Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2018 September 07 • Friday

A funny thing happened to me on the way to middle age. I appear to have abandoned the whole "so bad it's good" approach to things.

There's almost always something good in a movie even if the movie itself is bad. And if it's really, really bad, I'll just stop watching it.

But appreciation of so-called camp value no longer exists for me, except perhaps for some trace elements still lurking in my system.

What I love about Mystery Science Theater 3000, for instance, is how they re-write the movie to make it funny. They could do this with any movie. Way back when, they gave their treatment to movies that were nominated for Academy Awards, and were just as funny as they were with any obscure, low-budget, drive-in trash.

Which is why I wasn't flabbergasted or howling with laughter when I sat down to watch Godmonster of Indian Flats.

It'sa movie about a giant sheep monster and admittedly there isn't much to work with as far as the monster effects go, but the story and characters are good and the movie consistently delivers great images. This shot of a fortune teller, for instance, is beautifully composed.

One of the appeals of movies is the virtual travel element and Godmonster of Indian Flats delivers in a big way, bringing the viewer to 1973 Nevada and an orgy of local color.

Those folks are drinking Olypmia beer, a regional lager once brewed in Tumwater, WA, not far from Olympia. Apparently this beer still exists but, according to Wikipedia, is "contract brewed by MillersCoors in Southern California".

We also get a look at the Bonanza Days celebration.

But my favorite bit has to be this bachelor pad set with its reel to reel tape machine that's either mounted on the wall or sitting on its own dedicated shelf.

That guy has to have been a proto-hipster.