After a spectacular CGI car bomb explosion takes the lives of his parents, a priest named Doug (Greg Cohan) travels to China to find himself. Instead of spiritual awakening however Doug instead finds an enchanted Dino tooth that transforms him into a were-velociraptor and teams up with a friendly prostitute (Alyssa Kempinski) to fight crime. For a while Doug is torn, Daredevil like, between the non violent existence of priesthood and bloody street justice, but thankfully his moral conundrum is quickly resolved and Doug faces off against a group of ninjas and an evil pimp named Frankie Mermaid.
The title and premise sets the film deep in the territory of B movie schlock. A love letter to 80s VHS Tat cinema in which every care has been taken to instil a retro feel, it looks like it was shot using film rather than digitally. The camera wheels in and out of focus as it struggles to capture the hilarious overacting of the two leads. The performances of Cohan and Kempinski are reminiscent of John Waters style high camp and their comedic timing is spot on.
Despite the film's deliberate ineptitude Director Bendan Steere can't resist adding genuinely creative flourishes that add style to proceedings, for example, a romance scene turns into a moving collage music video immediately followed by a trouserless ninja fight.
The whole affair leads to a truly silly finale that, due to good pacing, feels earnt. What feels like one man's attempt at improving MIAMI CONNECTION by adding Dinosaurs is elevated through talented filmmaking and fearless self deprication. Any faults the film might have aren't worth talking about as it actively seeks them out and turns them into art form. A good watch for both the dumb fun and the B movie connoisseur crowds.
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