The film follows a group of American tourists who go to Panama and end up hunted by a Chupacabra like monster. Its a weird hybrid of typical fimmaking techniques as well as found footage ones.
The Mondo's review (slightly abbreviated below) was part of a long post about all of the films he had seen the day this film premiered. (the complete piece can be found here)
I headed to the world premiere screening of horror thriller INDIGENOUS....
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The suspense itself is very physical, involving the vacationers’ trip to a beautiful spot off the beaten path and their encounter with a creature likened to the mythical Chupacabra. A large cue is taken from found footage movies involving lots of panicked, jerky movement and surprise bursts of startling noise. The creature itself is impressive, quick moving, claws and fangs natural extensions of its sinewy body that blood is quite visibly coursing through.
While the director was not able to attend the screening, the young and attractive cast was on hand to discuss the physical demand of acting these scenes out in the actual jungle of Panama – nothing was done in a studio – and ice cold rivers, caves filled with bats’ unsavory leavings, and a very intense Chupacabra were all cited as challenges. ...
My thoughts follow
When INDIGENOUS played at Tribeca word coming out of the screenings was very mixed. Everyone loved the monster but the rest of the film not so much. Some people found the found footage annoying, others hated the main characters and wished they were dead. Opinions not being so great I passed up seeing the film until a later time.
To be honest I'm not sure what I think about the film.
I agree with those that hated the Americans who go into the monsters territory, since they are annoying as all hell and you kind of want them to get eaten. Its kind of hard to like a film when there is no one to root for. I also disliked the the use of found footage in this film largely because it is wildly inconsistent with the POV shifting with in scenes randomly. Which is it, a found footage film or a conventional horror film? The director doesn't seem to know
As a horror film it's got a great monster, some great attack sequences but it isn't all that special. Its a not particularly special horror film that isn't all that far removed from any number of similar films. Its not better nor no worse than than most middle of the road horror films except it has slightly less likable characters.
Admittedly the recent spate of classic or near classic horror films make it hard to let a film like this go by since it could have been better if it had at least picked a film style. I know its not fair to compare unrelated films but recent films have made it hard not to want every film to be more than a bloop single
Should you see it? If you like monster stalk and kill films give it a shot, otherwise you may want to give it a pass.
The film hits VOD December 8
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