, the film did just as many things right: Even though the plot is predictable, full of clichés and so on, it usually works. There aren't too many illogical moves, and it is entertaining if not suspenseful.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of accuracies about cruise ships. I worked on cruise ships as a musician for a few years a while ago, and Chupacabra: Dark Seas captures the feel of a real ship enough that it uncovered some long-buried memories for me. There were also many subtle, spot-on jokes about cruise ship culture.

I was actually impressed with the creature. I liked the costume a lot. Although it's becoming a bit clichéd and doesn't exactly make sense in this context, I also thought the jerky cgi-movement was cool.

There was a nice amount of well-done gore, especially considering that this is a film made for the Sci-Fi Channel, and one fantastic body-cut-in-half scene.

I thought the ship effects were done well (it seemed to be a combination of cgi and miniatures). I loved a couple of the cgi sky effects, and occasionally, we were treated to great cinematography.

The performances were better than they needed to be for a film of this caliber. Some had just the right balance of campiness and seriousness. It's just too bad that I can't say that about the film overall.

The bottom line: Chupacabra: Dark Seas is definitely worth watching as long as you lower your expectations and just expect to have fun with a predictable, slightly tongue-in-cheek, goofy creature flick.

John Rhys-Davies Makes this a Decent Low-Budget Thriller

[FiendishDramaturgy · 4/10 · 22 February 2009]

Without John Rhys-Davies, I have to admit that this would never even register on my movie-meter. But in spite of that single fact, this is not a bad little thriller, considering the low budget, the low quality effects, the stiff acting and the Sci Fi Channel aspects. The blood effects are very convincing, and the Chupacabra actually looks realistic... regardless of what you think a Chupacabra looks like this is one good-looking Chupacabra.

Aside from the positives, this runs kind of like Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Darren McGavin, remember?) meets the Love Boat, but in spite of the ultimate cheese of this work, it still holds something resembling a plot, and actually attempts to gain your respect while making you laugh and roll your eyes.

As conflicted as this work is, I still managed to find some enjoyment herein. Maybe you will, too.

It rates a 5.2/10 on the Made 4 TV Scale.

It rates a 4.1/10 on the Movie Scale from...

the Fiend :.

Chupacabra takes a bloody cruise

[Dr. Gore · 21 May 2005]

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

One of the worst movies I ever saw was a little slice of agony called "El Chupacabra". It was a horrific, painful film. It soured me on the Chupacabra monster. I always thought that a monster legend like the Chupacabra deserved a decent film. "Chupacabra Terror" is a good step in the right direction. It is worlds better than "El Chupacabra" but that's not hard to do.

So the Chupacabra gets brought aboard a cruise ship. Before you know it, the beast is loose and killing people as fast as he can. Luckily there is a Marshal aboard the vessel to assist in the Chupacabra hunt. If he doesn't get the job done, there's always the captain's freckled aerobics instructor daughter there to whip out some Tai Chi on the creature. The captain soon realizes he needs professional help and calls in the Navy SEALs. They show up with bicycle helmets on and proceed to hunt the beast. The Chupacabra may be too much monster for anyone to handle.

I enjoyed this flick. "Chupacabra Terror" is a pure monster movie. Nothing fancy, just a monster and victims and lots of blood. The Chupacabra was a killing machine. He was the master of the take-down. No matter who you were, the Chupacabra would bring you down. He liked to sneak up on people and jump on their back. Then he would proceed to rip and tear. Many dead bodies will litter the cruise ship before he's done.

"Chupacabra Terror" is the best Chupacabra movie I've ever seen. I'm now ready for more.

Love saying the name too bad about the film.

[juliankennedy23 · 2/10 · 12 October 2006]

Chupacabra Terror: 2/10: It was the Navy Seal team that tipped the balance from bad cheesy movie to just bad. Up till then there was a lot of bad movie baggage but the Seals… They are wearing bicycle helmets painted black. You know the ones with air holes that make every adult who wears them look like a complete tool. Of course the bass fishing boat they took to greet the cruise ship might have been another clue (it wouldn't make it across Tampa Bay let alone an ocean)… and their tactics wouldn't pass muster on an 3rd rate XBOX game.

Does director John Shepphird have photos of John Rhys-Davies in a compromising position with a Hobbit? Because I can't think of any other reason he would be in this movie. The other actors have a great excuse. They are talentless unattractive hacks that couldn't get hired for an infomercial. The plot is that two men try to smuggle the mythical Chupacabra (Love saying that name) aboard a cruise ship and it gets loose.

The sets consist of horrible cruise ship fakery (complete with airshafts the size of a small apartment), the monster killings are bottom of the barrel, there is no nudity, and a lot of really bad actors refuse to finish their death scenes. Of particular annoyance is a gigolo character from a 60's Doris Day movie.

The cast bleeds ketchup while the Chupacabra bleeds day green glow in the dark blood. (Why a goat eating Mexican mammal would bleed anything but red is beyond me.)

