‘No donkey. No fairy tale. Just terror.’
Ogre is a 2008 American-Canadian fantasy monster movie about a 19th-century village stuck in time and beset by a giant ugly beast.
Directed by Steven R. Monroe (Harland Manor; The Exorcism of Molly Hartley; Grave Halloween; Mongolian Death Worm; Wyvern; Sasquatch Mountain; It Waits) from a screenplay written by Chuck Reeves (Raven’s Hollow). Produced by Lindsay MacAdam.
The CineTel Films-Insight Film Studios- Ogre Productions movie stars John Schneider, Ryan Kennedy, Katharine Isabelle, Brendan Fletcher, Chelan Simmons, Andrew Wheeler, Kyle Labine and Kimberley Warnat.
Plot:
In the present day, teenagers stumble upon the fictional Ellensford village of Pennsylvania which is stuck in a time loop in the mid 19th century. For the town to prevent a horrible plague from occurring, a human being must be sacrificed every year to a vicious beast known as the Ogre.
Reviews:
“The film takes itself a bit too seriously at times, but it’s still quite engaging. Unfortunately, the ogre effects are horrifically bad and clearly, the effects team couldn’t get the CGI creature to interact with the humans on screen so very little is seen of the damage. Which means this is pretty tame and a bit naff. But, as straight to TV/DVD monster movies go, you could do worse.” Blueprint: Review
” …the second half sinks into the repetitiously lame Sci-Fi Channel everyone-rally-together-to-kill-the-monster motif and by then we’d already seen so much of the ogre that the novelty of this silly computer-generated creature running amok was beginning to wear off, much like whatever charm the film itself had.” Dread Central
” …the Ogre looked like a poorly done takeoff of the Abomination from the Hulk movie […] But it was oddly watchable and dare I say entertaining even to a point. No, it’s not a good movie in the classic sense of the word but perhaps because the Sci-Fi Channel has single-handedly lowered my expectations of almost all cinematic events, I now only require slightly moving objects to be entertained.” Film Critics United
” …there are some strong points to this script. Reeves managed to bring in a cohesive story that fits the bill nicely for horror. It is reminiscent of the old tales told around a campfire on a lazy summer evening. The main characters are not one dimensional but have distinct personalities […] The story is able to engage the audience…” Home Theater Info
“Monroe’s direction is often atmospheric […] There are, alas, some very obvious continuity gaffes […] Ogre‘s other problems are often weak dialogue […] and one of SyFy’s sh*ttier CGI monsters […] Yet still, despite the clear and obvious problems, Ogre is a worthwhile little movie…” The Horror!?
Cast and characters (in credits order):
John Schneider … Henry Bartlett
Ryan Kennedy … Mike
Katharine Isabelle … Jessica
Brendan Fletcher … Stephen Chandler
Chelan Simmons … Hope Bartlett
Andrew Wheeler … Franklin
Kyle Labine … Terry
Kimberley Warnat … Leah
John Shaw … Giles
Chilton Crane … Hester
Tyler Johnston … Matthew
John Wardlow … Rolf
Michael Puttonen … Abel
Alex Zahara … Lawrence
Sean Campbell … John
Ted Kozma … Daniel
Shawn Reis … William
Colby Johannson … Peter
Jennifer Copping … Gillian
Don Thompson … Sheriff Loodey
Simon Longmore … Deputy Anderson
Michelle Vorick … Patty Anderson
Michael Taylor … Deputy’s Son
Jeffrey Fisher … Chained Man
Vincent Walker … Quincy (as Vince Walker)
Aleita Northey … Quincy’s Daughter
Garry Little … Sick Townsman
Filming locations:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Filmed in November and early December 2006.
Release:
Ogre premiered on the Syfy channel on March 8th 2008.
Fun facts:
Katherine Isabelle, Brendan Fletcher, and Kyle Labine were also in Freddy vs. Jason (2003).
Trailer:
Clip:
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