WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD. I absolutely love this movie! I think it would be funny even without the comments of the Mystery Science Theater characters. I have a thing for incredibly low-budget movies that tried to do the best they could with the meager resources they could muster. It appears that the director had no money, but really wanted to make an adventure movie, like Ed Wood. It looks as though the director borrowed his sets from from art class projects of a local middle school. The movie composer is a genuine sadist, as he tried to nauseate the viewer with simple, monotonous beats with his attempt at a suspenseful musical score. The actors look as though they were picked either from the street or from the local town theater (I did like the way the villain rolled his eyes, so he must have had some experience with acting!). I also got the impression that the director, having no budget, decided to film in the woods only a few miles from his home. I wonder how he managed to pay the actors' salaries and the fee for camera use?
What results is a masterwork of Ed-Woodsian proportions. The "hero" is a bloated fat guy who is so full of cheap ale that he is danger of spontaneously combusting. His companion is a twig boy, who looks like the spawn of Crispin Glover and Dick York. The cult that follows them are equally as corpulent as the hero, and look like laid-off nightclub bouncers. The villain also gives out some creepy Crispin Glover vibes, and it is he who bursts into flames at the end (that's what you get with a bear hug from alcohol-soaked Rowsdower!). Ah, but my favorite character was the helpful archaeologist who helped our duo out. Now, I know what you're thinking: how could such a grizzled old mountain man, who feeds on squirrels and pine cones, be part of a great archaeological expedition? Hell, anything's possible. He could easily teach at a university without anyone being suspicious: he's certainly got the thick beard, tangled hair, and worn-out clothes thing going for him.
I love it! The robot's haunting refrain to the musical score made it even better: "Rows-dower saves us, and saves all the world!" Watch it!
What results is a masterwork of Ed-Woodsian proportions. The "hero" is a bloated fat guy who is so full of cheap ale that he is danger of spontaneously combusting. His companion is a twig boy, who looks like the spawn of Crispin Glover and Dick York. The cult that follows them are equally as corpulent as the hero, and look like laid-off nightclub bouncers. The villain also gives out some creepy Crispin Glover vibes, and it is he who bursts into flames at the end (that's what you get with a bear hug from alcohol-soaked Rowsdower!). Ah, but my favorite character was the helpful archaeologist who helped our duo out. Now, I know what you're thinking: how could such a grizzled old mountain man, who feeds on squirrels and pine cones, be part of a great archaeological expedition? Hell, anything's possible. He could easily teach at a university without anyone being suspicious: he's certainly got the thick beard, tangled hair, and worn-out clothes thing going for him.
I love it! The robot's haunting refrain to the musical score made it even better: "Rows-dower saves us, and saves all the world!" Watch it!