‘Their mission… contain and destroy’
Jurassic Island is a 2022 sci-fi monster movie about a young woman who travels to the titular island in search of her father. Unfortunately, she and her colleagues discover dinosaurs and toxic leeches instead.
Directed by Dominic Ellis (Blood in the Water) from a screenplay co-written with co-producer Scott Jeffrey (director of Spider in the Attic; The Mutation; Bats; Bad Nun: Deadly Vows; Cupid; ClownDoll) and Tom Jolliffe (The Leprechaun’s Curse; Ouija Hosts; The Legend of Jack and Jill; Witches of Amityville Academy; Scarecrow’s Revenge). Also produced by Rebecca Matthews.
The British Proportion Productions movie stars Sarah T. Cohen (Medusa; HellKat; Cupid; Witches of Amityville Academy), Alistair Stoneman, Jamila Martin-Wingett, Ray Whelan, Ricardo Freitas, Nicola Wright, Kate Sandison and Tony Goodall.
Plot:
Ava (Sarah T. Cohen) uncovers the whereabouts of her missing father to an unchartered island; a mythical lost world uncovered before them by her grandfather.
Joined by a group of adventurers and scientists, they arrive at Jurassic Island where it becomes clear that the previous team had run into disaster. Dinosaurs and toxic leeches mean it’s no longer a search for her father, but a battle for survival…
Our view:
Another day, another Scott Jeffrey production. And as with some of the more recent Jeffrey movies, there’s a slight improvement in the overall feel of Jurassic Island. It doesn’t have the stiffness of other Jeffrey outings and at least it’s not claustrophobically confined to just one setting like the worst of his offerings.
Once again, actress Sarah T. Cohen’s presence elevates the ponderous proceedings slightly but on the downside, she is forced to adopt a pseudo-American accent that comes and goes at various points.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the film’s feeble attempts at humour, truly atrocious CGI dinosaurs (which actually seem cheaper than the ones used in the likes of Dinosaur Hotel) and some low-rent gooey zombies. The latter were presumably shoe-horned into the plot to reduce the number of prehistoric critters needed. While this adds a minor quirk to the movie, it doesn’t really add much to its entertainment value, which is negligible.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA
Other reviews:
“Don’t go in expecting quality near any other movie with Jurassic in the titles and just have fun with the small budget. And hey, the poster art is pretty good. The effects, well, maybe they don’t live up to them.” B&S About Movies
“There was an opportunity here for some low-budget fun, but it’s hard to look past the very glaring shortcomings in the writing. While the expectation is very clear that these characters are going to meet untimely ends, having them meet those untimely ends for good reasons would have elevated Jurassic Island a little bit.” 2/10 Horror Buzz
” …the effects work is not going to win over those that are precious about such things, and yes, the film’s continuity is lacking in places, with characters wet with rain one moment, completely dry the next, but do you know what, it works. It’s fun, fast, for the most part well-acted, boasts a terrific score and there’s a great use of the outdoor locations.” 10/10 My Bloody Reviews
“It’s the kind of film that knows what its audience wants – plenty of action that never lets up, yet adds a touch of humanity, focussing on the human story within the film; in particular Ava’s (Cohen) hunt for her father […] But of course, this is a film about dinosaurs, so there’s plenty of dino-chomping action too!” 3.5/5 Nerdly
“Looking like stickers pasted on a screen, the dinosaurs walk around and roar, but there’s not much tension built by such silly effects […] This could have aspired to be campy and over the top, like Tammy and the T-Rex or the Sharknado series. But for a movie about both dinosaurs and zombies, it manages to make both feel excruciatingly dull, a feat I did not know was possible up until this point in time.” Nightmarish Conjurings
“The film never manages to build up its tension well and the very poor computer effects ensure that you can never take it seriously […] The movie wasn’t out to be a bad one and it genuinely tries to entertain the viewer. Somewhere deeply hidden in the film is also a reasonable one, only you sometimes have to search very well for this.” 4/10 Seal_Team1138 [translated from Dutch]
” …a fun romp that moves along at a steady pace, where comedy and drama keep a good balance, and one where the characters are more than just cannon fodder and it’s not evident in the first five minutes who’s to survive, who’s to die. So not a great movie, but good genre entertainment nevertheless.” Search My Trash
Release date:
In the USA, Jurassic Island will be released by Uncork’d Entertainment on Digital on April 5, 2022, and on DVD on April 11, 2022.
Cast and characters:
Sarah T. Cohen … Ava
Kate Sandison … Nurse Julie
Howard J Davey … Donald
Nicola Wright … Lindsay
Ray Whelan … Tommy
Tom Taplin … Jacob
David Hallows … Fitz
Ricardo Freitas … Michael
Jamila Martin-Wingett … Cassie
Alistair Stoneman … Luke
Tony Goodall … Edward
Technical details:
1 hour 18 minutes
Film facts:
Dominic Ellis is credited as ‘Dominic Nutter’ on the end credits.
Notes:
Not to be confused with the 2020 Chinese movie of the same name.
JURASSIC ISLAND (2020) Overview of prehistoric creature feature
Trailer:
