Maneater (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maneater | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Gary Yates |
| Produced by | Robert Halmi Sr Robert Halmi Jr Phyllis Laing Gilles Paquin Michael J. Taylor |
| Written by | Philip Morton |
| Starring | Gary Busey Ty Wood Ian D. Clark |
| Music by | Glenn Buhr |
| Cinematography | Peter Benison |
| Editing by | Jeff Warren |
| Distributed by | RHI Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | September 8, 2007 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Maneater a 2007 made-for-television Sci Fi Pictures original film starring Gary Busey and Ty Wood. Produced by RHI Entertainment, it is third film in the "Maneater Film Series", which also includes Blood Monkey and Grizzly Rage. Based on Jack Warner's novel Shikar, the film details the killing spree of an escaped Bengal Tiger after it gets loose in small town along the Appalachian Trail. Trying to stop it are Sheriff Barnes (Busey) and big game hunter Colonel Graham (Clark), while a young boy named Roy who has a strange connection to the tiger tries to save it.
The film first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on September 8, 2007 and was released to DVD on January 8, 2008 by Genius Entertainment.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A young man disappears while out jogging along the Appalachian Trail with his friend. While they are out searching for him, the police get a second missing person report, for semi-hermit who rarely leaves his home. Sheriff Grady Barnes (Busey), spots a drag trail and follows it to find parts of the mans body in the woods. That night, a young boy, Roy Satterly (Wood), is reading by flashlight when a bengal tiger briefly appears in front of his window. In the morning, his mother finds him sleepwalking in the woods in front of the house. Using a cast taken from the scene of the hermit's death, the Sheriff Barnes learns he was killed by a tiger. Sheriff Barnes holds a press conference instead and warns people not to go out alone and to stay instead as much as possible. Mayor Hunt (Taylor) is furious and demands the situation be handled more quietly because of the upcoming town Apple Festival. That night, the tiger again goes to Roy's house to lay outside his window.
After a tabloid paper offers a $10,000 reward for the tiger, the Sheriff makes it illegal to go in the woods as the town is inundated with hunters and reporters. After briefly visiting a friend'ss house, Roy is running home when he runs in front of the Sheriff's car. He and Deputy Sharon Weinman (Constible) chase after him, but instead find the remains of a tabloid photographer. A picture of the tiger taken by the photographer before he died makes the front page of the news and the governor calls in the National Guard. The Sheriff later goes to talk to Roy, warning him to stay out of the woods until the soldiers kill the tiger, then drives the boy home and warns his mother Rose (Stephenson Kerr) as well. After he leaves, Rose chastises Roy for telling lies to the Sheriff. Because they have no television or phone, she doesn't know about the tiger and thinks Roy was making believe again.
Six National Guardsmen arrive, led by Sergent Winshiser (Paunovic), as does Colonel James Livingston Graham (Clark), a big game hunter who read about the tiger in England. The Guardsmen go into the woods. They do not find the tiger, but one of the men is killed by the tiger without a sound. Graham explains how and helps them find the body. Later, Weinman and Deputy Ezra Hundt (Thordarson), find an empty National Guard truck. Weinman finds one of the guardsmen, shot accidentally by his partner during the tiger attack. Weinman hears Hundt blowing the horn, but when she returns to the car the front seat is soaked in blood and Hundt is dead. In the woods, Roy runs into Graham who talks to him about the tiger coming to his window. Graham tells him where tigers came from and a legend that says a young boy who was badly wiped ran into the woods and in his rage became the first tiger. Roy tells him that he dreams he is a tiger. Roy asks if he will kill the tiger, and Graham says yes, because the tiger is killing people and must be stopped. They part ways with a handshake.
Graham continues on to the scene of the empty National Guard truck where he explains how the tiger killed the guardsman and Hundt, who was the mayor's son. At another press conference, reporter Kathy Kurick (Harris) condemns the Sheriff for having Graham as part of the hunt and reveals that Graham was run out of India after failing to kill a tiger who slaughtered 200 people. That night, Graham explains to Barnes what happened in India was beyond his control. Later, Roy runs to Graham's tent after dreaming that the tiger had killed the hunter. Graham walks him to Dugan's General Store where Rose works.
