A hyper-intelligent invisible raptor escapes a lab, wreaking havoc. A disgraced paleontologist, his ex, a crazed security guard, and a chicken farmer must team up to stop the deadly creature before it destroys the town. A film by Mikey Hermosa, starring Mike Capes, David Shackelford, Caitlin McHugh Stamos, Sandy Martin, Bobby Gilchrist, Richard Riehle, Bunny Levine, Larry Hankin and Sean Astin.

At an underground research facility, scientists William “Willie” Walsh (Sean Astin) and John Sykes (Bobby Gilchrist) are conducting an experiment with a hyper-intelligent, invisible raptor named Chance (not to be confused with Chance the Rapper). The test involves Chance selecting the correct colored key to open a door. The results show that Chance successfully chooses the right key, passing the test and earning a rack of ribs as a reward.

Later, John excuses himself from work early, claiming he needs to stop by an old dinosaur museum gift shop off the highway to pick up a belated birthday present for his kid whose birthday was two weeks ago. He asks Willie to cover for him in case their boss, Dr. Tylor, stops by.

After John leaves, Chance outsmarts Willie and uses Willie’s eyeball to bypass the retina scan, escaping the facility. Once outside, Chance hitchhikes on John’s sedan. Unaware that Chance has escaped, John drives off with the raptor unknowingly accompanying him to DINOWORLD.

After causing damage to some of DINOWORLD’s property, Chance escapes the park by hitchhiking on a truck driven by Debra Kintner (JJ Nolan), who is picking up her son, Elliot (Luke Speakman). That night, Elliot discovers the invisible raptor hiding in the garage and attempts to lure it to his bedroom using candy. Tragically, the encounter ends with Elliot being brutally killed.

Meanwhile, at DINOWORLD, Dr. Grant Walker (Mike Capes), a once world-famous paleontologist who was betrayed by his partner Dr. Steven Tyler — stealing all the credit for their groundbreaking discovery — now finds himself at rock bottom, working as a lowly employee at the park. Grant notices signs of sabotage in the equipment area. He teams up with park security guard Deniel “Denny” Denielson (David Shackelford) to investigate. Grant discovers a distinctive bloodied footprint on the floor. Denny grows increasingly worried when he realizes his beloved dog, Mr. Beagle, is nowhere to be found.

The next day, a disturbing news report airs about a missing boy named Elliott from Spielburgh County. Elliott’s mother, Debra, claims that when she returned to his room late last night, she was horrified to find a large pile of feces containing his retainer. Grant is shocked when he sees the footage and immediately recognizes the feces as belonging to a raptor due to its distinctive characteristics.

He and Denny rush to report their findings to Sheriff Grimley (Richard Riehle) and Deputy Carlyle (David Theune), explaining that they believe a raptor is on the loose. Grant requests to be taken to the missing boy’s house to compare the feces with fossilized samples from DINOWORLD for confirmation. However, the sheriff dismisses Grant’s theory, arguing that it’s impossible for a dinosaur to be roaming the town without anyone noticing. He promptly asks Grant and Denny to leave his office.

Unbeknownst to the sheriff, Grant steals the police report containing Elliott’s home address. Denny then impersonates a federal agent, and the duo manages to convince Debra to let them investigate. Once inside Elliott’s room, Grant examines the feces and confirms it belongs to a raptor, a species supposedly extinct for 65 million years. They also find Mr. Beagle’s collar, suggesting the raptor had devoured the poor dog.

Grant and Denny team up with Grant’s ex-girlfriend, Amber (Caitlin McHugh Stamos), after she is attacked by the invisible raptor. With the help of Henrietta McCluckskey (Sandy Martin), a local chicken rancher who believes the government is secretly creating mutant ninja chickens, they must find a way to stop the invisible raptor before it continues its rampage, killing everyone in its path.

Directed by American filmmaker Mike Hermosa and written by Johnny Wickham and Mike Capes, The Invisible Raptor is an impressive sci-fi horror comedy that comes close to achieving instant cult classic status. Packed with Easter eggs and homages to Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park, the film had me giggling throughout.

The filmmakers managed to make the invisible raptor concept work effectively, even without showing the creature directly, blending practical and visual effects seamlessly. That said, I wish they had relied more on practical effects for all the kill scenes. While some are memorably gruesome, a few moments felt unrealistic due to less convincing visual effects.

The film, however, feels about 30 minutes too long. It struggles to maintain momentum as it shifts between thrilling action and dramatic storytelling, particularly with Denny’s subplot, which overstays its welcome and feels unnecessarily drawn out. The jokes often fall flat, feeling forced as if the filmmakers were trying too hard to be funny. Additionally, some of the dialogue feels overly explanatory, literally spelling out what’s going to happen next, which undermines the tension and ruins the moment.

On an unexpected note, I was surprised to see Sean Astin’s character survive, something I genuinely didn’t see coming! Another highlight is the appearance of Mr. Heckles (Larry Hankin). Though his role is small, it’s undeniably iconic and adds a delightful touch to the narrative.

The INVISIBLE RAPTOR premiered at Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya on 7 October 2023. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 6 December 2024 by Well Go USA. It was simultaneously made available on VOD on the same day.

The Blu-ray release of The INVISIBLE RAPTOR is set to hit shelves in the United States on 4 February 2025.