Loosely based on the 1984 John Brosnan novel of the same name, it follows characters Doc Smith and Ann Thrush in their efforts to thwart Dr. Jane Tiptree's plan to exterminate the human race with a lethal virus and replace them with her own genetically created dinosaurs.

Roger Corman acquired the rights to Brosnan's novel in 1991 and the project entered production two years later to capitalize on an extensive marketing campaign used to promote Jurassic Park.

He reports a trespasser, Ann Thrush, but Sheriff Fowler is investigating a series of gruesome killings, perpetrated by Tiptree's missing creature, a Deinonychus.

Among the victims is the daughter of Eunice employee Jesse Paloma, but before he raises any suspicion to her research, Tiptree lures him into a laser-protected dinosaur pen where a fully grown Tyrannosaurus rex kills him.

Doc discovers a truck with two corpses belonging to Eunice and contacts Tiptree on the vehicle's radio, deducing the creature originated from her facility.

The town's mysterious illness is caused by infected chicken eggs, which contain a lethal airborne virus that impregnates women with dinosaur embryos.

Top governmental officials, in a secure underground bunker, also begin plotting the repopulation of the human race in response to the virus; they envision a new social order propagated by strict fertilization policies and artificial wombs.

[5] Brosnan was first approached to write the screenplay in mid-1991 by Corman's wife, Julie, who agreed to meet and they formalized a deal at a bar, written on some napkins.

[7] According to Corman, the main antagonist Dr. Jane Tiptree was originally envisioned for a male actor who had a "great deal of strength and at the same time an intelligent person".

Because Corman felt that stop-motion techniques and optical effects would interfere with filming, Buechler agreed with him that all the creatures would be "real-time" models.

[11] The first creature constructed for the film, Farley's three-foot T. rex animatronic puppet, served as the basis for an unused suit model and the full-scale prop.

[12] Some shots were accomplished with the puppet being filmed in a miniature set which featured scale models of Doc Smith and the shiploader.

[12] Buechler and his crew designed the scaled T. rex in order to use forced perspective camera techniques, but only a few forced-perspective shots were actually included in the film.

A week later the same magazine announced that Corman was expected to premiere the film on May 13, at the Wilshire Theater in Ogden, Utah, to coincide with the city's new George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.

[17] Brosnan credited Carnosaur with raising awareness of his novel but stated that the dinosaurs were "laughable" compared to those in Jurassic Park, and "I will no doubt take the lead in shouting abuse at the screen".

[19] Variety's Leonard Klady compared Carnosaur to B movie creature films released in the 1950s and surmised it was "destined for a quick trip to the tar pits of video shelves and cable screenings".

[20] The Los Angeles Times contributor Kevin Thomas remarked that the film takes itself too seriously and, with consideration to its modest budget, opined that "technically, Carnosaur, looks good, and to its credit, it has a refreshingly cynical finish".

[15] AllMovie's Brian J. Dillard wrote the effects were poor, but enjoyable,[17] while Daniel Dockery of Syfy felt that Buechler's work and creature designs were underrated.

[24] A review in TV Guide described Carnosaur as "a low-budget attempt to cash in on the success of an expensive studio film", but still thought the screenplay was cleverly written.