BakuryuuTyranno The good parts, er, actually John Rhys-Davis playing the captain is pretty much all. Rhys-Davis is playing the only character whose fate remains in the "might or might not survive" category. We're lucky then that the best actor present plays the character.Unfortunately, everything else goes downhill surprisingly quickly. Aside from the captain and bland leads, the characters are a pompous old woman, some professional thief, and a cryptozoologist unwilling to provide help stopping the chupacabra; occasionally even helping it escape and thus kill more victims.Naturally these people were too unlikable for their deaths to be upsetting and there's no sense rooting for this chupacabra to get them since it's inevitable.The monster being released by the crew members didn't make too much sense. Actually it didn't make any.Several gun-wielding guys appear throughout the film; first crew members and later navy SEALS. They lack established personality meaning they serve no purpose but to add to the body count.

jbartelone There is really nothing new about this Sci-Fi horror movie. Basically, a creature known as a Chupacaba, which resembles a large lizard and ugly dog, is smuggled onto a cruise ship. Interestingly, this animal in real life has been debated as to its origins. Some say it is urban legend, some say it is an extremely rare mammal know as a carnivore that preys on warm blooded mammals. You decide what to believe.This story is predictable. This Chupacaba is about five times normal size with a lust for human flesh. It escapes on the ship, putting crew and passengers in danger. A scientist specializing in Cryptozoology wants to trap the creature, but to keep it alive for research studies. Everyone else wants it dead.The movie is very low-budget and has almost a cheesy MTV feel to it. There is plenty of violence and gore when the Chupacaba kills. However, what makes this movie bearable to watch is there is good suspense and momentum throughout most of the picture. Watch for the role of the ship's Captain. He is amazing good and professional in this movie, with a certain flair of sophistication that you would not expect from a B-grade movie such as this. His acting and the suspense on the ship maintained my interest.The special effects are also better than expected. Chupacabra Terror, while no horror classic, has enough good elements for a once around Friday or Saturday night popcorn suspense movie when nothing else is worth seeing during the time it is showing. Under these conditions, give it a view. You will generally find it on either the Sci-Fi or Chiller channel.

Scarecrow-88 A scientist, Dr. Peña(Giancaro Esposito)is able to succeed in capturing a seemingly uncatalogued creature(..costing the lives of many hired hunters in the process), and, in turn, able to successfully board it in the cargo hold of Captain Randolph's(John Rhys-Davies)cruise ship. A detective, Lance(Dylan Neal)is brought on board the ship to uncover a thief who was able to unlock a safe, removing cash within it. Through a very unfortunate decision made by the cargo workers who loaded the crate carrying the chupacabra creature(..a vicious, impressively fast, flesh-eating beast which resembles a giant bat, with an exoskeleton shielding it's body from bullets), it is released onto the ship and it's crew. Capt Randolph and Lance will find themselves, instead of focusing on a thief, in a whole heap of trouble as the chupacabra creature goes on a deadly rampage, attacking innocents in a violent fury, as the lives of an entire cruise are in perilous danger. Randolph, after his own men, despite the heavy arsenal at their disposal, are taken apart as the chupacabra beast moves from deck to deck, room to room, will have to call in the calvary, a commando unit sent in by a military base in close proximity. Commander Link(Matthew R Anderson)will not only take control of the cruise ship, but order Randolph and everyone aboard to vacate so that he and his men can kill the chupacabra..but, Link has no idea what terror lies in wait for he and his men. Meanwhile, Dr. Peña will undermine Randolph and Lance as often as possible because of his obsession to not only keep the chupacabra alive, but to prove it's existence to his colleagues and peers who dismissed his theories about such a beast. Adding to their worries is the safety of Randolph's daughter, Jenny(Chelan Simmons, a blonde, freckled cutie with a nice rack), an aerobics instructor who never seems to be able to escape from the ship, despite daddy's demands that she remain safe from harm.Passable Sci-fi channel monster movie, has enough carnage to keep it fun, despite it's derivative and predictable nature. Solid cast also keep it afloat. So often, as is the case with these movies, it borders on the routine. You have the three leads with an ability to survive while Randolph and Link's men are fodder for the beast who moves really fast and explodes out of nowhere, popping up from every corner, moving through ducts, and able to escape certain capture thanks to Dr. Peña. Despite a troop of soldiers, unable to remain alive very long when confronted by the beast, Jenny is able to kickbox the monster! Veteran character actor, Rhys-Davies lends a great deal of class to the film, his character is recognized as a hero who saved Lance's outfit in Operation Desert Storm..his camaraderie with Neal(Lance)is also a plus for the film. As you'd expect many of the victims make stupid mistakes(..like a wealthy widow rejecting curfew orders to walk her dog, the thief constantly returning for his dufflebag of stolen loot despite knowing what dangers are in store, a cruise cook walking blindly into terror after disobeying his friend's advice not to follow a mysterious/ominous sound)and are lunch for the beast, while, as I mentioned before, others have no prayer of surviving because they are written specifically in the film to be torn limb from limb. The gore is often made through, startling enough, practical effects(..make-up displaying torn flesh, one poor fellow finding the lower half of his body gone, fondling visible intestines)with limited uses of CGI. Often, director John Shepphird forgoes showing the nasty flesh-eating, as the chupacabra attacks it's prey, merely showing blood streaking across walls. Still, I think there's enough graphic violence to satisfy.

julian kennedy Chupacabra Terror: 2/10: It was the Navy Seal team that tipped the balance from bad cheesy movie to just bad. Up till then there was a lot of bad movie baggage but the Seals… They are wearing bicycle helmets painted black. You know the ones with air holes that make every adult who wears them look like a complete tool. Of course the bass fishing boat they took to greet the cruise ship might have been another clue (it wouldn't make it across Tampa Bay let alone an ocean)… and their tactics wouldn't pass muster on an 3rd rate XBOX game.Does director John Shepphird have photos of John Rhys-Davies in a compromising position with a Hobbit? Because I can't think of any other reason he would be in this movie. The other actors have a great excuse. They are talentless unattractive hacks that couldn't get hired for an infomercial. The plot is that two men try to smuggle the mythical Chupacabra (Love saying that name) aboard a cruise ship and it gets loose.The sets consist of horrible cruise ship fakery (complete with airshafts the size of a small apartment), the monster killings are bottom of the barrel, there is no nudity, and a lot of really bad actors refuse to finish their death scenes. Of particular annoyance is a gigolo character from a 60's Doris Day movie.The cast bleeds ketchup while the Chupacabra bleeds day green glow in the dark blood. (Why a goat eating Mexican mammal would bleed anything but red is beyond me.)Every B movie has a tipping point that makes it a fun time (Hey it's a lesbian shower scene, OMG that guy just ate is own eyeballs) or not so fun (Did they just call those forty something overweight guys wearing coveralls and bicycle helmets Navy Seals?) Chupacabra falls into the not so fun B movie side with a thud.