Rent The Dinosaur Project (2012)

Hugely Enjoyable 'Mockumentary' about Finding Dinosaurs in Modern-day Congo. I LOVED it. - The Dinosaur Project review by PV

I only recently found out about this 2012 film so rented it out - and what a joy! It's a story about a documentary crew going into the Congo jungle to search for a reported creature in the rivers, but find much more (no spoilers).

This uses the technique of a found documentary film, like BLAIR WITCH or CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and others, to great effect - the hand-held video footage brings the action closer somehow and gives it stronger flavour of realism.

But the characters and plot are believable too - yes, some may be two-dimensional tropes and even stereotypes, but so what? People do behave like stereotypes, and that is why they exist in the first place: they are based on truth.

The CGI effects are great, and totally believable. A nice selection of creatures and some genuinely scary moments.

This movie is SO watchable - I was glued to the screen.

True, I am as much a lover of dinosaur movies as I am a hater or superhero blockbusters, but even though, I have seen some pretty dire dinosaur films and this is up there in the top 10 of all time, maybe even top 5. A shame there is no sequel.

Shot in South Africa, though I am unsure how much the spectacular landscapes are real or CGI, or probably a combination of both.

5 stars. I could watch it all again now.