‘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 review:
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.
Ade J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Release date:
In the USA, Jurassic Island was 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 specs:
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.
Trailer:
Full film free online on YouTube:
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