The Invisible Raptor (2023) Review

In the depths of a research laboratory at The Tyler Corporation, a project to genetically engineer a prehistoric raptor has succeeded. Not only is the raptor extremely smart, anyone who has read the title of the movie being reviewed will have a fairly good idea that it’s also invisible. Every precaution has been taken to ensure it does not escape, except the thing about precautions is not true and their experimental subject manages to escape with relative ease.

Enter palaeontologist Doctor Grant Walker (Mike Capes), subject expert and previous discoverer of significant raptor remains. He’s now reduced to entertaining families at local amusement park Dinoworld, his duties including a rap and dance number with a costumed version of an apex predator. Realising that the whole of Spielburgh County is under threat, Grant teams up with Dinoworld security guard Denny (David Shackelford), wearer of aforementioned apex predator costume and on a revenge mission of his own. Can they save the day and can Grant win the heart of old flame Amber (Caitlin McHugh)?

The only thing I knew about The Invisible Raptor before I went in to watch it was its title (well, duh) and the runtime. Regarding the latter, I have to admit that a duration of 113 minutes was something of a cause for concern. My feeling is that spoof horrors should clock in at under an hour and a half and, even then, many examples of those have stretched the premise way beyond breaking point.

Welcome to the exception to the rule.

If making the raptor invisible was the perfect excuse to avoid the deployment of any special effects whatsoever, it’s a decision that the filmmakers decided not to take. In fact, the number of effects shots is surprisingly large, allowing for some fun, imaginative visuals as the unseen menace consumes various snacks, causes destructive mayhem aplenty and provides crowd pleasing gore as it pounces on unsuspecting locals.

It’s also packed to the raptors, sorry, rafters with references to movies from the 1980s from the obvious to the deepest of cuts. You also get the expected nods to a certain franchise which lodged the titular type of creature into the consciousness of film goers. The “anything goes” approach to plotting and dialogue can irritate when it’s done badly, but the likeability of the main players and its thoroughly good natured approach work wonders in keeping the whole thing ticking over, even when there’s an inevitable lull in the rapid fire gag rate.

Capes cuts a dash as our chiselled, fedora-wearing hero but also has the comedy chops to undercut his bravado with moments of pure idiocy, McHugh scores as the purposely underwritten, predictably kick-ass love interest but it’s Shackelford as the wannabe cop who steals every scene he’s in. Denny’s a finely tuned comic creation, treading the fine line between sweet and nightmarish as more and more details of his chaotic existence and even more chaotic psyche are revealed, culminating in a memorable detour to where Denny dwells.

There’s also a sprinkling of star power along the way, with cameos from Larry Hankin (you’ll know him when you see him), Richard Riehle (you’ll know him when you see him) as the town’s Sheriff and an opening scene featuring a extremely game Sean Astin (come on, you know Sean Astin) as one of the scientists who unwittingly sets the whole chain of events in motion. Then there’s Sandy Martin, leaving an indelible impression as Henrietta McCluckskey, a local chicken farmer with a bizarre line in television advertising.

That’s not to say that care hasn’t been taken when it comes to the horror set pieces. A sequence in a bathroom strikes the perfect balance between suspense and snickering, as does the raptor’s appearance – or should that be non-appearance? – at a house party. Overall, there’s an emphasis on chortles over chills but there’s still a notable body count ahead of the ridiculous final showdown, in which you finally get to see the menace. Well, sort of.

The Invisible Raptor is a smart film posing as an utterly dumb one. It’s delightfully daft, with winning turns from its leads and a high ratio of hits to misses in terms of its scattergun humour. The running joke about Amber’s daughter, which continues into the closing credits, is particularly fine, and get ready for a groan-inducing revelation of the critter’s name. When it was over, I would have happily gone back into the cinema and watched it again, and that’s something I wasn’t expecting at the outset.

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