DRAGON WASPS RELEASED ON DVD 17 SEPTEMBER 2012

Reviewed by Robert W. Monk | Released 17 September 2012

With a name like that what could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, as it turns out. This pitifully weak B-movie style offering from genre writer Mark Atkins (Sand Sharks) and director Joe Knee follows short shorts wearing entomologist Gina (Dominika Juillet) and her enthusiastic assistant Rhonda (Nikolette Noel) as they go searching for Gina’s fellow scientist dad in the wilds of Belize’s danger filled rainforest. Along the way they meet a US Army squadron led by John Hammond (sci-fi stalwart Corin Nemec giving the best performance here, but that is not saying much!) and a bunch of vagabonds let by a veritable one-eyed bandit. They also have to contend with the eponymous insects, who appear to have some sort of connection with shady organization Gentech, but could just as easily flown in from a late 90′s computer screen-saver, so clunky is the CGI on display.

So, what’s wrong with that, genre fans may ask? Well, aside from the cheapo effects, trash soap opera acting and a lack of any discernible plot – none of which are necessarily needed in an inventive and fun B-movie – the whole is unforgivably dull.

Far too long is spent on pointless pseudo scientific ‘explanations’, when all the average fan-boy is going to want to see is more of the wasps and/or the girls. One suspects the reason the wasps are used sparingly is that they happen to be the most expensive part of the production (despite looking so cheap!)

All in all, a disappointing movie which is difficult to see the point of. It should have at least been funny, which aside from Hammond tripping on some jungle juice and a giant wasp going through a man’s ear (how?) just isn’t. A film like this would only appeal to its presumed target audience by upping the flesh and violence count. Less Predator and more Sunset Beach goes to the jungle, this is execrable in many, many ways.