By Nicholas Brooks
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Some of the best horror movies and creature features came at a time when Hollywood blockbusters were still in their infancy. But the legacy that movies like Jaws and Jurassic Park started eventually led to the newest and strangest entry in the monster subgenre, The Invisible Raptor. As the title indicates, the film revolves around an invisible dinosaur terrorizing a small town -- leaving paleontologist Dr. Grant Walker and a motley crew to stop it.
CBR spoke with The Invisible Raptor star Caitlin McHugh-Stamos about stepping into the role of Amber. She spoke about her longtime love of similar movies like the Jurassic Park franchise, and the unique way she became involved with this movie. She also discussed the fun and the challenges of making a film with a title character that can't be seen.
CBR: The Invisible Raptor is a unique, charming and totally unexpected horror comedy. Could you share your thoughts when you first heard about the idea or read the script?
Caitlin McHugh-Stamos: I had run into Mike [Capes] and Johnny [Wickham], the writers of the script, at a mutual friend's birthday party. They said we've been writing this movie, and we have you in mind to play Amber. And I went, "All right, let me read it first."
I read it with every intention of turning it down because I hadn't, at that point, acted in six or seven years, and I wasn't planning on going back to it -- but I could not stop laughing. I loved the script so much that I said yes. I was not going to act again, but that's how much I loved the script, and I love the guys, and working with them was an absolute treasure. I'm so glad I said yes.
One throughline of this project is its love of classic '80s creature features and adventure films, specifically the work of Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment. What were some of your favorite movies from that time, and were any of them referenced in The Invisible Raptor?

Jurassic Park was actually my favorite movie growing up. I read all of Michael Crichton's books on Jurassic Park, and that's back in fifth grade. So to be able to do this movie was really fulfilling a childhood dream.
It's no easy feat to sell genuine terror and concern when the only direction you can work with is where an invisible dinosaur is supposed to be. What were some of the challenges you faced in filming The Invisible Raptor?
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It wasn't so challenging as it was so much fun. There is the moment when it's the three of us having to carry the raptor and put it onto the car -- doing that scene was really a lot of fun. It was one of the first things that we rehearsed, the three of us as a team, and it was just really fun to do. I loved working with the invisible dinosaur.
There's one scene that is a specific homage to Jurassic Park, in which you and Mike are leaning on the invisible raptor and it's breathing. As a Jurassic Park fan, how was it to film that specific moment?

It was really fun, though in the moment, it was really painful for Mike. He was nailed to the ground or something, the way that he was leaning on it. There were no special effects. It was all practical [effects], and it was really tough. Mike was sore for days from all that [abdominal] work he was doing.
I didn't go quite as crazy with that, but it was magical. It was a really magical time. Sometimes, it was a little hard to feel it because you're also exhausted. We're working nights all night long, so we're all very tired. But we're also having such a fun time doing it. It was a delusionally good time.
The movie lends itself to a potential sequel. Is there anywhere you'd like to see the Invisible Raptor characters go in a second adventure?
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Somewhere warm and in daylight. [Laughs.] But honestly, anywhere. I want to see this invisible dinosaur in space. I want to see him on a tropical island. Let's go deep sea. Let's see something under the sea! Crazy invisible creatures anywhere -- in the big city, another small town. I feel like this has the longevity to be anything. There's definitely an opportunity to grow these movies and this franchise into so many fun places with so many fun characters.
You mentioned having taken a break from acting prior to The Invisible Raptor. Having done this film, is there anything else that you'd be looking for next? What kinds of projects hold your interest, as an actor or as a movie fan?

For an Invisible Raptor 2 or anything with the writers, I will come back -- but it really is just the strength of the script. Now being a mom and in this stage in my life, it's nice to be able to back away from [acting] and focus on other things that I want to do. It would take another fun script like The Invisible Raptor or something that's got to be really fun to do.
I don't want to torture myself. I don't want to have to lose a lot of weight for anything or gain a lot of weight or stretch myself emotionally. I just want to have a good time. And that's what I loved about The Invisible Raptor. It's just nice to be able to go to a film and know you're not crying at the end. You're just laughing, and you feel good about yourself and life, and it's just entertainment.

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The Invisible Raptor
R
Comedy
Thriller
Mystery
- Director
- Mike Hermosa
- Release Date
- December 6, 2024
- Cast
- Mike Capes, Caitlin McHugh, David Shackelford, Sean Astin, Sandy Martin, Bobby Gilchrist, Richard Riehle, Larry Hankin, David Theune, Bill Kottkamp, Vanessa Lee Chester, J.J. Nolan, Linda Eve Miller, Luke Speakman, Grace Demarco, Derek Alvarado, Bunny Levine, Kelly Murtagh, Tim Soergel, Evan Michael Pinsonnault, Angie Stevenson, David Sargsyan, José Luis Oyola, Chad Bullard, Sam Skolnik, Kai To
- Writers
- Johnny Wickham, Mike Capes
- Runtime
- 113 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Comedy