Just as they arrive, the tiger attacks and kills her. Graham and Roy take refuge in the store, but Graham loses sight of Roy. The tiger gets in the building with Graham and attacks him. Barnes arrives, having been alerted by a tripped security alarm. The tiger chases him into the store where he finds Graham's blood trail and hat. Roy calls out to him from under a truck outside. Barnes dives under the truck to shield the boy as the tiger tries to attack them. When the tiger gets in the bed of the truck, they flee to the Sheriff's truck with the tiger in pursuit. While firing at the tiger, the Sheriff hits a gasoline tank, making it explode and killing the tiger. Graham appears from beside the building, bloody but alive.
Graham decides his hunting days are over and returns home. Sheriff Barnes and his wife adopt Roy.
[edit] Cast
- Gary Busey as Sheriff Grady Barnes
- Ty Wood as Roy Satterly
- Jessica Burleson as Eleanor
- Ian D. Clark as Colonel James Livingston Graham
- Sarah Constible as Deputy Sharon Weinman
- Marina Stephenson Kerr as Rose Satterly
- Kristen Harris as Kathy Kurick
- Aleks Paunovic as Sargent Winshiser
- Blake Taylor as Mayor Earl Hundt
- Karl Thordarson as Deputy Ezra Hundt
[edit] Distribution
Maneater premiered on September 8, 2007 on the Sci-Fi channel as its "Movie of the Week" Saturday night premiere.[1] On January 8, 2008, Genius Entertainment released it the film to DVD. It included no extras, a anamorphic widescreen transfer, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.[2]
[edit] Reception
Maneater was generally panned by critics as another of Sci-Fi's cheesy B-movie.[2][3] Matt Paprocki of BlogCritic called it "an appallingly bad creature feature that barely qualifies as such" and wondered if actor Gary Busey agreed to star in the film because he needed "a checking account boost." He notes that the film has several plot holes, introduces subplots that are summarily left unexplored, and features stereotypical characters plagued by bad acting.[2][3]
As much as this movie would like to do for the woods what "Jaws" did for the water, it ultimately inspires more laughter than screams. Like most Sci Fi Channel telefilms, this one is bogged down by simply horrendous writing and nonsensical characters. Nobody in this film comes off as anything more than a broad stereotype, and the cast is not immune to blame. When Gary Busey is headlining a feature, you know you are in trouble. With his ill-fitting suit and incomprehensible facial expressions, he is actually more frightening than the tiger.
—Felix Gonzalez, Jr., DVD Review[2]
The story has all your stereotypes: stupid circus trainer; bible-thumping naysayer; the great white hunter; small-minded mayor; pinheaded press; wise Indian sage; military sorts, and so on. But the most extreme underlying presumption is the aggressiveness of the tiger. Bengal tigers are now highly endangered. The species also has little records of attacking human being. With the destruction of the species' habitat, Bengal tiger is enlisted as endangered species at this point. Some argues that the film is adversely putting the tiger in a negative position.
—Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com[4]
Despite the heavy criticism, Maneater received some praises for being more subdued than most of Sci-Fi's gore-filled creature movies making it relatively family-friendly and for its use of a live tiger instead of bad CGI-effects.[2][3][4] Cinematographer Peter Benison was particularly praised for his excellent use of the limited locations to shooting a visually pleasing film.[4]
Technically, the shot-on-DV movie looks beautiful. Cinematographer Peter Benison definitely knows his frames and angles, while making the most of the limited locations and well-thought out, dense set design. The colors are crisp, and the definition is razor sharp while still remaining flattering enough to the actors' faces.
—Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Maneater. RHI Entertainment. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e Gonzalez, Jr., Felix (2008-01-17). Maneater (2007). DVD Review. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c Paprocki, Matt (2007-09-20). Sci-Fi Channel Original Review: Maneater. BlogCritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Staci Layne (2008-01-06). Maneater (DVD). Horror.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
