film as "convoluted, obtuse and eventually nonsensical" and undermined by its creature models. Variety'''s Leonard Klady compared Carnosaur to B movie creature films released in the 1950s and surmised it was "destined for a quick trip to the tar pits of video shelves and cable screenings". The Los Angeles Times contributor Kevin Thomas remarked that the film takes itself too seriously and, with consideration to its modest budget, opined that "technically, Carnosaur, looks good, and to its credit, it has a refreshingly cynical finish". In the Deseret News, Chris Hicks wrote that the film could have been "campy and fun" had it not been for its slow pacing and gore. Roger Ebert named it as the worst film he saw in 1993, but Gene Siskel liked the movie and gave it a thumbs-up on their show (ironically, Roger also liked Gene's pick for the worst 1993 movie, Cop and a Half). On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 11% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 3.22/10. Scott Meslow of The Week called Carnosaur bold for inviting comparisons to Jurassic Park, despite its limitations; he described the film as a "cheaper, stupider, bloodier, crazier" version of Jurassic Park. AllMovies Brian J. Dillard wrote the effects were poor, but enjoyable, while Daniel Dockery of Syfy felt that Buechler's work and creature designs were underrated. A review in TV Guide described Carnosaur as "a low-budget attempt to cash in on the success of an expensive studio film", but still thought the screenplay was cleverly written. Sequels and spin-offs Carnosaur 2 was filmed and released in 1994. Buechler returned to work on the film and reused the creature models from the original: "They're the same dinosaurs. They're just shot the way they were designed to be shot", he explained. Carnosaur 2 is considered to be an improvement over the original, both in its cinematography and special effects. A second sequel was released in 1996, Carnosaur 3: Primal Species. Two spin-off films, Raptor and The Eden Formula, were released in 2001 and 2006, respectively. References Bibliography External links 1993 films 1993 horror films 1990s science fiction horror films American science fiction horror films American splatter films Films about genetic engineering Films about dinosaurs Films based on Australian novels Films based on science fiction novels Mad scientist films 1990s monster movies Films based on urban legends American monster movies Mockbuster