REVIEW: The Lizard (2024)
Mutant Monitor Lizard causes havoc in this Chinese monster flick
Think about it, what’s better than a movie with one giant monster attacking people?
The answer is TWO giant monsters attacking each other. Welcome to The Lizard.
We live in a time where China is making more monster movies in total than everyone else in the world combined. I don’t know if this is an actual fact though, it’s just how it feels.
Here’s the thing with this film. It was filmed in 2021 and certificated in 2023. Yet it took another year to come out?
Is that a commentary on the quality of the movie? I think it might be!
PLOT
A meteorite crashes down on a village in an undisclosed Southeast Asian country. The village is home to a nefarious factory that has been polluting the local water supply with their toxic waste.
The waste has had both a negative effect on humans and animals. People are getting sick, but a local monitor lizard has mutated into a giant beast. And it is hunting down the fragments of the meteorite because… it’s like paracetamol. It’s like some kind of pain relief!
However, the waste has also mutated a giant snake, and this small village is not big enough for two creatures of their size!
ABOUT THE FILM
I’m just going to come out and say it: the effects are absolutely terrible in this film, and for a movie like this that only relies on its effects to attract people, that’s a bad thing!
There are super low quality picture files used as textures for things like the Earth. The green screening in the cars shows visible green colour bleeding including green light on people’s faces. The crumbling bridge effect looks like a PS3 era game - and then there are all the bought 3D model assets: everyone in the village drives luxury Audis and Honda SUVs, but yet they complained they are poor and don’t have money!
Dodgy visual effects aside, this is yet another Chinese monster flick that’s just an environmental propaganda piece disguised as entertainment. And you have to love the fact that this movie is set in a random Asian country and not China, because we wouldn’t want the Chinese citizens to know this movie is reflective of what is going on in their own backyards - sans the giant monsters obviously.
If you can look past the pseudo-science talk, the delicious irony and the dodgy monster fight at the conclusion that ends in a nil all draw and will leave you a bit confused about what you just watched, then you might enjoy this film.
But for everyone else, watch the recently released Anaconda. That’s a far, far better film!
What are my overall thoughts?
Skip. Watch something else instead.
MOVIE DETAILS
Genre Sci-Fi Creature Feature
Director Cheng Wenzheng
Starring Shen Zhenxuan, Cao Yixue, Tao Jingyi, Chen Liang
Original Title 狂暴巨蜥
Alternative Title Berserk Monitor Lizard
Country of Origin China
Release Date March 27 2024
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