Every B movie has a tipping point that makes it a fun time (Hey it's a lesbian shower scene, OMG that guy just ate is own eyeballs) or not so fun (Did they just call those forty something overweight guys wearing coveralls and bicycle helmets Navy Seals?) Chupacabra falls into the not so fun B movie side with a thud.

Yep, John Rhys-Davies is back again.

[Phillemos · 4/10 · 29 August 2006]

Apparently in early 2005, SciFi Channel threatened to release the incriminating photos they have of John Rhys-Davies and said, "We need you to star in another SciFi Original." The scary thing is, he's actually pretty damn good in this movie. That's really saying something since this is a silly SciFi creature feature; you've gotta put some feeling into it in order to be well-acted. Unfortunately, nobody else does. It's your stereotypical "moster-run-amok" movie on a cruise ship. The cryptozoologist wants to keep the creature alive, the Navy SEALs think they have everything under control but they don't know what they're dealing with and they all end up dead, a girl jumps into the "movie sexpot" role as Rhys-Davies' daughter and the creature mauls about 100 or so shipmates. What this movie has going for it is, it's VERY fast-paced and lively; you're never bored or waiting for another kill. Other than that, though, it does nothing to distinguish itself, and it's silly that this thing crawls all over the ceilings and can't be wounded by Navy SEAL machine guns, but can be karate-kicked into submission by Rhys-Davies' daughter. Kinda went back and forth on giving this bad boy a 5, but for the above silliness I'm giving it a 4.

Awful

[keith-johnson-2 · 1/10 · 6 July 2005]

Just been on sci-fi channel UK, 5th July, its was ****. Shame on JRD! May be he was bored one week ! He cant be skint after LOTR. I suppose he wasn't to blame. Mr Sheppird was. I turned off after 50 minutes, couldn't bear it. The cgi ship was bad and the creature looked like a large 5 foot bat. Who funded this project? I think the whole thing must have cost $250 bucks. Avoid at all costs, don't think about buying the DVD if they release one, I cant imagine they would spend dollars on producing one. Lets hope someone makes a decent Chupra film and a decent BIGFOOT movie. Sasquatch was okay, poor Lance. Its a shame a big studio and direct wont risk it, no more super hero films please!

Ship terrified by awful writing

[MulderLives · 1/10 · 7 August 2005]

I watched this movie knowing that it would be awful, but damned if it didn't break new and revolutionary ground in the field of making fecal matter acceptable as entertainment. The plot is Deep Rising with cruddy effects and HORRID acting. The lines in this...well...wow there really is no way to put this movie down because i think the words have yet to be created in the English language. The sad part is that the filmmakers thought they were actually making something good. You won't believe your eyes when you see how many movies they ripped off without even trying to hide it. There are scenes/plot devices straight out of Deep Rising, Alien, Jurassic Park, Predator, Jeepers Creepers, and the list could go on forever. However, unlike any of those movies this one just falls short of celluloid stool. The most incredulous thing about this film, aside from the way it tries to be competent but fails, is that Gimli him-freakin'-self is in it. How the hell can they afford John Rhys-Davies but not decent effects, writing, actors, or sets. Really awful...and not the type of bad that's good.

Nothing special, but not bad either

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 21 January 2019]

I caught this on Amazon Prime under the title CHUPACABRA: DARK SEAS. It's nothing special but it does the job for a B-movie monster flick. The setup reminded me of HORROR EXPRESS a little, with a scientist transporting a secret creature onto a moving vehicle, in this instance a ship. Unfortunately said creature proceeds to escape and tear up the cast. A lot of this is familiar from the likes of ALIENS, with various grunts being messily dispatched by the foe, which is simply a guy in an average-looking monster suit. But John Rhys-Davies adds some fun to the proceedings and it's certainly grisly enough to satisfy gorehounds.

Another crap-fest from Sci-Fi

[AceGunman · 3/10 · 30 January 2005]

Seriously, Sci-Fi needs to stop making movies. They're all horrible. And this one had John Rhys-Davies in it, and he couldn't help the movie. Dr. Pena (Giancarlo Esposito) captures the legendary goat eater of Mexico, the chupacabra, and brings it aboard a cruise ship captained by Captain Rudolf (John Rhys-Davies). The creature then escapes and starts killing crew and passengers. Captain Rudolf and the crew then go after the creature, guns ablazin'. But they can't stop it. So they call in the navy. They can't stop it either. Then the thing kills all 5 (or however many of them there are). Then the captain and his daughter along with some other guy, figure out how to kill it. Stay away from this movie. The chupacabra looks incredibly cheesy, the navy men shoot at the slightest movement,throw grenades on the ship, and the acting is horrible. 3/10.

So horrible it was funny

[helrav · 1/10 · 4 February 2005]

This is one of the most horrible 'scary' movies I've seen for awhile. I had to wonder if John Ryhs-Davies was just bored and wanted a distraction to do this movie. Th Chupacabra looked like a cross between the Sleetaks from Land of the Lost and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Additionally they should have used someone who was a bit smaller as the Chupacabra of legend is much smaller. All in all however the movie was soo bad it was funny. Why couldn't bullets and electrocution stop the Chupacabra but the captain's kick-boxing daughter do OK?? Watch if you are sick at home or feeling down and need a good laugh.

