Released in 2008 and directed by Sean Dillon, "The Craving" is a low-budget horror flick about five youths who get stuck in the desert after a crazy hermit disables their van with a shotgun. The hermit is the least of their problems, however, as an unknown creature of the night preys upon them.I've been watching a lot of barely-a-budget independent horror flicks lately, many with the identical plot as this one (e.g. "Delirium" & "Feeding Grounds"), and "The Craving" is noticeably professional by comparison. Despite a couple cases of dubious photography, the filmmaking is adept enough to pass for a theatrical release, at least a drive-in release—the cinematography, cast, acting, script, editing, gore effects, creature effects, etc. No-budget horror flicks usually have sub-par women and actors in general, but the first act showcases Lesley Paterson as Jeannie and she's Prime A all the way (I'm not referring to the dark-haired girl, Diane, who has a top-nude sequence right out of the gate and who's decidedly average by comparison).The low-ratings for "The Craving" are inexplicable because it delivers the goods for what it is in all the requisite areas noted above.The movie runs 99 minutes and was shot in Desert Center, California.GRADE: B

1st watched 8/24/2011 --(Dir-Sean Dillon): Mediocre horror flick that was obviously made on a very low budget, but does keep you interested for a lot of the movie. The movie is basically about a monster that comes out at night and feeds, but also has a scent that makes those around it high and wanting it to be there despite the evil and death that it brings. This is definitely an interesting twist on the typical eat-em-up and kill'em flick, but there isn't enough consistency in the direction of the film to make it tight. There is your typical sex happening at the silliest times(and too often), like when the couples are afraid for their lives, and occasional bad dialogue – especially when one character is told to "be strong" too many times by too many characters. These things definitely give you the feeling that the director needed more help than he was given money for. Despite this, the movie has good camera work, sounds and effects surrounding the monster and he does a good job of not revealing it's looks 'til the very end of the movie. There is definitely hope for the director, Sean Dillon, and I will be keeping an eye out for what he does next. A watchable film, with unfortunately too many faults but maybe a promising director's early work.

The tiresome shortcut plot is once again used in this clichéd desert horror flick about a group of young adults on a road trip in their van(yawn)to the Burning Man festival. Yes, all of what I described has been duplicated multiple times in the past so originality vacates the premises rather quickly. Some wacko feeds this creature dogs and may just get a chance to nourish the flesh eating monster with humans instead when the van loaded with amorous teens come driving down his dirt road. So therein lies the plot, you can now fill in the blanks rather easily. The kids get lost, of course, find the nutcase who shoots their van with a shot gun leaving them stranded, stuck at his ramshackle abode until they can figure out a feasible plan to get themselves out of their current predicament. The driver gets in a scuffle with the hick lunatic, shooting the maniac in the process. The crazy's pick-up truck doesn't start, they are scared out of their wits, and worse yet a monster lurks somewhere in the darkness. The usual includes swearing, make-out sessions, tits, entrails, bickering back and forth, heated exchanges, the blame game, drug use, guys with their shirts off exposing their sculpted bodies for the ladies, cell phones and vehicles that don't work, and murky nighttime sequences where we can hardly see anything. The creature which tears apart it's victims while eating them ferociously is never fully seen. Most creative aspect to the movie is that the creature emits a nasty aroma that seductively addicts those who smell from it too long! Despite the overuse of the isolation theme, even something as mediocre as THE CRAVING uses it at times effectively, maybe because the desert setting helps, because you can feel the piercing sun, not to mention the fact that those lost are unfamiliar with their surroundings.

The Craving starts as five teenage friends drive through the isolated unforgiving desert on their way to some party or something, they ask a gas station clerk about a shortcut & don't get much of an answer but decide to take it anyway which just takes them deeper & deeper into the desert & they soon become hopelessly lost without even a road to guide them back from where they came. With miles of desert that looks exactly the same all around them the friends are relieved to see an old wooden shack in the distance & drive to it in the hope of some help. However once there a crazy old man named Larry (musician, co-editor & co-producer Curtis Krick) shoots their van up & they become stranded there, in a struggle with Larry he is shot dead & to make matters worse his van doesn't start so they are really stuck. Then when nighttime comes things get even worse as some sort of reptilian creature that preys on flesh attacks them...Co-edited, co-produced & directed by Sean Dillon this is a lacklustre & throughly routine 'Creature Feature' that is stuffed with clichés & little in the way of monster action. The script is very unbalanced here with almost three distinct acts, the first half of the film is all about these typical horror film cliché teenage character's getting stuck in the middle of nowhere (their mobile phones don't work as per usual), the next quarter has them standing around arguing about whose fault it is as tensions rise between them (you can just tick the clichés off as we go) before the final quarter in which a barely seen monster runs around outside a lot & a throughly, throughly predictable twist ending kicks in (you didn't actually think the Sheriff/Deputy/whoever was there 'in the middle of nowhere' by coincidence did you?) where the monster plays second fiddle all the time & is actually more or less relegated to a subplot as the moral messages about the dangers of drug addiction start to flow. The pacing is bad with long, long stretches of basically nothing happening & an overlong 100 odd minute running time, the dialogue is poor (one guy says 'we're safe in the daylight' to which his bird says 'how do know?' which is a reasonable question & then he says 'I don't' & I was like sat there thinking 'so why did you say it then?') & the character's are all cardboard cutouts you never care about or connect with. There's a mildly interesting subplot about the monster giving off addictive toxins that are obviously a parallel to drug usage but it never really comes to anything & anytime the script goes for depth like the feelings of guilt yet at the same time power after having shot & killed someone are badly handled & forgotten about by the end.The entire thing is set in a rather dry looking desert & has a repetitive look to it with it bleached out colours, for instance many times the sky is not blue but pure white & the contrast just looks ugly. There's one moment in which a camera zooms out from a guy climbing a mountain & the blockiness & grain is terrible, how cheap were the cameras that they used here because my one I own at home could have produced a better & clearer zoom. There's not much gore either, there's a bit of blood splatter, a man is seen ripped in half (why does this monster kill people anyway if it doesn't eat them?), a woman is seen ripped in half with her guts hanging down, someone cuts someone else's stomach with a knife & there's a fairly gory shot as we see a guy's head who has had his face ripped-off & his skull is visible. The monster is never seen in it's entirety but you can tell from the quick glimpse that it's just a guy in a rubber suit. There's zero suspense or tension as the attacks are all quick editing in very dark conditions & it just looks a bit of a mess really.I would imagine this was a low budget effort shot in a single location with only six or seven cast members & people from the production team doubling up & doing several jobs as evidenced in the credits. Apparently shot in somewhere called the Desert Center in California. The acting is OK for this type of thing but no-ones going to win any awards.The Craving is a monster film with barely any monster action & a dull clichéd plot that takes ages to get to the point & even then it wasn't worth the wait. Not something I would ever want to see again or something I could ever recommend in good faith, I am sure whoever made this put lots of effort into it but that doesn't make it any good & doesn't mean I want to spend 100 minutes watching it.