''The Eden Formula'', also known as ''Tyrannosaurus Wrecks'', is a 2006 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

written and directed by

John Carl Buechler __NOTOC__ John Carl Buechler (pronounced ''Beekler''; June 18, 1952 – March 18, 2019) was an American special make-up effects artist, film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was best known for his work on horror and science-fictio ...

. It stars

Jeff Fahey Jeffrey David Fahey (, born November 29, 1952) is an American actor. His notable roles include Duane Duke in ''Psycho III'' (1986), Pete Verill in Clint Eastwood's ''White Hunter Black Heart'' (1990), Jobe Smith in ''The Lawnmower Man'' (1992), ...

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers), also known as Dee Wallace Stone (born December 14, 1948), is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mary Taylor in the 1982 Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbuster science-fiction film ''E.T. the E ...

, and

Tony Todd Anthony Tiran Todd (December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024) was an American actor known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice. He amassed several credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s, including the Candyman (character), titl ...

. The film includes recycled footage from the ''

Carnosaur Carnosauria is an extinct group of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. While Carnosauria was historically considered largely synonymous with Allosauroidea, some recent studies have revived Carn ...

'' films, for which Buechler had provided dinosaur effects.

Synopsis

Dr. Harrison Parker (

) is a scientist working at Calgorin Industries who developed the Eden Formula, a chemical that can reproduce organisms and cure various diseases. However, unknown to Parker, deep underground the general area of his industrial district, other Calgorin Industries scientists have created a ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

'' from Parker's formula and keep it locked away in a subterranean location in order to impress stockholders. Soon enough, industry spies enter a laboratory at Calgorin Industries so they can steal the formula and pass it off as their own, making millions of dollars. The spies, led by James Radcliffe (

), accidentally set loose the bloodthirsty tyrannosaur, which breaks its way out of the lab and rampages into the streets of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Parker and his colleague Rhonda Shapton (

) are in the building when the spies attack and now have to secure the formula while trying to evade Radcliffe and his team, all while the ''T. rex'' continues adding to its body count.

Cast

as Dr. Harrison Parker *

as Rhonda Shapton *

as James Radcliffe * Alexandra Ford as Rebecca Winters * Stephen Wastell as Eddie * Elina Madison as Connie *

Miranda Kwok Miranda Kwok is a Canadian-American screenwriter, actress, and television producer best known as the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the Fox drama series '' The Cleaning Lady'', which premiered on January 3, 2022. Kwok won the 20 ...

as Kate Lo * Gregory Gast as Harlon McVicker * Gregory Abbott Jr. as Samson Webb * Daniel Anthony as Rockoff * Robert Axelrod as Wally * Sarah Elbert as Officer Pattison

Production and release

The film was originally released on DVD in Australia under the name ''Tyrannosaurus Wrecks''. It was written and directed by

, who also did the dinosaur effects for the ''

'' films. Dinosaur footage from the ''Carnosaur'' films was re-used in Buechler's film. In the U.S., it was released on DVD on March 27, 2007, under the name ''The Eden Formula''.

Reception

Scott Weinberg of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

called the plot "stupidly simple" and described the film as "an amazingly chintzy retread of ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

'' mixed with a little ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...

''". Weinberg wrote that with some more humor, the film "might be mistaken for a parody of monster movies, but it seems pretty clear that the flick is meant to be taken somewhat seriously. And that's just hilarious". Tom Weaver of ''

Starlog ''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...

'' described it as a "ripoff" of ''Die Hard'' and ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

''. ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' was also critical of the film, including its directing, writing, acting, and dinosaur effects. Jon Condit of

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

was amused by the film, writing that it was "not a good movie in any way, shape or form", and that he "couldn't help but be in some way marveled by how unapologetically bad this entire production was". The "''Eden Formula''" title was also criticized.

References

External links