Director – Donald F. Glut (The Vampire Hunters Club, The Mummy’s Kiss)
Starring – Jeff Rector (American Horror Story, Star Trek: The Next Generation), William Marshall (Blacula, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse), and Griffin Drew (The Bare Wench Project 2: Scared Topless, Billy Frankenstein)
Release Date – 1996
Rating – 2.5/5
Blu Release – 4/5
I was in elementary school when Jurassic Park hit theaters. I wasn’t able to check it out in theaters but as soon as it hot VHS I was able to snag a copy at K-Mart. This started a small obsession with dinosaurs and it wasn’t long before that love spread over into my love for movies. I was soon religiously watching movies like Adventures in Dinosaur City, Prehysteria, Land of the Lost, and any other dinosaur flick I could find. I still find myself getting excited when I find a dinosaur flick I had never seen before.
A few months back my friends over at Visual Vengeance announced the release of the 1996 sci-fi comedy Dinosaur Valley Girls. This looked like a sleazy good time so I quickly pre-ordered a copy. It was several weeks before the film arrived and once it did I quickly added it to my watch pile.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows failing action star Tony (Rector) who is having weird dreams about beautiful women and dinosaurs. While visiting a museum, he finds an old talisman that he has seen in his dreams. He soon finds himself transported to a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and early man, who we suspect was not around at that time, is trying to survive without becoming dinner. **Spoiler Alert**
I was really excited to check this one out especially when I saw that that there was a PG-13 cut of the film. So, like any curious mind, I watched both versions of the film and neither one of them were for me. It was a cool idea but the execution and diluted scenes made it a tough one for me to finish.
The acting in this one is inconsistent but not bad. Some scenes feature smooth dialogue and dedication to their characters while other scenes have dialogue delivered too fast to understand and absolutely no energy. I have no idea what the shooting schedule was like but it clearly drained the cast at some point.
The story for this one is simple and pretty clever but it loses it’s traction fairly early on. I was all for a failed action star with primitive hotties who hate clothes as they fight dinosaurs. Instead, we get a story that stubbles through it’s run time with nothing really happening.
Finally, the film has some impressive dinosaur props with some decent mechanics. I was not expecting them to look as good as they did. Also, the women are gorgeous as well and their lack of clothes, if you watch the standard cut. Overall, Dinosaur Valley Girls is something I could see playing on USA Up All Night when I was little but it wasn’t a film I particularly enjoyed. It did have it’s moments but it was difficult to finish. With that being said, the release from Visual Vengeance looks good. Collectors will want to snag it but those looking for something new to watch may want to skip it.
Special Features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Remastered, director-supervised SD master from original tape elements
New 2023 Commentary with director Don Glut and C. Courtney Joyner
Archival Commentary with director Don Glut and C. Courtney Joyner
Dinosaur Valley Guy: Interview with director Don Glut (2023)
Don Glut: The Collection – A look inside Don’s legendary dinosaur home museum (2023)
The Making of Dinosaur Valley Girls
Dinosaur Valley Girls – Alternate ‘PG-13’ rated cut
Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Actress Auditions Reel
Dinosaur Tracks – Music Video Reel
Jurassic Punk – Music and Lyrics
Dinosaur Valley Girls – Music and Lyrics
Storyboards
Production Image Galleries
Mu Wang in Mu-Seum
Mu Wang in Danse Prehistoric
Original Promotional Trailer
Visual Vengeance Trailer
Reversible Sleeve Featuring Original home video art
2-sided insert
Folded mini-poster
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS Sticker Set
Optional English subtitles
