Carnosaur

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

11%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 9

23%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 6,493
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Movie Info

One of the more popular features from Roger Corman's "B"-factory Concorde/New Horizons, Carnosaur perpetuates the grand Corman tradition of zeroing in on a big-budget Hollywood studio moneymaker, then dashing off a quick-and-dirty poor man's version before moss gets a chance to grow on the larger film's concept. This bargain-basement spin on Jurassic Park was actually based on a novel by John Brosnan (under the pseudonym Harry Adam Knight). It features Diane Ladd (whose daughter Laura Dern took the high road on Spielberg's film) as a kooky mad scientist whose experiments on human and dinosaur DNA result in dual disasters -- first, a rubbery midget Tyrannosaurus bred from dinosaur and chicken DNA (imagine the barbecue potential!) which escapes the lab and goes on the requisite bloody rampage; and second, a specially-engineered virus with the ability to replace human beings with dino-babies. Although this exploitation quickie doesn't waste too much time delivering the standard Corman cargo (blood and breasts), the mayhem is too often derailed by endless genetic techno-babble from Ladd, whose freaked-out performance is the film's sole plus. The downbeat ending is pure '80s, and paves the way for the inevitable sequels.

Cast

Diane Ladd
as Dr. Jane Tiptree
Raphael Sbarge
as Doc Smith
Jennifer Runyon
as Thrush
David Rupel
Raphael Searge
Harrison Page
as Sheriff
Clint Howard
as Trucker
Ned Bellamy
as Fallon
Frank Novak
as Jesse Paloma
Ed Williams
as Dr. Sterling Raven
Andrew Magarian
as Swanson
Brent Hinkley
as Peregrine
Lisa Moncure
as Mallard
Michele Harrell
as Rowena Fowler
Maud Winchester
as Downey
Scott P. Levy
as Soldier
Rodman Flender
as Senator's Assistant
George Perez
as Diego
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Critic Reviews for Carnosaur

All Critics (9) | Fresh (1) | Rotten (8)

View All Critic Reviews (9)

Audience Reviews for Carnosaur

  • May 19, 2010
    From the words of Flixster user kiriyamakazou: "Roger Corman and his B-Movie pals make the world a much better place to live." Unapologetically awful, Carnosaur deals with a mentally f#cked genetics scientist that designs a genetically superior chicken and, from there, in a hilariously lame manner, dinosaurs start to be born from chicken eggs. In case this shit wasn't enough, women literally get pregnant and give birth to baby dinosaurs! The creatures are so obvious in their foam structure that you'll endlessly laugh out loud, rolling on the floor so many times that you'll create static electricity. Who needs a Jurassic Park when you have the funniest death scenes ever and special effects so bad that the 1976 version of King Kong suddenly seems like a masterpiece. Pure gold, man, I'm telling you. 13/100
    Edgar C Super Reviewer
  • Jul 07, 2009
    Roger Corman and his B-Movie pals make the world a much better place to live. Carnosaur is unashamedly bad. From the wonky crooked dinosaur puppets, to the acting which stumbles between remembering lines and confusion as to where they are. Rather than going for the simplistic take of cloning dinosaurs (Spielberg, I'm looking at you). Carnosaur favours a convoluted science experiment involving chickens that give birth to dinosaur eggs...??? Maybe? And ends in human women laying dinosaur eggs. If they'd had a budget then the finale, where a construction vehicle takes on a T-Rex, would have been impressive. The ending is very downbeat and depressing, not really what you want after 82 minutes of awful cinema, but very brave.
    Luke B Super Reviewer
  • Nov 02, 2008
    In 1993, two dinosaur movies came out. Jurassic Park was one of them. But a month before that film was released, out came Carnosaur, a ridiculous B-movie with effects comparable to the Godzilla movies. A mad scientist decides to wipe out humanity and return dinosaurs to the kings of the world by releasing a virus that impregnates all the women in the world with dinosaur eggs, which will kill them when they give birth. Sound nuts?
    Edward B Super Reviewer
  • Nov 07, 2007
    weird story of how women are impregnated with dinosaur eggs. crazy, ridiculous, really scary when i was a kid.
    Vincent T Super Reviewer
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