NEW Ogre (DVD)

The Sci Fi Channel has taken it upon themselves to create the equivalent of the good old drive-in, Monster Of The Week event. Even though most of the viewers don't remember such things that is exactly what these flicks are. Cheep CGI has replaced cheep rubber suits or the rare Harryhausen spectacles. Now impossible monsters like the Ogre, Cyclops, and Basilisk are reviving the good old "monster movie".It's not about acting; that helps. It's not about plot. At least not original plots. It's all about 21st Century 91 minute comic books. "Show me the Monster!!!! Bring on ithe impossible stuff!"
Man against monster is the stuff of cave paintings. And that is why they are a guilty, or shameless pleasure and always have been ever since Edison first screened his version of Frankenstien in 1919.
If you cann't have fun with this stuff, change the channel and keep your crabby attitude to yourself.
Every Saturday when another one of these shows up, Forry Ackerman must smile down from some odd little spot in Heaven where plastic vampire fangs,black capes, scaley skin, and roaring dinosaurs are the norm.
Imagination and legend is not about blood, gore, and sadists with sharp edges. Mythos is not about space ships. It's about good and evil and the power of selfless courage against impossible odds. There is nothing more heroic than man against monster.
We all have to age. But if "growing up" means abandoning imagination and fun, day dreaming and creating, I totally refuse. As a life long sculptor, this has served me very well. Fun is mandatory.
JPF

These 1-Star reviews are hilarious. What were these people expecting, "Citizen Kane"? An award-winning film? Look at the dvd cover and the name of the film "Ogre." Why would anyone even waste their time on a flick like this if they didn't at least embrace them as guilty pleasures?

Directed by Steven Monroe and written by Chuck Reeves, 2008's "Ogre" is a low-budget tv monster flick in the manner of "It Waits," "Sasquatch Hunters" and countless other Syfy movies. These films are the modern counterpart to the low-budget creature features of decades ago like "Gargoyles" (1972), "Prophecy" (1979) and the Kolchak: The Night Stalker films/tv series. You either enjoy these types of pictures or you don't. I do. As reviewer John Patrick Fischner so perfectly puts it: "Imagination and legend is... about good and evil and the power of selfless courage against impossible odds. There is nothing more heroic than man against monster."

THE PLOT: Four youths hike into rural Pennsylvania looking for a legendary lost town and are amazed when they actually find it. The town's inhabitants are still stuck in the 19th century and living in dread of a hideous creature to whom they must sacrifice one of their own once a year. Adventure and horror ensue.

Most viewers will note that the story is a mishmash of numerous other films like "The Village (Widescreen Vista Series)," "Bay Cove" (i.e. "Bay Coven"), "The Blair Witch Project" and various other monster-in-the-woods flicks.

Although this is essentially a serious story the film naturally pokes fun at the whole notion of an ogre. The youths take it as a joke and so do the cops; my wife and I cracked up numerous times and so will you. It's just really hard to hear or say the word 'ogre' without giggling. Be that as it may, the joke stops when the creature literally starts ripping people's heads, legs, and arms off. Of course, some people may continue laughing, but that's all part of the enjoyment.

"Ogre" no doubt tried to capitalize on the surge in popularity of ogres with the success of the Shrek: The Whole Story Boxed Set (Shrek / Shrek 2 / Shrek the Third / Shrek Forever After) franchise. In fact, the beast in the film even resembles Shrek, albeit less cartooney and more malevolent-looking. Another comparison would be the cgi Hulk in Ang Lee's notorious 2003 Hulk (Widescreen 2-Disc Special Edition); the ogre here sorta looks like that Hulk's homely brother, if you can imagine that. Interestingly, unlike other monster flicks you'll fully see the creature right from the get-go. Although this destroys suspense it didn't personally bother me (as I don't like it when films play out the same way all the time).

Believe it or not, John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard fame is on hand as one of the main characters and he does a fine job. He also looks great for being nigh 50 years-old. I don't get why people poke fun at him being in the film. So he played Bo Duke, so what?

Other cast highlights include Chelan Simmons who plays one of the two female protagonists. Chelan is one of the cutest freckled blonds you'll ever gaze your eyes upon next to Juliana Dever of "Sasquatch Hunters." Chelan also starred in "Chupacabra Terror." She has a very winsome disposition. Also on hand is Katharine Isabelle of "Ginger Snaps" fame. Both of these cuties have significant roles here.

Although the story takes place in Pennsylvania the film was shot in the sticks outside of Vancouver, BC. It's a good stand-in for PA except for one shot with a mountain in the background (the mountains of Pennsylvania are roundish ridges and look nothing like the mountains of the Great Northwest). Anyway, it's obvious the film was shot in the late Autumn; it has the cold/dreary Fall vibe throughout.

FINAL WORD: My wife and I had a fun time with this monster flick and so will you if it sounds like it'll trip your trigger.

GRADE: Borderline B- or C+

The film runs 90 minutes.

Syfy movies are tricky things. They are usually made to capitalize on a trend, or to optimize searches on Google, or to confuse grandmas who are Christmas shopping for their grandchildren. It pays to be derivative, especially if the budget is relatively small, like so many Syfy movies are.

Once the original inspiration has faded, it's easy to forget why the movie was made in the first place. Ogres have been long a part of folklore before they were associated with being green and disgusting. And there's the rub - Ogre was inspired by Shrek.

That's right, Shrek. As evidenced by its tagline: No Donkey. No Fairy Tale. Just TERROR.

I have to agree. When I watched Shrek I kept thinking: You know what this movie needs? An ogre that eats people. A plague. And immortal 1800s-style Puritans who believe in magic.

You might think that a movie about a man-eating ogre would be set in a time when people believed in such things. That's part of Ogre's charm - it utterly defies expectations because, hey, what has it got to lose?

Although this movie is superficially about a CGI ogre, the similarities between Shrek and Ogre end there. Other films might explore the same themes of timeless puritanical villages (The Village) and being lost in the woods in modern times (The Blair Witch Project), but Ogre has more high-minded fare in mind. Its inspiration is Shirley Jackson's The Lottery.

Published in The New Yorker in 1948, The Lottery is about a town that follows a tradition long since abandoned by the civilized in keeping the crops fertile - whoever draws the short straw gets stoned to death.

And just like The Lottery, Ogre follows the travails of a Puritanical town that made a deal with the devil, pledging a sacrifice each year for eternal life. Unfortunately this is a modern tale, because every Syfy movie has to have a couple of meddling kids. Said meddling kids muck everything up. They're so inconsequential to the story that they could have all died (and nearly all do) and Ogre would be no worse the wear.

Throughout Ogre winds a lot of talk without use of contractions, simple townsfolk dressed in plain garb, and the nagging question that a two hundred year-old magical town hasn't managed to evolve beyond flintlocks. But then a giant fat guy with sharp teeth comes shuffling into view and all is forgiven - this is, after all, a movie about an ogre.

Just not the cute green kind.