Director – Mark Polonia (Four Nights in Fear Forest, Trail Cam Sasquatch)
Starring – Mark Polonia, Maria Davis (Feeders, Peter Rottentail), and Matthew Satterly (Church of the Damned, Night Crawlers)
Release Date – 1994
Rating – 2/5
Blu Release – 4/5
I’ve reviewed several films from Mark Polonia and his late brother John. Some of their films are cult classics that many genre fans adore while others are what I would consider barely watchable. The movies from the pair that I like, I really like, but those that I don’t are extremely difficult to finish.
Over the years I’ve seen dozens of Mark’s films and I always look forward to checking out one I haven’t seen before so I jumped at the chance to see the sci-fi adventure film Saurians from 1994 when my friends at Visual Vengeance asked if I wanted to review. I want to take a moment to thank my VV for sending this one over for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a group of amateur archeologists who find themselves running for their lives when a nearby construction site accidentally unleashes two prehistoric creatures hellbent on eating everything they cross paths with. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into Saurians knowing a little about the film and how it spawned several sequels. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to check any of them out until now. I went into this one very excited to check it out but once the film started rolling I found myself not enjoying it like I would have liked.
The acting in this one is rough around the edges but the cast is dedicated to their roles. I know I often say this with no budget genre flicks when the cast has no experience but it sums up a lot of these films that I review. The cast struggles with their dialogue and the intended emotion that the scene calls for but they are giving it everything they have. I wouldn’t call this the worst acting I’ve seen but a few of the scenes had me laughing with unintentional humor.
The story for this one reminds me a lot of the dinosaur flicks from the drive-in era. We have a group of archeologists who find themselves face to face with the dinosaurs they are hunting the very fossils of. It’s a simply enough story but the slow scenes and tough dialogue makes it difficult to finish.
Finally, the film uses a lot of classic filming techniques that was a little bit of fun but the lack of fun deaths and memorable effects makes it easily forgettable. Overall, Saurians is not the fun no-budget film from Mark Polonia that I was looking forward. I wanted to love it but it just wasn’t for me. I can recommend so many other Visual Vengeance films for you to check out.
Special Features:
New director-approved SD master from original tape elements
Commentary with director Mark Polonia, moderated by the Visual Vengeance crew
The Making of Saurians
Saurians Locations Visit
Actor Todd Carpenter Interview
Kevin Lindenmuth Interview
Saurians Stop Motion Outtakes
Saurians Super 8 Raw Footage
Alternate, never released Rae Don Home Video version of Saurians
Commentary track for Rae Don version with director Mark Polonia, and the Visual Vengeance crew
Bonus Feature Film: The Dinosaur Chronicles (2004)
Commentary track for The Dinosaur Chronicles with director Mark Polonia and the Visual Vengeance crew
The Making of The Dinosaur Chronicles
Saurians Visual Vengeance Trailer
The Dinosaur Chronicles Visual Vengeance Trailer
Saurians 2 Trailer
Visual Vengeance trailers
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS sticker set
Reversible sleeve featuring original Saurians VHS art
Folded mini-poster with alternate vintage promotional art
Optional English subtitles
Limited Edition O-Card – FIRST PRESSING ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
Limited Edition rare, original piece of Super-8 film from the movie – FIRST PRESSING ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
