I'm genuinely surprised as to how the other "Theatre of Horror" films have a higher average score than this one. It's self aware, morbidly entertaining, has a meta plot with surprisingly good cinematography and editing. After watching the film I was shocked to see it was directed by Nakamura Yoshihiro (of Fish Story fame). Ikeuchi Mansaku played a good lead role too! Can't say the same for the fake lizard baby!
2 Reviews
Don't lizard's lay eggs?
juliankennedy2326 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Lizard Baby: 2 out of 10: Really bad special effects sink this otherwise pedestrian Japanese television effort. Part of a Masters of Terror anthology series (Complete with overlong pretentious opening credits) Lizard Baby tells the story of a television writer struggling to tell a horror story.
He eventually takes a cue from his pregnant wife's ultrasound and writes a story of a woman giving birth to a frog monster. His own wife's pregnancy follows the same tragic path with "ironic" results. The pacing is to be kind leisurely and any possible scare factor is quickly eliminated by the frog babies in question.
The first one (Our writer's imaginary story within the story frog baby) looks like a Kermit Muppet Baby and is about as frightening. I gave Lizard Baby a pass on this as I assumed the monster was purposely bad for comic effect. The second "real" lizard baby however isn't much better resembling the baby Dinosaur voiced by Kevin Clash from that 1991 TV series Dinosaurs. You remember it had that infectious catch phrase "It's the Baby!". Man I loved that show .
Anyway all possible dramatic tension is basically thrown out the window when this puppet makes its appearance. Spectacular special effects would not have saved either the too obvious by half script or point and shoot direction. Even the acting seems sub par. A true waste of time for both horror fans and fans of Japanese movies.
He eventually takes a cue from his pregnant wife's ultrasound and writes a story of a woman giving birth to a frog monster. His own wife's pregnancy follows the same tragic path with "ironic" results. The pacing is to be kind leisurely and any possible scare factor is quickly eliminated by the frog babies in question.
The first one (Our writer's imaginary story within the story frog baby) looks like a Kermit Muppet Baby and is about as frightening. I gave Lizard Baby a pass on this as I assumed the monster was purposely bad for comic effect. The second "real" lizard baby however isn't much better resembling the baby Dinosaur voiced by Kevin Clash from that 1991 TV series Dinosaurs. You remember it had that infectious catch phrase "It's the Baby!". Man I loved that show .
Anyway all possible dramatic tension is basically thrown out the window when this puppet makes its appearance. Spectacular special effects would not have saved either the too obvious by half script or point and shoot direction. Even the acting seems sub par. A true waste of time for both horror fans and fans of Japanese movies.
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