"Tasmanian Devils" does not refer to the beloved Looney Tunes character, the Tasmanian "Taz" Devil. 2012's "Tasmanian Devils" refers to the much-feared carnivorous marsupial that's native to Australia. In typical SyFy Channel fashion, while the Tasmanian Devil has rightfully earned a fearsome reputation amongst humans, this original (and I use this term very loosely) SyFy Channel story here has it that long ago, at least according to some Australian folklore, an especially feral, abnormally large, and bloodthirsty breed of the animals was said to roam the forests of Tasmania to pick off invaders - in other words, us.
Through some rather ludicrous plot machinations, this previously unknown/undiscovered, crudely CGI-animated (and slightly reptilian-looking) breed of Tasmanian Devil is let loose upon the Australian backwoods, with American college student/park ranger Alex (Danica McKellar, from "The Wonder Years" TV series) leading a group of American base-jumpers - their fearless team leader and helicopter pilot Anderson (Mike Dopud), Anderson's unfortunately-named protégé Jayne (Kenneth Mitchell), Simon (Roger R. Cross), and newly engaged couple E.R. nurse Lisbon (Rekha Sharma) and NYC cop Walsh (Terry Chen) - to safety.
I really had nothing better to do tonight than to watch "Tasmanian Devils"; yes, it's one of those kinds of nights when you're just flipping through the TV channels and some cheap-looking monster movie somehow or another manages to catch your attention for two hours. Some of the monster kills here are especially gruesome, too, and will no doubt please people who love outrageous, realistic-looking gore effects. And the performances are actually semi-decent (considering the source material here).
The movie is rather typical SyFy Channel fanfare, as I made explicitly clear earlier. What I found most appealing (and mildly redeeming) about this creature feature, is that the characters in this movie are not ALL monster food. What I meant by that claim is that, all of the individual characters are made useful in some way for the continued survival of the entire group: They each possess some skill that becomes essential for everyone else to live just a little bit longer. For example, Walsh, a cop, remember, is able to rig up a makeshift flamethrower using ONLY jeep engine parts and a tank of gas (which he obtained from detailed schematics from a kid he once busted, and thus gives McKellar's Alex character a full-blown "Ripley" moment halfway through the picture). Another example has Anderson using his penchant for improvisation to devise new, albeit unintended, uses for everyday items and equipment.
So I guess that while this film's tried & true plot is not nearly as creative, it is also a given that its characters are a lot smarter than any character I've seen in a SyFy "original" yet. I guess they're just more determined to survive. I can credit director Zack Lipovsky and screenwriter Brook Durham for injecting a little bit more brains into the proceedings than we're used to from these types of SyFy films.
Like last year's "Jersey Shore Shark Attack" (2012), another worthy guilty pleasure may be in the winds for "Tasmanian Devils."
6/10
