George Taylor
Jim Wynorski is a hack. No one can deny this. He's talentless for the most part, but must work cheap since he makes crap like this. Gila! with it's horrible effects (the CGI makes the original, which used a real Gila Monster, look good). Barely competent acting (it was nice to see Night of the Comets Kelli Maroney), and lets just get the shot directing, help make this the crapfest it is. How can anyone make a remake of a film that was already bad and make it worse? I give you Exhibit A.
Tom Willett (yonhope)
A choo choo train and a big lizard or two or three and an exclamation point in the title. Some 35 year old teenagers and some really good special effects make for a great movie. They could not get Matt Damon or Justin Bieber so they went with what's his name and the guy from the movie about the thing.The monster is well done with CGI or whatever. Some great old rock and roll fifties hit songs and lots of very nice vintage cars. The steam locomotive looks legit but I do not know.In one scene there is a map of where the monster might be. It has a golf club called The Legends marked on the map. If you search that it is in Indiana. The story is very lame but it remains fun until the end when a last laugh awaits the audience.Looks like the budget was under one million so they did a good job giving us a potential cult flick for pennies. It usually costs much more to make something like this.It has a jeep but it needs an airplane and maybe a military officer and a cat.
mr-thousand
There might be a minor spoiler in my review.Why remake "The Giant Gila Monster," one of the cheesiest teen drive-in flicks of the late 50's? Well, it has name recognition. Even with the name alteration, it's still marketable. The original story is in the public domain, so there're no royalties to pay. Maybe just for fun? My guess it all of the above. Make a few bucks and have fun. Why not?The original 1959 film has little going for it other than it's nostalgic cheese factor and for it's collection of great hot rods. So what's the harm in a remake? Absolutely none! And this update, still set in the 50's, is better by far, which is rare and a minor miracle, if you ask me. As bad as the acting is, which might be deliberate, the characters are more complex and interesting. The story is also a little better, the direction is much better and the cinematography is totally competent. Totally. And, even though the CGI title character is so obviously animated, that's completely predictable, so no real harm done. Besides, with a film like this, ya laugh, let it go or get angry. Viewer's choice. Convincing giant monsters in low budget films are hard to come by, anyway. All that's decent praise for a low budget, straight to TV movie.The only thing that the original has over this one is that wonderfully ridiculous opening narration, which lacks any facts or logic. It's priceless. The toxic spill accounting for the giant lizard's existence in the remake is too cliché to be any fun. No explanation would have been better, I think.The hot rods are still very cool and a couple of the chicks are an upgrade from the original. And, the soundtrack of rock n' roll oldies and contemporary rockabilly is very good, maybe even the least flawed aspect of the film.Even though it is forgettable low budget garbage, it's still pretty fun. I'll probably give it another look, one of these days.
Woodyanders
A giant gila monster terrorizes a sleepy small town. It's up to local hot rod racer Chase Winstead (a solid and likable performance by Brian Gross) to save the day. Director Jim Wynorski, working from a compact and eventful script by Steve Mitchell, William Dever, Jim Nielsen, and Paul Sinor, relates the entertaining story at a zippy pace, maintains an utterly engaging good-natured tone throughout, stages the monster attack set pieces with flair, and offers an affectionate evocation of the 50's period setting (the vintage cars and the 50's rock soundtrack in particular are both spot-on). Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Terence Knox as the amiable sheriff, Jesse Janzen as surly bad boy Waco Bob, Christina DeRosa as Bob's slinky hussy main squeeze, Madeline Voges as Chase's sweet girlfriend Lisa, the ever-adorable Kelli Maroney as the cute and bubbly Deputy Wilma, Gerad Pauwels as uptight jerk Mayor Wheeler, Julie McCullough as the mayor's bitter booze-sodden wife Vera, and, in a delightfully robust scenery-gnashing turn, Rick Komenich as gung-ho survivalist Compton. Don Sullivan, the star of the '59 original "The Giant Gila Monster," has a nice bit as helpful lizard expert Daws. The titular CGI beast looks pretty cool. Kudos are also in order for Ross Headley's sharp cinematography and the spirited score by Al and Jon Kaplan. An immensely fun flick.
AD