Chupacabra

[heringmike · 10/10 · 5 February 2005]

While perusing some horror movies we came across Chupacabra and were glad we did. The plot is believable--researching and finding a lost creature--on a remote island. I liked Dr. Pena immediately; especially in the beginning when he left a helper stranded on the forest ground after he accidentally broke his leg. Then later when he tied the Captain's daughter to a post as "bait."

The movie contained a lot of parts when you knew someone was going to get attacked. We liked the Chupacabra monster, especially the way it was speeding through attacking and making kills. The kids enjoyed those parts best..

The remaining characters seemed fitted to their roles. We liked Admiral Williams Navy swat team and how they chased through the ship looking for the monster.

I think that since the Chupacabra was last seen on the sinking ship, a Chupacabra II can come out, maybe on a submarine--then there is no escape..!

Fun, campy and gory--enjoyable despite inconsistencies

[willywants · 6/10 · 27 May 2005]

Minor spoilers! A scientist captures a Chupacabra and smuggles it aboard a luxury liner. It manages to escape, and kill off passengers on the ship. A military team is brought in, but even they can't stop the terrible creature. How will anyone survive? "Chupacabra: Dark Seas" is not a film that will redefine the genre, that's for sure. You've got characters doing very, very stupid things (You hear something roaring and clawing inside a huge crate with DO NOT OPEN signs all over it, what do you do? Run away, right? Not these characters, and they learn this lesson the hard way!), A monster that seems invincible (military arsenal don't even slow the thing down!), and other genre clichés we're all familiar with. So, why did I enjoy "Chupacabra"? Because it was a fun B monster flick, that's why.

The writers clearly knew the material they were working with is goofy, and as a result didn't take it seriously, instead giving genre fans what they paid for, in this case gore and monster action, both of which is plentiful here.

As far as acting goes, it's a VERY hit-or-miss show. John Rhys-Davies, Dylan Neal, and Giancarlo Esposito did their best and all gave serviceable performances. Chelan Simmons was below average, and David Millbern's hilarious over-acting as the stereotypical flamboyant gay man had me in stitches.

The creature effects are very well done. These Sci-fi channel "original" movies usually resort to crappy-looking CG for their monsters, but here the producers were generous enough to scoop enough cash out of their pockets for an impressive-looking monster. Thanks, producers! Us horror fans appreciate it! Gore fans will be pleased, too—This is one ticked-off Chupacabra! Ripped-out throats, sliced-in-half torsos, and dismembered faces are among the few goodies we get here.

It's not a perfect movie, it has lots of flaws and a silly plot (Not to mention a really, really annoying score), but its entertaining if your in the mood for a campy, gory monster movie. Good fun!

6/10.

Love Boat Halloween Special!

[ghoulieguru · 2/10 · 28 December 2005]

Excerpt from TV GUIDE:

This week on THE LOVE BOAT, Captain Stubing has his hands full when a cryptozoologist gets on board with an unexpected cargo! Join the Captain, Isaac, Gopher and Julie in a fun-filled Halloween Special. Guest starring a guy in a really bad lizard suit as the Chupacabra.

This is typical, lame Sci-Fi Channel cut-rate fare. The Captain of a cruise ship, played by the once respectable John Rhys-Davies, is in charge of a Carnival cruise along the coast of Mexico. His daughter is along for the ride, and she's earning her keep by being the ship's kickboxing instructor. Pay attention, everyone, that kickboxing will come in handy later! It should be noted that the Captain's daughter is pretty uncoordinated and painful to watch. It would have been good if she might have taken a couple of kickboxing classes before trying to play an instructor in a movie.

Captain Stupid and his daughter join Mrs. Thurston Howell from Gilligan's Island, a kooky cryptozoologist and a dark, mysterious stranger on this 90- minute ride into boredom.

That's right, I said cryptozoologist. He keeps mentioning that he brought some precious cargo on board that he needs to check out. Needless to say, the box contains a Chupacabra that somebody decides to let out. From this point on, a man in the rubber Chupacabra suit runs around the ship, killing people. Captain Stupid is powerless to stop it. He decides to call in the Marines but telling them that there are a bunch of terrorists on his ship.

The Marines respond. They say all that Marine-speak stuff like "Hooya" and "Get Some". But those silly Marines are no match for a Chupacabra. They don't really tell anyone where they're going either, so there's no help in sight. I guess no one will really miss some lame battalion of lost Marines. But don't forget... Captain Stupid's daughter is, thankfully, a Kickboxing instructor. Yay for Little Stupid! She comes in right in the nick of time, she beats up the bloodthirsty Goat Sucker and saves the day. Chupacabra means Goat Sucker. Therefore, Chupacabras suck. But there's no way that Chupacabras suck anywhere near as much as this movie.