Imagine my surprise when a film called The Invisible Raptor appeared on my radar. That’s a low-budget schlocker title if I’ve ever heard one, instantly recalling a series of frankly terrible direct-to-video Roger Corman movies past the era when DTV could still be mined for B-movie gold.
What drew my attention was the inclusion of folks like Sean Astin and Vanessa Chester on the cast list. My eyes lit up instantly and when it was clear that Chester was doing press for it, I offered her a spot on The Spiel, my new podcast created by me and my Kingcast co-host Scott Wampler before he passed away, she accepted, and then came watching the movie.
To my great delight, The Invisible Raptor turned out to be totally different than the admittedly eye-catching title suggested it would be. Instead of a DIY horror film, it turns out The Invisible Raptor is more like a parody of Steven Spielberg’s filmography in the vein of the Scary Movie films. It’s raunchy and gory, yes, but also funny and filled to the brim with Easter Eggs for anybody who knows and loves Spielberg’s films.
Now, I am an expert on Spielberg. You know this because how else could I possibly have a podcast about it? That’s as good as a degree in Spielbergology from Harvard. I don’t expect everybody to catch every Spielberg nod in this film, but never fear. I have a list of of all the Easter Eggs and references for you here. Be warned, there will be some spoilers for the movie below.
THE CAST
The biggest nods are the cameos. I mentioned Vanessa Chester, the actress who played Ian Malcolm’s daughter in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. She’s back here as a DJ at a house party (DJ Malcolm, naturally), and she pumps up the crowd by shouting, “Hey, you! Let’s kick it!” “Hey, you!” is what she shouts at the raptor in The Lost World before kicking it out a window.
Dante Basco (Rufio from Hook) also has a cameo appearance where he’s being arrested and declaring how he’ll never grow up.
But the biggest and most obvious is Sean Astin, who starts the movie as one of the scientists who created the Invisible Raptor. Astin himself is a big Spielberg nod. He is the leader of The Goonies, after all. But that’s not where the references stop.
His character is named Willy and, sad to say, he ends up losing an eye when the Invisible Raptor escapes, making… all together now… One-Eyed Willy. They even give him an inhaler, like in The Goonies.
DIALOGUE, WARDROBE, AND PILES OF SHIT, OH MY!
A lot of the remaining Easter Eggs are baked into the story. So, the plot of the movie is that a genetically engineered invisible raptor escapes from the lab and makes its way to a museum for a little R&R and some snacks in the form of pets and small children.
At the museum, we meet the main character, a screw-up Paleontologist named Dr. Grant Walker, played by Mike Capes, who is indeed dressed up as Alan Grant, the Sam Neill character from the Jurassic Park films.
One of the kids on a field trip at the museum is named Elliot and dressed up in that very familiar red hoodie. He even has a line about his father being in Mexico with Sally, a direct hat tip to ET. Also, his last name is Kintner. I knew this kid wasn’t going to be in the movie for long when I saw that name and my fellow Jaws nerds know why.
Alex Kintner was the boy who gets chomped by the shark in the first act of Jaws and sure enough, little Elliot Kintner is eaten by the invisible raptor (after trying to befriend him like ET, leaving a trail of candy up to his room) and turned into a THIRD Spielberg nod and crucial plot point: a big pile of shit that one of the characters searches through, yet another Jurassic Park nod.
All this is happening in “Spielburgh County.” We see a map of it at one point, and that county is in the shape of Spielberg’s face.
Characters wear familiar wardrobe, from Caitlin McHugh’s Amber dressed up like Laura Dern in Jurassic Park, Elliot Kintner donning Henry Thomas’s hoodie from ET, to Sean Astin wearing Wayne Knight’s Hawaiian shirt from Jurassic Park.
There are lines you’ll catch from all of Spielberg’s blockbusters (and even some from the work of Spielberg’s bestie, George Lucas) and images that are forever burned into our brains, like the Jurassic Park banner falling to the ground or the iconic Devil’s Tower from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that pop up throughout this movie, elevating it beyond just a simple gorefest about an invisible dinosaur eating its way through a small town.
I want to end by pointing out one of my favorite little moments. In order to be able to see this invisible dinosaur (a very convenient premise for a movie with a limited budget, I must admit), the trio of hunters attach a balloon to it, much like Quint, Brody, and Hooper attach a bright yellow barrel to the shark in Jaws.
I’m not going to pretend The Invisible Raptor is high art, but it’s also more than just a string of Spielberg references on top of a gorefest. You can tell that writers Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham have a deep love of these movies and look for fun ways to layer in these Easter Eggs.
These were my favorites, and I’ve left a few others for you to discover yourself.
The Invisible Raptor is now available on VOD, watch the trailer below.
