When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
(D or 1/4 stars)
'When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth' (directed by Val Guest) introduces us to the barbaric Stone Tribe of sun-worshipers as they sacrifice the island's 3 young blonde women to the Sun God in return for gaining protection from the enormous carnivorous lizards looking to eat them. Our lead character, Sanna (Victoria Vetri), is one of the blondes being sacrificed because she's blamed for a sudden deviation of the sun that causes severe weather disturbances. Fortunately for her, she is saved as a cyclone sweeps her over a sea-cliff & into the ocean. She is then rescued by muscular fisherman Tara, a member of the nearby Sand Tribe.
But ... Sanna's affair with Tara doesn't sit well with his jealous girlfriend, Ayak. Situations get worse as the tribe ostracizes the new couple when a moon appears in the sky for the 1st time & the ignorant tribe panics as a storm approaches. Ayak decides that this is all Sanna's fault; accusing her of using witchcraft. As a result Sanna flees into the jungle with Tara where they must survive among the dinosaurs. Sanna trains one of the baby dinos who believes she is one of her offspring {I know, what?!?}, while the tribe scatters in fear of the dinosaurs. In the end, a huge typhoon strikes & 4 survivors must fight for survival in this prehistoric/sci-fi story.
Geez, this movie is one big mess, haha. Val Guest opted to write dialogue that consisted of an invented prehistoric language. The story, as you tell from my above description, is as stupid as they come. Because it's so stupid, no thinking is required, at all. The acting is non-existent. The most that can be said of this film is that there are some good looking people to ogle at. There's a tacky, corny feel to the film that could come across as "so bad, it's good" - but only to those who tap into the tacky corniness. And the best that can be said is that there ARE some dazzling stop-motion dinosaur effects that warrant the Oscar nomination it nabbed. But really, the buck stops there. Scantily-clad humans, special effect animals, & a bizarre faux-language can only take you so far, my friends.
But ... Sanna's affair with Tara doesn't sit well with his jealous girlfriend, Ayak. Situations get worse as the tribe ostracizes the new couple when a moon appears in the sky for the 1st time & the ignorant tribe panics as a storm approaches. Ayak decides that this is all Sanna's fault; accusing her of using witchcraft. As a result Sanna flees into the jungle with Tara where they must survive among the dinosaurs. Sanna trains one of the baby dinos who believes she is one of her offspring {I know, what?!?}, while the tribe scatters in fear of the dinosaurs. In the end, a huge typhoon strikes & 4 survivors must fight for survival in this prehistoric/sci-fi story.
Geez, this movie is one big mess, haha. Val Guest opted to write dialogue that consisted of an invented prehistoric language. The story, as you tell from my above description, is as stupid as they come. Because it's so stupid, no thinking is required, at all. The acting is non-existent. The most that can be said of this film is that there are some good looking people to ogle at. There's a tacky, corny feel to the film that could come across as "so bad, it's good" - but only to those who tap into the tacky corniness. And the best that can be said is that there ARE some dazzling stop-motion dinosaur effects that warrant the Oscar nomination it nabbed. But really, the buck stops there. Scantily-clad humans, special effect animals, & a bizarre faux-language can only take you so far, my friends.