Beyond Loch Ness: Aw, Nessie wanted to visit us 'across the pond'!

I want a plushie toy based on this movie!

I've watched this movie a couple of times now, and I still giggle my way through it, no matter how badly chopped up the plot continuity is. I suspect that things were deleted to make it fit the television time frame, but then again, there's a distinct possibility that the writers decided they just didn't need the surviving characters to even notice that one of their ranks, at their side only minutes before, isn't celebrating victory with them, and is instead lying in an undignified bloody mess a few yards away. To my surprise, that's one of the only complaints I have about Beyond Loch Ness, a.k.a. Loch Ness Terror.

The movie starts off with a father bringing his son with him to investigate the Loch Ness in Scotland. The father discovers a huge tunnel that possibly leads to the ocean, and also brings up an egg to the surface. Not a smart move. While everyone is all excited about the find, a 60 foot plesiosaur rises to the surface, and after securing its egg, kills everyone except for the son.

We flash to a small town in the United States where a grizzled man is insisting that he's seen the Loch Ness Monster in their lake, and is determined to get its picture. He's related to the town's sheriff, a tough, no-nonsense woman with a college age son who apparently is more interested in running a bait shop than actually going to college. This son meets our lone Scotland survivor, who is now a rugged crypto-zoologist, in town on a lead. These two characters hit it off, and discuss science and daddy issues, much to the chagrin of the sheriff.

When deaths start happening, naturally our crypto-zoologist is the only one who can help, since he's seen the beastie responsible up close and personal, and has made it his life's mission to get revenge. Along the way we get teenagers on an island becoming snacks, and our bait shop boy coming to the rescue. Naturally he ends up needing rescuing, as well, because the plesiosaur has made a nest on the island, and there are lots and lots of cute, hungry, fast waddling babies around.

There's not really much of a plot here, which is just fine. It makes it easier to watch when a movie of this caliber doesn't try to aim too high. The characters are what entertain me the most. Brian Krause plays the crypto-zoologist with a chip on his shoulder, a cigarillo constantly clenched in his mouth, and a lot of humor. I think he even intended to be that funny, too. His character is so over-the-top cliched that there's no other way to play him. Niall Matter plays the son who plays guide. He's smart, has a lot of charm, and doesn't overdo the 'daddy issues', so thankfully I don't feel the need to slap him around and give him a reason to cry. On an interesting side note he went on to play the very small part of Mothman in The Watchmen film, and then progressed into a recurring role in Eureka, playing pretty much the same guy, just different setting and higher I.Q., as he is in Beyond Loch Ness.

We get lots and lots of scenes with the beastie, and the beastie babies. Watching these creatures waddle around on land just makes me think 'Aw, how cute!', at least until they start eating someone. The CGI has a lot of details, to the point I think either someone bought the CGI from the Discovery Channel, or just really, really loves dinosaurs. Either way, I appreciated the quality, and especially the quantity, of the graphics. As I've often said, never, ever skimp on the monster!

There is a bit of gore, but definitely not to the level some of these kinds of creature features stoop to. The story is decent, the characters are well-written and well-acted, and the CGI is great. The ending feels a bit rushed, as if the writers realized they were going too long for this genre, but even that I can forgive, because there's still that over-the-top humor sprinkled everywhere. This is a DVD that I'd pick up if I found it for less than ten bucks, because it'd be a good movie to throw in on a lazy afternoon when your brain is begging you to let it stop thinking for a couple of hours.