Terrordactyl (2016) User Reviews

Space-dinosaur-lizard-terror-aliens.... oh whatever! They came from outer space to reclaim their planet (apparently)

[one9eighty · 3/10 · 12 February 2018]

This B-Movie Indy film was released in 2016 and is labelled as an action, adventure, comedy. Directed and written by Don Bitters III (with Geoff Reisner also getting a directorial credit too), this 95 min film is filmed in LA and is brought to UK audiences by the SyFy channel.

A mysterious meteor shower crashes down outside of LA. Two friends (Lars and Jonas) race to find something that could change their lives and make them rich from the space debris. After finding a good meteor they head back home but are stalked by Terrordactyls. Once into LA the prehistoric menace starts demolishing the city, it is up to Lars, Jonas, Candice, Valerie and Sampson to save the day.

The premise for this story was obviously stolen from classical cinema, possibly Ishiro Honda's Godzilla films or films of that ilk. A space dinosaur, in this case a Pterodactyl, attacks earth and causes death and destruction in its wake. It is up to a bunch of losers and has-beens to save the world from this menace. It's nowhere near as good as the likes of "Rodan" (1956), "The Giant Claw" (1957), or even "Q - The Winged Serpent" (1982) - but if you have seen those you should know what to expect here.

I like low-budget, cheesy, and indie. I will not beat around the bush though, this film is pretty garbage, but it is not the worst garbage I have watched and in places it is actually quite entertaining. It is not in any way original; the CGI is pretty poor (but I've seen worse - give me an actor in a rubber suit stomping on an over-sized model town any day of the week!); there are plot holes and inaccuracies; and it's all pretty silly all around. The acting is ham and cheese which is good, by the way it is delivered the actors know that this is not a serious film which needs to be played straight. I think the script was meant to be funnier but that falls flat on its face if it is the case.

If you want to watch a colourful and silly film which pits young modern(ish) kids against a space-alien-dinosaur that doesn't require too much of a brain, then this is something you might enjoy (while drinking heavily too of course!) . It is like a poor man's "Sharknado" (2013) but not as ludicrous and enjoyable. If you want something more credible or engaging, then maybe avoid this one.

There are 100 things you could do which are better than watching this, but if you have done all those things and still have some spare time then this will not hurt too much. 3 out of 10.

Watchable if you like the main characters.

[XpocalypseSurvival · 5/10 · 11 March 2021]

Meteors from a meteor storm turn out to be pods containing hungry pterodactyls who have been floating around space for millions of years.

Rating: 5/10. The creatures effects are decent, but the story is fairly predictable, and it has some pacing issues. There are some good one liners. I found the main characters likable, especially the lead actress, and thought they did a good job. For me, this gave me an investment to want to see how it all ends, and overall I enjoyed it. If you don't find the main characters likable, you probably won't enjoy this one. The creatures and story alone aren't really enough to sustain it.

Survival Lesson: If you steal eggs, be ready to deal with angry parents, and generally, the larger the egg, the larger the parent.

Sunk by bad acting

[neil-476 · 5/10 · 26 September 2019]

LA is attacked by flocks of pterodactyls. Our story concentrates on 2 gardeners, 2 girls, and one weird military-ish guy.

This is a dumb monster movie. The story is dumb but OK. The script is dumb but OK. The special effects are cheap but not bad. The two girls are decent. The three male leads are, without exception, execrable. I cannot recall the last time I saw such bad acting, from start to finish. It turns an enjoyably rubbishy film into a real ordeal.

Unwatchable

[playground_swing · 1/10 · 21 September 2017]

Horrible Script, bad acting, awful plot, poor pacing, weak effects, but most of all, completely unlikeable characters. It doesn't get worse than this. I like really bad sci fi adventure (loved Sharknado), but this one was even beneath my low standard for cheese. The absolutely embarrassing dialogue and characters that were like cardboard cutouts (and unlikeable ones at that) made this perhaps the worst movie I ever watched. Incredibly bad.

Petrosaurs half alien from meteor and from Space...

[seckinlergafri · 4/10 · 31 July 2017]

Terrordactyl (2016) is an action comedy horror film released in 2016 that tells the story of two friends who searched for a meteor and found that the meteor is an egg from a prehistoric reptile. They come from outer space and attack the city of Los Angeles. Chaos occurs where the two men are trying to stop the chaos .. The movie is so ridiculous .. Petrosaur from space ??? Strange storyline, horrible CGI, but this movie is quite entertaining with all the silliness and oddity. Petrosaurs from the sky .. Is there a dinosaur there ??? Another giant creature ??? Or King Kong ...

