Maneater (2009)

Too much of everything

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A troubled policeman and his teenage daughter find that the rash of mysterious deaths in the small town they live to move on from a personal tragedy is caused by a marauding Indian spirit and race to stop it before it consumes more in the town.A lot better than what it sounds like, though there's still some big flaws in here, mainly in the quick-cut editing that keeps the action really hard to make out and a lot of problems with the story, like keeping the father/daughter interactions more rooted in a Lifetime drama and basically shoe-horning the monster into the finale for a brief, barely-worthwhile encounter as well as keeping them off-screen and really mysterious as far as their behavior and motivations are concerned, but it's all made up for with a fantastic creature when we see it, tons of gore and lots of nudity, as well as a really worthwhile tactic of keeping their appearances limited to emerging from fog-shrouded tree-lines, so it's attacks have some atmosphere to work with. Far, far better than it should be, but still with some flaws.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, sex scenes and drug use

I probably wouldn't recommend this for general moviegoers, but this is an above-average production from the world of low-budget horror which displays some genuine effort and a refreshing level of creativity. The monster is an unusual one, drawn from Indian folklore and given an interesting motivation, with a grisly appearance that is used sparingly but to impressive effect. The mystery behind the killings includes a number of red herrings, and the ultimate revelation is the most sensible one. The plot isn't air tight, but this is fantasy, and overall the script is rather well-constructed compared to your typical genre entry. Acting quality varies, with star Dean Cain as the standout. Cain plays the troubled small-town police chief with conviction and makes the character's inner struggle not only believable but involving. The rest of the cast is good enough, though the story does suffer a bit due to several of the main characters frankly not being very likable, despite the fact I think the scriptwriter took some paints to make them more than the typical monster fodder. The director does well by emphasizing the eerie forest where several of the killings take place, creating several highly atmospheric moments. The climax could have been amped up a bit, but it still brings everything to a satisfying conclusion. An epilogue leaves an opening for a sequel which will probably never come, and while this is as bad an idea here as it always is it's not enough to spoil the rest of the picture. Maneater may not be the next horror classic, but it's not bad, and in many respects outshines most of its competitors. Fans of the genre who can appreciate this type of movie's strengths and forgive its minor weaknesses should enjoy it.

When I picked up this movie, I had no idea what it was about, or who was in it. I saw the DVD cover and decided to give it a go."Maneater" wasn't actually all that bad. It was, however, fairly mediocre, sad to say. There was nothing really unique that stood out in this movie.It is about an native American Indian legendary creature called Wendigo. It supposedly drags off the impure, sinners and bad people and kill them. I am not personally familiar with the legend of the Wendigo, so I had no expectations for this storyline. And I found it to be adequate enough, just interesting enough to still be entertaining.The effects in "Maneater" were alright as well, not top notch CGI and special effects, but still, they were working out well enough. However, the Wendigo itself sort of reminded me a bit of the Crypt Keeper from "Tales from the Crypt", though with odd glowing eyes. So it left me sort of in a dilemma; was this Wendigo undead or just some sort of creature?Initially when I saw Dean Cain in the lead role, I sort of though this would be bad, as I am (clearly) not a fan of his work. But he actually did alright in "Maneater", and it is great to see he have finally shed that "Louis and Clark" mantle."Maneater" wasn't really particularly scary, so if you are in this for a scary movie, then this might not be the ideal choice. The story is alright, but there are far better horror movies available. Having seen this movie now, I somehow feel like it was meant as a TV movie.

"We got a thing, a people may be dead thing." After a brutal murder takes place Sheriff Bailey (Cain) is called to investigate. After his dreams become more and more real he wonders if they hold the key to solving the crime. This movie has a combination of many ideas from other movies, and when put together in this movie...none of them really work. This is pretty much a movie that has talking in between the sex, nudity and gore. The acting is not that impressive, and the effects are pretty low budget. The overall idea is that there is a serial killer on the loose and going after people while they are having sex, because when the killer watches, only then can it turn into the killing form. I'm not kidding. Overall, not a very good movie, but when Dean Cain is the biggest name they can get the expectations are a little lower. Overall, there have been worse horror movies that have come out, but not many. I give it a C-.Would I watch again? - Nope.*Also try - Mask Maker