My comment about the movie "MINOTAUR"

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The sci-fi channel brings another legendary Grecian myth to the screen - following their three headed dog feature Cerberus, with this take on the infamous Minotaur- the beastly half-man half bull that dwells in the twisted maze of the labyrinth. This update of the classic tale holds much of the legend of the Minotaur true but unexpectedly transforms the setting from a glorious marble columned concept of Ancient Greece to a dirty village and a cardboard cutout soundstage palace, losing much of the grandeur of the old legends. Theo is heir to the lands of his father, Cyrnan. But his village is cursed, and every 3 years eight innocents, are procured as a sacrifice to please the lord of the lair. Worshiped as a God by the Deucalion, the Minotaur's instable thirst for blood must be satisfied. So, once again the time has come for the ritual, and Cyrnan has sent Theo to the outskirts of town, to avoid sacrifice. But Theo has heard rumor that his one true love, taken earlier as an offering, may still be alive, hidden somewhere in the bowels if the murky underground. Now Theo will turn himself over, as fodder for the evil, in an effort to save the one he loves and destroy the hideous creature that lurks in the labyrinth. For the most part, Sci-fi Channel productions have some solid production values, and Minotaur is no exception. Wisely, the filmmakers keep the creature, closed in darkness and shadow for the better part of the film, adding a 'Jaws' like level of suspense and making up for the necessary shortcomings of the budget. Sadly the worst thing about the production is the decided lack of effort so obvious that its utter lack of detail is surprising, even for a film working on such a limited scope. Many will make notices about the nature to be slightly closer to reason that a pair of legs attached to the head of a bull. Still, purists are liable to have a bit of an aneurysm when they see the snarling monster for the first time. One thing that grates on the film are the performances, which, even for TV, are a bit below par. Specifically, Tom Hardy who seems far to wooden to elicit the leadership prowess needed to rally a people and take on a mythical monster. Rutger has precious little screen time as Cyrnan and Tony Todd, is left with little characterization so he just chews the scenery as voraciously as the Minotaur feasts on wanton villagers. But regardless of some amateurish acting and a desperate need for some focus, the film comes off as one of the better productions from everyone's favorite basic cable network. In terms of blood and gore, Minotaur is sparse, instead of focusing on utilizing the darkness and shadow of the labyrinth to mask the terror of severed flesh. Understanding that the end result of the feature is set for cable television, the audience needs to accept that Romero-esque flesh feast is going to have to be toned way down, even on the unrated DVD release. So if you are out there in search of some serious splatter, then Minotaur is surly not going to sate your whetted palate. My score is 4/10 keep posting, mickey