Directed by Victor De Almeida (Persephone 2019, Scraps of Paper 2022), Jurassic Triangle, released on February 13, 2024 through Uncork’d Entertainment, recounts the story of a small band of colleagues who are venturing to a Caribbean oasis for a team-building excursion. However, the team’s plans are quickly zapped from recognition, as before the band of professionals reach their destination they are forced off course, thrust into a supernatural portal and stranded on a mysterious and desolate island; their retreat subsequently turns into a gruesome battle for survival.
Drawing inspiration from its Bermudian counterpart, Jurassic Triangle combines strong, snappy dialogue with a cast whose chemistry is apparent from the opening minutes. As the tremors of panic build throughout the first thirty minutes of the film, the small band of isolated travelers find themselves surrounded by creatures of both pre-historic and extra-terrestrial natures. With strong performances by the cast in its entirety, the group is led by the timely levity of Jason (Connor Powles: Mega Lightning 2 2023, The Bad Nun 3 2024), the panic-inducing terror of Phillipa (Chrissie Wunna: DragonFury 2021, Shockwaves 2022), and a modern Benedict Arnold, Captain Rawson (Rob Kirtley: Sorry We Missed You 2019, The Gardener 2021), who headlines as the pilot.
A horrifying tale of isolation, where desperation and survival meet in a vicious head on collision with the fantastical. Desperation enters the film almost immediately upon arrival to the
mysterious island, leading to an immediate sense of terror as the sounds of hell ring out far and wide; with our travelers subjected to fatal ends where all that remains is a deep, red stain on a
gorgeous green carpet of jungle grass.
Additionally, Jurassic Triangle utilizes spectacular scenery to facilitate an ominous and helpless mist that permeates throughout its duration; oozing into dialogue, facial expressions, and fateful decision making that eradicates characters at an almost hiccup-like rate. Traipsing through the jungle, our characters find themselves face to face with not only man-eating dinosaurs, but also a spidery crustacean that uses an omnipotent energy source to explode the unfortunate creatures that fall into its path. An added twist when a paramilitary group emerges from the jungle, hell-bent on utilizing Captain Rawson’s skills as a pilot to lift them back through the portal and theoretically to safe haven. However, this plan quickly spirals out of control and morphs into a human-meat
grinder of epic proportion.
The carnage continues until all the remains of the weary travelers is Beth (Sian Altman: Them 2021, Wolf Garden 2023); left alone next to the pristine body of a Robinson R44 Raven helicopter; having just watched her boyfriend be engulfed by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the characters fall one by one, the perspiration of the audience only grows, slowly building with each hellish screech, each celery stalk-like snap of human bone, and the ra-ta-ta-tat of automatic weapons fire, until the only remaining piece of their seat is the edge clinging to a singular hope that someone, somehow will make it out alive.
At just short of ninety minutes, Jurassic Triangle rips along at a furious pace, with De Almeida utilizing the beautiful setting to juxtapose the brutality that each character is eventually subjected to during their short stay in this mystical jungleland. It becomes quite clear early on that any feelings of hope for the characters is misguided and serves only as a distraction to the cruel reality that eventually extinguishes their lives, one by one. There may not be a happy ending in this one, but the road to misery is a journey that will not easily be forgotten.
Overall, De Almeida dives deep into familiar territory with the “Jurassic” theme, but resurfaces having touched upon a mixture of reality and fantasy that crosses into fresh territory; a success all the way from start to finish. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Jurassic Triangle 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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