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 18 January 2017]

TERRORDACTYL is a dreadful comedy/horror/fantasy/science fiction film about people fighting a giant CGI Pterodactyl. There's no more to the story than that, and it says something that this is so poor that it makes equivalent Asylum films look good by comparison. It wasn't even picked up by the SyFy Channel, instead escaping to DVD under the re-titling of JURASSIC WARS.

The story opens with a meteorite landing on Earth and spawning the aforementioned beastie. It destroys some stuff and carries a few people away to their deaths, but if you're expecting anything like a kaiju film then you'll be sorely disappointed. The acting is terrible and the attempts at comedy cringe-worthy. As for the special effects, they're absolutely awful and among the worst examples of CGI I've seen lately. Despite the short running time this is a film which drags interminably and is a real chore to sit through.

Extinction Event Needed

[godfreecharlie · 1/10 · 10 June 2021]

.Saturday, 7:30 in the morning. Las Angeles. Not a soul on the streets, sidewalk, neighborhoods, to be seen !!!

The huge disappearance of millions of people evidently left out the three most expendable life forms. Where the players were cast from should be closed down.

Evidently the actors capable were ALL working. The director might consider another profession. I doubt any reputable film school would be much help though.

The stench mentioned in the first ffew minutes should have been a clear wwarning.

Not bad but definitely not a comedy.

[13Funbags · 5/10 · 11 July 2019]

This movie was better than the average low budget dinosaur/giant bug/shark movie, even though there were plenty of things that didn't make sense. While it had the look and feel of a comedy, there weren't any jokes. It was funnier than anything Judd Apatow has ever done but that's not saying much. To me the funniest thing in the movie was that these guys listen to am radio. If you like low budget sci-fi, you won't regret watching this.

Terrible, but so fun!

[oscarwilson-46692 · 6/10 · 20 July 2020]

Hilarious premise, overall funny movie. The acting isn't great, but you can largely blame the script for that. Lots of gags don't land, the CGI is questionable, I'm not even going to go into the science, or the concept that only one character had ever heard of a pterodactyl, or knew that a meteor wiped out the dinosaurs. So why is this film so hilarious? I have no idea. Objectively it should be awful but now all I want to do is watch it again.

The same (unaccredited) old story

[wallyaudio · 24 July 2016]

Today many filmmakers use unashamedly the ideas of others without even include a "based on" or "inspired" in the credits. Ishirō Honda, the father of "Daikaiju", brought us already a flying monster coming from space in "Rodan" (1956) that appeared in another nine movies to date. Then we had in 1957 the unaccredited American version of "Rodan", the low-budget Sam Katzman production titled "The Giant Claw". But from what I have no doubt is that the story line for the sequences with the nest and eggs in "Terrordactyl" obviously follow (again, unaccredited) the story line on Larry Cohen's masterpiece from 1982 "Q - The Winged Serpent (1982)".

Not as good as it should've been!

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 2/10 · 1 February 2017]

I had some hopes for this film, not high ones, after all, it is a budget B-Movie Monster flick. Though MarVista has been distributing these type of movies for years now, I thought they would be "Cherry Picking" the better ones. However, the budget must have been spent on the CGI and Model-FX as the rest of the movie was pitiful in the extreme.

So, the good first: There were times when the CGI Terrordactyls were pretty decent and quite believable. Unfortunately, viewers only remember the badly rendered scenes. When the Terrordactyls are swarming and flying through the city and around the apartment block, these are the best CGI scenes. The worst being the whenever a human gets snatched by one, these scenes made me smile in their badness.

Then there's the puppetry when you get the one-to-one fight scenes with the humans V the Terrordactyls. The major drawback is the budget, once again. But to be fair the 'Dactyls aren't too bad, that being said there are times when the movement of these puppets are awkward and I even felt embarrassed for the team working on them. Especially the part in the apartment where the 'Dactyls keep lining up for the heroes to shoot them down - just like all the fairground games... it would've been funnier had the director decided to play calliope music over the scene.

This is another area where the film failed, the writer and director, Don Bitters III and Geoff Reisner, try to install humour throughout the film, though most of this falls flat. Sometimes, due to the writer, but most of all due to the actors.

The best I can say about the actors is that they were below par and, at times, annoying. The worst was Jonas' maniacal laugh, which wasn't even called for. To be fair, they didn't have too much to work with, thanks to the writer, Don Bitters, whose characters were stereotypical. Even though characters in these genre films are usually stereotyped, in this movie there also boring to the N'th degree and two-dimensional. Then you have the inane backstory of the Terrordacytls having been blown into space when the dinosaur-killing meteor hit the earth... What else from Earth's past is waiting in space to fall upon us?

Hopefully, NOTHING by this film crew!

Except for the CGI artists.

