A wyvern terrorizes a small Alaskan town, which might be the town from the show Northern Exposure. What is a wyvern? It’s a dragon that doesn’t have the front hand legs and has a venom stinger on its tail rather than fire breath. Here it attacks people and moose in the midnight sun. I’m from Iceland which also has permanent sun during the summer, so when it is featured in movies, I get a little warmth in my heart.
The film also has a very relaxed vibe considering it’s about medieval European crypto creature eating people. It has that Stephen King Castle Rock feel. The actors are good, and the characters are interesting so it’s never boring.
The characters are also all straight from King. The conspiracy theorist who people know is a bit wacky, the insanely chill Native-American deputy, the police chief that’s way over his head, the town drunk, the sexy radio disc jockey, the beautiful coffee shop worker, and the macho out of towner.
Wyvern is the 15th film in the SyFy Maneater collection, and these films are a hit and miss when it comes to acting and effects. These are all made-for-TV films with a shoestring budget, but they really show what you can do with little when talent is involved—and what you get when it isn’t. Wyvern fits in the former category.
The acting is good, and the effects aren’t half bad. The wyvern’s design and execution are good stuff for a movie on this level. All in all, probably the best Maneater film.
