''Komodo'' is a 1999 horror

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Michael Lantieri Michael Lantieri (born August 13, 1954) is a special effects supervisor. Lantieri went to school in Los Angeles, California with actor-director Ron Howard with the ambition to work in films as a director, which he had been interested in from a yo ...

. On a holiday with his parents, fifteen-year-old Patrick witnesses them get attacked and killed. The shock prevents Patrick from remembering what happened, and he is assigned to young psychiatrist Victoria Juno for help. Patrick attempts to come to terms with his loss, but when he and his aunt Annie return to the scene, Patrick must face the creature responsible for their demise. The film was released on September 15, 1999.

Plot

During the 1980s a

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

shipment of exotic animals docks at Emerald Isle, North Carolina. A driver transports several animals to another location. During the drive, he notices a distinctive smell and pulls over the van. He presumes a crate of reptilian eggs are rotten and tosses them into the swamp. Nineteen years later, the Connelly family arrives at the island to return to their vacation home though, in recent years, a major oil company has been polluting the local environment. During their stay, Patrick (

Kevin Zegers Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

) and his dog, Buster, encounter a small lizard. In an attempt to catch it, Patrick stays out later than usual and his parents go out looking for him. Patrick heads home after hearing his parents calling, but is attacked by an unseen creature. Barely escaping, he witnesses his family being devoured by the creatures. Patrick survives and is found in a state of shock. Some time later, Patrick's grandmother reaches out to Dr. Victoria Juno (

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series '' Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossin ...

), a young psychiatrist, to help Patrick come to terms with his grief. His aunt Annie (

Nina Landis Nina Landis is an Australian stage and screen actress, who trained in Australia and New York. Her feature film credits include the title role (Rikky) in ''Rikky and Pete'', '' Komodo'', '' Four of a Kind'', '' Handle with Care'', and '' Blackj ...

) is indifferent to Victoria's presence and adamantly against him returning to the island. Victoria, with the grandmother's support, takes Patrick back to the island along with Annie. At the Connellys' old vacation home, Annie is attacked and wounded. While Victoria tends to Annie's wounds, Patrick is awakened by growling and comes downstairs. While in the kitchen, he has a flashback to the attack on his dog and runs to Victoria panicked. When she asks him what he saw, he points behind her to reveal a massive

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...

. Annie is killed by the creature and Victoria and Patrick barely escape, revealing that there are several more dragons. They find the boat captain, Martin, severely injured. Driving frantically, they nearly crash into Oates ( Billy Burke) and his maintenance co-worker Denby (Paul Gleeson), who were sent to kill the reptiles. Oates and Denby tend to Martin, who is succumbing to infection from wounds caused by bacteria in the Komodo's saliva. Oates and Denby call for help from Bracken (

Simon Westaway Simon Westaway (born 22 December 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. He is most remembered as portraying Sergeant Peter "Noddy" Faithful in the crime drama series ''Phoenix'', ...

), the man who sent them to the island to kill the Komodos. Bracken refuses to take them off the island until they kill all the dragons. Patrick runs off into the long grass. Victoria tries to follow, but is pulled back onto the road by Oates. Denby says that Patrick cut out the heart of a Komodo dragon that had previously been killed. The group travel to the oil company office station to seek shelter and get medicine for Martin. He later dies,as well as Denby, who is attacked in another room. Bracken radios Oates and says a helicopter will be coming soon and that the dragons should be all killed by that time. Oates reveals to Victoria that he was a former biologist and his wife a geologist hired by the oil company to survey the environment; in the field, Oates and his wife are separated and he never sees her again. Police believe Oates killed his wife and with no evidence to prove his innocence, Bracken presented Oates with an escape in return for taking care of the Komodo "problem". They head off in search of Patrick at his old hang-out, a filtration center. Separated, Victoria is attacked by one of the Komodos but is saved by Patrick. Patrick runs off again as Victoria is attacked by another Komodo dragon. Meanwhile, Oates is attacked by one of the creatures and manages to kill it; however, he is bitten. He then saves Victoria from the attacking dragon by shooting it. They later find Patrick and Victoria tells him the oil company knew of the Komodos, but covered it up to protect themselves, and that his parents' death was not his fault. Immediately afterwards, one of the remaining Komodos attacks. Oates lures the dragon into leaking oil/gasoline and attempts to kill it by igniting the oil with one of Denby's cigars. The dragon escapes the fire and rushes after Victoria, but she kills it by using a rock to bash part of a broomstick handle into its head that she earlier injured it with. The helicopter finally arrives with Bracken. Oates turns up at the station alive and steals the helicopter to leave Bracken on the island with the creatures. Victoria and Patrick try to make their way back to Martin's boat when another large Komodo dragon tracks them down. However, Oates flies overhead in the helicopter and shoots a flare gun into the Komodo dragon's mouth, incinerating it. They return to the mainland unharmed. While resting on the sidewalk back in town, the sheriff stops to ask them if everything is all right. Patrick responds "Never better".

Cast

as Dr. Victoria Juno * Billy Burke as Oates *

as Patrick Connelly * Michael Edward-Steven as Captain Martin Gris * Paul Gleeson as Denby *

as Aunt Annie *

as Bracken * Bruce Hughes as Mr. Connelly * Jane Conroy as Mrs. Connelly *

Melissa Jaffer Melissa Jaffer (born 1 December 1936) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her stage and television roles, but has also appeared in many films. Career Jaffer started her career in theatre productions in the mid 1950s has made many a ...

as Grandmother * Brian McDermott as Sheriff Gordon *

Nique Needles Cornelius Delaney, formerly known as Nique Needles, is an Australian artist, musician and actor. He currently lives in France where he continues to produce and exhibit paintings, and perform with his group ''Darky Valetta''. Music In 1981 Needle ...

as Hippie

Release

''Komodo'' had a limited theatrical release in summer 1999, with a VHS release in November of the same year. The DVD format of the film followed. The film was distributed by the Eastern limited branch of Scanbox Entertainment, Scanbox Asia Pacific Limited.

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, komodo 1999 films 1999 horror films 1990s science fiction thriller films Australian natural horror films Australian horror thriller films Australian science fiction horror films 1990s science fiction horror films Films scored by John Debney Films about lizards Films about post-traumatic stress disorder Films set on islands Films shot in Brisbane Scanbox Entertainment films Australian monster movies 1990s English-language films