I really don't understand why you want to make a movie (or do anything, for that matter) and not give it your best effort. If this is their best effort than they should start working in call centers and stop inflicting your audiences with half-baked ideas and movies, Give us something decent - and yes even Bad films can be entertaining "SHARKNADO!!!"

Don't waste your time on this badly written, badly acted, nonsense. Go give blood - at least you get a cup of tea and biscuit after.

A Very Pleasant Surprise

[Phazed-101 · 8/10 · 25 June 2016]

I love the arts and I love how arty people go out of their way to do something, anything, to tell us a story. To make us laugh, cry or scream. And I really like how they don't care what their budget is.

Sure, there's heaps of Indy movies and cheap movies on low budgets but I will say, for something labelled "action/comedy"? it delivered.

I was surprised the CGI was as good as it was. In fact I was impressed. Maybe the big thingy was a little B grade CGI-wise but the jokes were think and fast and it was obvious the actors were having a great time. They all seemed to fit together well.

My only real peeve is continuity in daylight shots. I get confused when people are running with short little shadows (shot at midday) and then their shadows are like 20 feet long (shot late afternoon or early morning!) then they change again but that's a personal thing. My hubby says he didn't notice so I guess it's okay.

If you're a snob and hate any kind of B grade movie then don't bother seeing this. If however you like seeing something done at its best by people who appear to be doing everything they can with what they have even if it's a tad Indy, then this is worth more than a few laughs. I'm really glad I bought the DVD.

two landscapers and a hot bartender save the world from some ancient space traveling reptilian birds.

[dankaser-99405 · 6/10 · 23 June 2016]

For those that care to know, I am an average professional male who admits to this guilty pleasure, I enjoy low budget sci-fi / indie action flicks. It doesn't mean I will rave about the movie, or try to defend them as cinematic masterpieces. I will simply admit that I enjoy them as a mild fan of the genre and as a mild diversion from my rat race professional life.

Most movies, I admit, aree mediocre and not well made. Some, however, seem to rise above the norm even though they have little work with as far as budget or originality. I feel that this movie is one that does rise above that base line of ho-hum.

The premise and plot has been done before. However, the special effects are above what is commonly expected in a movie like this, and I felt the actors did a good job selling the comedy and dialogue.

Two landscapers are called on to save the world after trying to cash in on a meteor they found. Needless to say, they found more than a meteor. No cops are armies in Los Angeles, just them and a hot bartender to take on an army of ancient reptilian birds.

I enjoyed the flick more than I expected with a title such as "terrordactyl." For a mindless diversion from the rat race of life, and an enjoyable flick for this genre, give it a try. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Dinosaur equivalent of Sharknado, just not as enjoyable

[Stevieboy666 · 4/10 · 17 February 2018]

Two yard clearance men, a couple of hot chicks and a drunken veteran take on an invasion of terrordactyls from outer space in order to save LA (perhaps the military were on strike!). The characters are likeable and the film started off promising, however it slows down mid way through and the humour starts to get sillier (a la Sharknado). The creatures are very unconvincing, but perhaps that was intentional. Some fun to be had but also easily forgettable & not a film that I would watch again.

Just too awful to contemplate

[gwynmoses · 2/10 · 19 July 2020]

OK, it's not a score of one because the pteranodon were cute, especially the baby. My main bugbear is that these were pteranodon, not pterodactyl, so the whole premise was false. Saying that, the acting was awful (Bianca Hasse excluded), the story line abysmal and the director may as well have not turned up. It would be better to turn the TV off and watch traffic in the street than to watch this again.

Never Sleep With A Woman With A Shiv In Her Bra.

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 4/10 · 6 December 2022]

A sad little low budget romp that has a few good lines. But also a lot of bad ones. The writers must be as old as me with references to 'Rico Suave' and I recall a couple of other archaic pop culture references.

I mean it has bad CGI, but this movie is not made to be some masterpiece.

Anyhow. 4/10.

And IMDB has now made it so a review has to have 600 characters before it can be entered. I really don't expect that to last very long because people are sure to complain about it. But until that happens I guess we have to expect reviews to be long winded and sometimes about absolutely nothing to do with the show in question.

Crappolla

[cujorocky · 1/10 · 1 September 2021]

Garbage. One saving grace, actress Candace Nunes. Very cute actress. Sadly, she disappeared after this role. Otherwise, this movie is just crap.

Watchable

[bitbucketchip · 5/10 · 6 August 2022]

Two idiot brothers, two hot roommates, and few perverted older men take on a flock of pterodactyls while the rest of the city of Los Angeles goes about their day. The style is campy humor in the vein of the later Sharknados.

The movie would have scored better had some of the jokes landed and the characters been substantially less annoying. I was entertained but I wouldn't watch it again. Five stars.

