’50 tons of bone crushing terror’
Megaconda is a 2010 American science-fiction action horror film directed by Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray (Circus Kane; Shark Week; Mega Shark vs. Kolossus; 2-Headed Shark Attack; et al) from a screenplay written by Steve Latshaw (Return of the Killer Shrews; Curse of the Komodo; Jack-O; Biohazard: The Alien Force).
The Fred Olen Ray Retromedia Entertainment production stars Greg Evigan, Ted Monte, Michelle Bauer, Dylan Vox and Stella Stevens (Wacko; The Manitou; Cruise Into Terror).
Plot:
A construction worker goes missing in Boulder Canyon, swiftly followed by Jerry, a poacher. It soon becomes clear that a prehistoric megaconda is responsible…
Review:
This was the second directorial effort by Christopher “son of Fred” Olen Ray, following Reptisaurus (2009), and before he churned out a number of giant snake and more-than-one-headed shark abominations that were eaten up by the Syfy channel in their quest to fill their schedules with mindless monster movies.
Thankfully, the era of ever-sillier super-sized no brainer stuff seems to have been largely died out and Ray has moved onto the likes of slightly more interesting psycho horrors such as Circus Kane and Minutes to Midnight.
Presumably, most of Megaconda‘s paltry budget of $200,000, was flitted away on Sean Leigh Hart’s CGI critter, which is as cheap as the worst of its kind, although veteran genre regulars Ted Monte, Michelle Bauer and Stella Stevens are thankfully on hand to make the whole experience less painful.
As is the case in many such creature features, the screenplay by Steve Latshaw focuses on small-town bickering and relationships in between the entirely predictable need for some of the cast to be swallowed every few minutes but is at least preferable to his snarky Return of the Killer Shrews (2012) effort.
There is absolutely nothing new here and the distraction of a busy highway behind in many shots reveals the limitations of the budget even more than the embarrassingly awful snake. And yet, there are worse examples of this kind of cut-price 21st-century monster movie out there (looking at you, Supercroc) and the cast is up to the job, so if you are in a particularly charitable mood it’s worth a look.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA
Cast and characters:
Greg Evigan … Parker – Terror Birds; 100 Million BC; House of the Damned; DeepStar Six; Stripped to Kill
Ted Monte … Sheriff Wayne Carey
Michelle Bauer … Anna Carson
Dylan Vox … Jake
Michael Gaglio … Hoke (as Mike Gaglio)
Christopher Yocum … Ross
Jessica Irvine Drake … Wendy Armstrong (as Jessica Irvine)
Matthew T. Chandler … Andy
Brianna Lee Johnson … Tina
Stella Stevens … Mary Jane – Glass Trap; Little Devils: The Birth; The Terror Within II; Monster in the Closet; Wacko; The Manitou; Cruise Into Terror
Angela Landis … Eve
Gerald Webb … Todd
Andrea Kennedy … Rosa
Glenn Miller … Hiker 1
Peter Dang … Hiker 2
Charles Peeke Jr. … Construction Worker
Torey Sutton … Pilot
Benjamin Deschaine … Jerry
Filming locations:
Iverson Movie Ranch, Chatsworth, California
Running time:
86 minutes