User Reviews

I watched Ravager once when it came available on video. Didn't think too much of it, "kind of boring" I remember. But with this re-watch (now knowing not to expect an action filled sci-fi gorefest), I have to conclude it's actually not that bad. For one thing, the film keeps things consistent (in terms of characters & setting). The story is simple: a cargo craft with some civilians crashes on a deserted island. This island happens to be the storage place of nuclear waste material. While in search for precious raw materials to repair their ship, the crew members stumble upon classified canisters containing the "Ravager" bacteria. Of course, one of the things starts leaking and infects a crew member. Once infected, you become all rabid & blistery, gain great strength while somehow still retaining some form of intelligence. The film starts off fine, especially with presenting us some at least mildly interesting passengers (with a brief background), each having their own reason to be on this flight. But sadly, not all of those characters are developed very well (some of them are merely established and never developed at all). Bruce Payne & Yancy Butler are the capable leads in this flick (both their characters bringing their own history to the game). Juliet Landau's character (a clone) at times strikes a philosophical note similar to the way those replicants in "Blade Runner" did, so at least that was a nice touch. Sadly, somewhere around the mid-part, the film looses a lot of steam. Near the end, they pick things up again with a fight for survival between the remaining crew members and those infected. The CGI sfx of vehicles, space crafts & landscapes are amusing to watch. It all looks fake, obviously, but it also looks like it was the best they could do with their modest budgetary means. So no harm done and in the end "Ravager" turned out an okay way to pass 90 minutes.

good sci-fi if you you're a sci-fi fanatic. movie starts out with 7 people embarking on a 8 hr. flight from U.S. to Asia in the near future aboard a near space altitude ship.... this wore out ship soon crashes in a wasteland near an old dumpsite for the "ravager" bio-weapon cannisters... one crew member is exposed to the virus(duh...what else?) in a small quake.and becomes sort of a zombie...old story line here....with the single minded intent of passing the virus to others.... why??..of course the virus must have a mind of its own...well 2 of the 7 manage to escape at the end...probably exposed the virus...headed for civilization like they're home free...maybe a sequel is in store this time with a large population exposed to make things interesting..

Why is Bruce Payne given top billing over Yancy Butler, when she's more well known and her character is centered? What is with Payne's hair in this movie, resembling a Ken doll? Why was the opening scene, poorly shot and uninformative as it's interspersed with the opening credits, deemed necessary? We're quickly given background information on each character, but this rather comes across as the type of film in which such exposition is an intended substitute for lacking (though not absent) plot as action and violence ensues for which any sense of narrative is mostly just a perfunctory vehicle. Thusly straightforward in introducing the characters, why does this actively feign subtlety in regards to one? Suspension of disbelief is an inherent requirement for engaging with any work of fiction, and little threatens it more than an unwieldy kluge of presuppositions and conceits that viewers must accept as the basis for a story. 'Ravager' rides a line in the first third of its length just to get us to the bulk of the film to come.

If one can accept the set-up at face value, and look past those rough edges, this is modestly enjoyable. It also, however, never really achieves any particular heights that could help to elevate it to another level. Ostensibly sci-fi horror, the latter element is largely more suggested or thematic than it is actual, until the last twenty minutes or so; beyond the first third even the former is pushed aside as 'Ravager' becomes, for a fair portion of its length, a quiet, pensive, almost existential exploration of bleak desperation. There's nothing inherently wrong with such an approach, and in fact I like it on paper - but the feature is also unfortunately generally much too heavy-handed to completely sell itself. Shaky cam, "'Star Trek' shimmies," dialogue, scene writing, characterizations, direction, and editing - pretty much every aspect of the production is bereft of the nuance, the delicate touch, that would make the dramatic weight and the violent horror both more impactful. This is subsequently felt as well in the cast's performances; there are at least a few recognizable names or faces here of known skill, but in this case their acting comes off as dulled, forced, less than natural. In the inelegance of the presentation, 'Ravager' rather impresses as what could theoretically be a standalone TV movie set in the universe of some expansive sci-fi series, including the establishment of several Big Ideas the series might explore, only without identifying insignia and with more abject violence.

The production design and art direction are quite fine generally; costume design, hair and makeup, blood and gore, and props all look good. In terms of post-production visuals it's clear that the budget was devoted mostly to exterior shots of the ship. That's not a bad place for resources to go, yet would that more had also been devoted to active CGI elements like fire (you'll know it when you see it). I think cast and crew alike performed admirably, and filmmaker James D. Deck's writing and direction are technically sound - only, the picture has two left feet (they're both on backwards), and nothing of import seems especially polished. What we have, then, is an awkward assemblage for exposition that leads to a story built on some good, worthy ideas, yet those ideas are overabundant here and don't necessarily fit together well in the same feature. Taken together with the overall lack of finesse, 'Ravager' ultimately does provide suitable entertainment, in my opinion, though it's not of a majorly robust level. With more mindfulness (and perhaps a larger budget that would have allowed more time and opportunity to get it right) this could have been noticeably better. Still, it's not half bad; recommendable mostly for fans of the cast, this is a passable genre flick for a lazy day.

Very poor special fx (surely made by 1 person in his garage on his PC during a 1 week vacancy), catastrophic storyline (zombie, spaceship, nice chick, and a bit of this ravaging liquid ...), under the ground decoration (surely they filmed in the garden of the guy who did the special FX), and bad acting !

Well this is a must see, because you'll never see anything as bad as this film. If your video renter can provide you this film, don't hesistate to rent a second one to watch after this one. I've had a big big laugh watching it with friends, but be careful because I don't think this film was supposed to be comic.