Tried three times to watch this on TV, but had to give up. It appears to have been shot with defective cameras, as all scenes are unbelievably DARK. I've rated this 1 but it deserves a ZERO. WHY do producers let a film go out so extremely crippled? Could the producers not afford decent lighting? Whatever the reason, this abortion should never be put on TV again.

Veteran director Stuart Gillard gives us a good television movie with Craig Nelson and Kim Catrall giving top-notch performances. Rockne S. O'Bannon wrote a tight adaptation of Peter Benchley's implausible novel. However, once one accepts the improbable creature, the rest of the story works well. It is made well. It entertained me. I very much enjoyed seeing the movie.Further, location shooting in St. Lucia gives this movie a good look. The images are often beautiful in ways that do not distract from the narrative. Camera work involves careful use of positioning, careful movement of cast within otherwise ordinary shots, and good panning. I like the editing. Special effects are well done. I think that the monster creature looks good.The film has a good pace with humour and slowly building moments of terror. Megalyn Echikunwoke enriches the look of the film. I like the soundtrack.

As a TV mini-series, Creature ranks pretty much as first rate.Although hardly original story wise, it's still an interesting creature feature flick that doesn't have too many lulls despite it's three hour running time. There are moments you could easily see get the axe should this be pruned down to feature length but overall the film runs along smoothly and at an adequate pace.It's quite atmospheric at times and suspenseful and special effects are top notch. There's not any gore here and a seasoned horror fan can easily see where some red grue and more could have been spliced in. But no matter, it works despite that. The cast is also quite good with Craig T. Nelson in top form and Kim Cattrall looking lovely as ever.Verdict: 7 out of 10. A very good time filler on a slow night.

In the early 1970s in the Caribbean, Dr. Ernest Bishop is part of a military experiment involving a creature that is part shark, part dolphin, and part something else (I'll let you find that out later). Something goes terribly wrong and at least one person dies. And the creature is loose to wreak havoc 25 years later (never mind the fact that it is somehow able to go for years without eating).Ben Madiera is a member of a group fishing off the coast of Dr. Simon Chase's island. Dr. Chase is tracking a great white shark he has tagged, and has discovered one of Madiera's group has caught it. He pleads for the great white to be released, but they refuse. Dr. Chase frees the shark anyway, and from this point on he is hated by Madiera's group.Several people die in what seem to be shark attacks, so naturally Dr. Chase is blamed, since that must have been his shark. There is evidence the creature is not a shark, but people won't listen. Dr. Chase's ex, Dr. Amanda Mayson, comes to the rescue, bringing the couple's son Max, who is always being put in danger. Dr. Chase's research finally indicates the military was involved with the creature, and he is put in touch with Admiral Aaron Richland, whose only concern is covering up what makes the Navy look bad. Dr. Bishop is just a burned-out mess, much like hippies who took too many drugs.Dr. Chase acts a little too zealously because he discovers the research that led to the creature might have cured his brother's cancer had it been made available, and he wants the world to know about the findings. This may not be a good idea.As one might expect, more people die and no one seems to take Dr. Chase seriously, people use amazingly bad judgment, and of course there is an exciting and dangerous sequence of events toward the end. This was actually better than I was expecting. There were lots of enjoyable family moments, and I liked the conflict between Dr. Chase and those who should have acted to correct the situation and save lives. Craig T. Nelson did a fine job, considering the material, and there was more good acting. I don't particularly enjoy scary movies, but there's plenty of excitement here for those who like that sort of thing.Whether the Caribbean cultural rituals were done correctly I can't say, but they sure looked real to me. I didn't really enjoy them, though.I didn't enjoy looking at the creature, but it sure looked scary enough.It's no classic, but it might be entertaining.