IT WAITS

By: Brian Thomas
Review Date: Friday, May 19, 2006

A few years back, this monster vs. forest ranger adventure was in preproduction as a vehicle for action star Dolph Lundgren (THE PUNISHER) to be filmed in Europe, but when that didn't work out, the script was retooled. Ranger Mike St. Claire became Danielle St. Claire, and former yellow Power Ranger Cerina Vincent, the sexy star of CABIN FEVER and the upcoming 7 MUMMIES, was cast in the lead, and shooting began in British Columbia, taking advantage of the beautiful mountain scenery. That's the good news. The bad news is that most of the film's tension gets drained away by unnecessary distractions and padding.

Setting up the story, a team of anthropologists break into a cave that turns out to be a holding cell for a vicious and seemingly immortal 8-foot humanoid monster that slaughters the entire party. Excited? Well, try to hold onto that feeling, as the viewer is apparently the IT that WAITS to get back to the plot as the movie spends the next 25 minutes on psychodrama. Forest ranger Danny (Vincent) is miserable, drinking while on the job hiding out in her watch tower in the deep woods. While the monster was tearing up professors and students, she was in Vegas getting drunk and subsequently getting into a car accident that killed her best friend Julie (Miranda Frigon). She pushes away everyone, including her boyfriend and fellow ranger Justin Rawley (Dominic Zamprogna). Here lone companion is Hoppy, Julie's African Grey parrot. That's right, a goofy bird is there to make sarcastic comments while Danny is being stalked by a demon, sometimes helping out by warning her when the monster is coming. But consider yourself lucky, as according to director Steven R. Monroe (HOUSE OF 9), in the Lundgren version Hoppy would have been an even more unlikely monkey.


Eventually, Danny's grieving is interrupted when the monster comes calling. Everyone else who comes to visit Danny on the mountain is killed by the monster, and the sadistic critter makes things worse by messing with her, digging up the mutilated corpses and leaving them propped up for her to find.

Watching IT WAITS is a frustrating experience. The basic concept is solid, the scenery is wonderful, and Monroe does an excellent job of conveying a sense of real helplessness and isolation, setting up some truly thrilling and suspenseful action and scare scenes. The creature and gore f/x are very well done, and the curvaceous Vincent has a likeable girl-next-door quality that makes her credible even in unlikely situations. But it throws away most of its good will with an overdose of pace-killing drama. There are also some ideas set up that go nowhere. At one point, Danny learns that the monster doesn't like water (in a rainforest?), and much is made of the necessity for her to maintain a damaged dam, but she never thinks to open the dam and flood the creature's cave. She's also given a book about the creature's legend, but though she's struggling to survive, she never bothers to read it. It's a decent ride for monster lovers, but it's these illogical details that bother viewers enough to sink so many promising movies.

Monroe and Vincent deliver a practical commentrak that focuses on scene specific background information. Vincent has generous with praise for her costars (even if she can't pronounce their names), and gives evidence of her professionalism and personality, but has to leave midway to audition for a role on HOUSE. Some of this material is repeated in "Blood on the Pines", a 20-minute Making-Of documentary featurette, but you also get to hear producer Stephen J. Cannell's thoughts on the project, as well as see who was inside the monster suit and get a peek at some behind-the-scenes footage.

Copyright © 2006 Brian Thomas, author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS.
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