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MONSTURD
Written, Produced, Edited, and Directed by Dan West and Rick PopkoJack Schmidt - Brad Dosland
Sheriff Duncan - Paul Weiner
Agent Hannigan - Beth West
Sr. Stern - Dan Burr
Deputy 1 - Dan West
Deputy 2 - Rick PopkoLate at night, when you can't fall asleep, have you ever wondered how good a movie about a killer lump of shit could be?
Me neither.
Never in this lifetime, or the next, would have I have ever pictured that the most entertaining movie I've seen all summer long would be about a killer lump of shit. I mean, seriously, it's a killer lump of shit, and I don't like toilet humor.
This is the part where I tell you the story. Funny thing is I already have. It's a movie about a killer lump of shit. What more needs to be said?
Okay, okay. There's an escaped murderer on the loose who falls on his ass in the wrong sewer. Turns out some corrupt scientist just poured some toxic chemicals down the gutter. The chemicals fuse the DNA of the killer to the human waste found in the sewer. The result is a killer lump of shit.
A killer lump of shit.
And this movie is played completely straight. Dead pan. I'm talking 100% Abbot, without a Costello in sight. .
Just earlier this evening, in my review for VAMPIRE TIME TRAVELERS, I talked about how hard it is to pull off a good shot on video comedy. There's something about the format that adds an extra level of cheese to whole product. Somehow, someway, director's Dan West and Rick Pomko were able to create a shot on video project where the performances were so natural and relaxed that any video limitations were quickly overlooked.
It also helps that the guys shot MONSTURD in the same manner they would a feature on film. The look of the movie is important, and at times MONSTURD possesses one of the best filmlooks I've seen this side of Full Moon. It's constructed with all the fat trimmed, meaning there is no excessive padding (you know, guys walking to a door, through a door, and away from said door - there's nothing that drives me bonkers like horrible padding). It's an 80 minute feature that takes up 80 minutes with story and great dialogue.
The writing is superb, and enhanced only by the quality of the delivery by the standout cast. The banter is witty, but never becomes a neve-rending series of puns revolving around fecal matter, something I was afraid would happen right from the get-go. Oh, there's a fair share of those, but fecal jokes don't consume the entire movie. For the most part, all the comedic gags and dialogue are character driven and don't seem forced. In fact, nothing about this movie seems forced. As I mentioned earlier, the acting is so relaxed and natural that viewers don't doubt for a second the plausibility of a mad scientist pouring chemicals down a sidewalk gutter in the middle of suburbia in broad daylight. The event comes across so matter of fact that it's just accepted at face value.
And the killer lump of shit....it talks. There's even a great monologue where the creature sells himself as if he were The Crap of Frankenstein.
Yes, I know. This all sounds so damn idiotic, but the movie works. Trust me on this one. Even if I have to bet my house to get you to watch it, you will find MONSTURD to be damned funny. I don't care how subjective your sense of humor is, this movie will offend you on some level. I've only seen one other movie with that kind of power, THE BRIDE OF FRANK and I wholeheartedly believe that MONSTURD will be equally the classic that is FRANK.