Great Z Grade!

[jameslwendland · 1/10 · 2 January 2022]

This is everything a great Z grade creature feature should be! Terribly fun film that isn't intended to be taken too seriously. They used their resources well by keeping a small cast and emphasizing fun special effects. Totally enjoyable film.

Better B movie, great visuals, good fun

[robertemerald · 7/10 · 26 September 2019]

I think maybe this one is intended for kids, as the language is careful (if inane!), and the impalings, beheadings and shotgun blasts are notably without much splatter, and often cleverly veiled anyway. Even the monster birds seem to have had their sharp edges rounded off and fattened. The terrordactyls in BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) are way more frightening. As such, this one deserves a 7, as the visuals are terrific, are present throughout, thick and fast. It's not just the flocks of birds or the close encounters, it's the smoke and debris of a much sanitised L.A. as well. Entertaining.

So campy and cheesy that it was fun to watch...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 6 August 2022]

Stumbling upon the 2016 movie "Terrordactyl", I had to sit down and watch it. The concept of the movie seemed like something that could be fun, and it also looked like one of those cheesy bad B movies.

Needless to say that I had never heard about "Terrordactyl" from writer Don Bitters III. But I will say that this movie was actually every bit as campy, cheesy and low budget as you would assume it to be - but in a good way. Yeah, this is one of those movies that are so bad that they are actually enjoyable to watch.

The storyline is pretty simplistic, if not actually a bit too simplistic. But it actually works well enough in favor of the movie, and it makes for a good, cheesy 95 minutes of fun watching.

The acting performances in "Terrordactyl" were actually okay. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble at all here, but they put on good enough performances to make the movie worthwhile watching.

And the special effects were actually not that bad. Sure, every now and again there was something toe-curling, but for the majority of the movie then I will say that the special effects were actually good. Not blockbuster Hollywood good, but surprisingly good for a movie of this caliber.

However, "Terrordactyl" is a movie that came and went without leaving much of a lasting impression. Sure, I can tick it off of my to-watch-list now, but I doubt I will ever return to it a second time.

My rating of directors Don Bitters III and Geoff Reisner's 2016 "Terrordactyl" lands on a five out of ten stars.

B movie at it's best.

[davemc-98179 · 8/10 · 7 January 2022]

It doesn't pretend to be good. Seems like the people in this movie know that they're in a B movie. It's campy. The music is perfect. The actors do their best, and it's hilarious.

Prehistoric pigeons... vs. The weekend crew.

Leave my leaf blower alone.... That's the only spoiler.

Invasion from space

[mastercraftsman · 6/10 · 28 June 2016]

This was no SyFy production it was actually watchable. Acting was acceptable . Barmaid is easy on the eyes, And lets give thanks to the war experienced Marines. Just another reason we need guns and must protect against all threats being foreign or domestic. Granted the 2 landscapers aren't the two sharpest tools in the shed and I just wanted to smack them in the head at times. Plenty of action but being stupid isn't my idea of comedy.

I always imagine Pterosaur to all have tails some longer than others. I am guessing it a gender thing; but the lack of tail didn't make the smaller "Terrordactyl" any less scary. I would had like to seen more gore but that is what zombie movies are for.

I liked this B movie Indy film. I feel this was good thanks to Don Bitter 111 Visual effects. The CGI wasn't noticeably fake like most shows and movies with a higher budget. I feel the automatic and even pump shotguns should have shell casing discharging; this is often over looked by the director. It would had had a more realistic feel if the streets had more panicking people with car crashes and the highways jamb full of cars. When the streets are desolated it does translate to doom & gloom but also gives a studio instead of on site aura. If you have some time it's worth watching. more fun than washing dishes and some films don't make that cut. I may just watch it again.

Cheesy but entertaining

[gulchu · 6/10 · 11 January 2020]

Cheesy but entertaining, I've seen a lot worse low budget movies. But if you have some time to kill this movie definitely fits the bill.

Terrordactyl is not so bad...

[ivansopas · 7/10 · 26 September 2020]

Terrordactyl is not bad ...

Pochoclero film, Class B style quite well achieved, appealing to the bizarre and fun, although not always achieving it, but it is well on its way, very good performances, good script within everything, it is well directed, passable to good effects, the story fails , which does not finish hooking, and the editing, the film lasts 1:30 but it could last 1:10, yes, very little, it lacked greater consistency, but it has something interesting ... it was very close to being a movie of worship. Terrordactyl is not Sharknado, nothing you see, there is not a bad hand here, on the contrary, although it is true that it does not become a good movie, it has many redeemable and interesting points. I even give my approval for a continuation, perhaps more bizarre or more serious, who knows.