"Outerman" - Kajui "Comedy"

I saw "Outerman" on Midnight Pulp, so it was free to watch, with ads.  For me, that was the right price for this film.  I would watch it on TV, but I doubt I would spend money to rent or buy it.  It may be worth it for big fans of "Ultraman" and shows like that because those are the series it purports to parody.

That claim of being a parody, an "action-comedy", is part of what bothered me.  I get it, a movie that takes a known entity and basically copies it is best protected when it's then called a "parody", but unless I was missing something, this isn't much of a comedy.  There is a group of self-proclaimed nerds, who are obviously meant to be funny and some jokes here and there, but not may big laughs and the situation itself, the main plot line, is actually pretty decent science fiction with a major bit of social commentary.  To me, the comedy elements were no more present than most Marvel movies.  So, it's more a modern day super hero movie than a "comedy".

The movie is subtitled, so I will admit that I may have missed nuances and I am shamefully unaware of Japanese culture outside of movies, so I may have missed some humor there.  Aficionados might find the movie funnier than I.  

On the action side, it's a bit light too.  There are giant alien fights, but not many and we only really get to experience two designs.  Siblee and the titular Outer Man.  Other monsters are briefly shown as part of clips from the show within the movie.  I'll admit, as much as I love Midnight Pulp for carrying my movies like "Lumber vs Jack" and the "Alien Vengeance" movies, their commercial placement leaves a lot to be desired.  It seems automated at minute intervals and can really break up the pace of an otherwise well put together movie. Scenes may be interrupted mid conversation or fight sequence.   Broken pace aside, I would have preferred more and/or longer monster fights, but the ones we do get are at least well done within the F/X style of the movie.

The cast is fairly strong.  The "nerds" and Ministry of Defense characters give appropriately over the top performances as serious characters in an absurd situation.  The heroes are a group of past actors from the "Outerman" show and a "homeless alien".  They all play it pretty straight and do a good job.  Miki and her nephew, Hiroshi, are what make the whole thing work.  Having a kid to watch the story unfold through and give the characters nuggets of wisdom is what made it all "ring true" for me.  This isn't so much a comedy as a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Having a child as a main character reminds us to watch it as we would have on a rainy afternoon during "Monster Week" on our local TV channel.  Watched through a child's eyes the movie is really entertaining and fun.

If you long for "Power Rangers" type action, but with a bit more plot and character development, and don't mind reading subtitles (Or understand Japanese), give "Outerman" (or as IMDB has it listed "Outer Man") a spin.

GALAXY LORDS -WTF Did I Watch?

I saw "Galaxy Lords" a few weeks ago on Prime Video.  It is, in one word, insane.  The F/X are amazing for a low budget movie and except for an extensive use of CG, fit in well with the rest of the retro feel of the movie.  The movie's biggest downfall is the lumbering set-up after the initial opening action sequence.  It gets very talkative and slow for a good few minutes with the only action being our hero chopping wood, terribly.  Anyone who has seen "Lumber vs Jack" or "Jack vs Lanterns" knows that I take my wood chopping super seriously.  My axe throwing is another story.

As suggested viewing, to get you into the right mind set, and to understand what is being spoofed here, I suggest my younger readers check out "Flash Gordon" (1980), and the "Buck Rogers" T.V. show from the same time period.  Other things, like the countless knock-offs of "Star Wars" undoubtedly played a hand in inspiring the filmmakers, but production value-wise, those two should suffice.  Maybe a bit of the original "Battlestar Galactica".  


Now that you have some context, watch the trailer to get a true feel for what "Galaxy Lords" is like.

Do  you see what I mean?  The little robot buddy?  The "rocket cycle" like flying treadmill with a laser cannon in it?  Those red baddies really resemble Ming's troops, right?

None of this is necessarily bad.  It really all depends on whether or not you can accept the tone of the movie.  The beards are fake, the costumes are foam, the F/X are a mix of practical and CG and the acting is usually so far over the top it falls back down to the bottom, but this all part of the fun.

One reviewer on Amazon (where this movie is pretty well liked judging by the star rating) suggested that the movie would play better if it was transferred to VHS first. I think that observation is spot on.  It would give the movie the look of its intended contemporaries. 

If you like some humor with your lasers, give this one a try.  You may be left confused, but you'll at least be entertained.  (You may just want to fast forward past that whole wood chopping scene.  I honestly nearly gave up before watching the rest of the movie.  It's a painful few minutes.)

"Mad Cow" - Self Aware Camp Done Right

The movie "Mad Cow" (2010) has been showing up in my Amazon Feed for awhile now.  The cover art wasn't shy about he lead creature's costuming being a bit "guy in fuzzy pajamas", and so I put off watching it for quite awhile.


If  you're looking for strict horror, keep looking, but if  you're searching for laughs with gory moments, this movie is for you.  "Mad Cow" is one of those films with a title that should tell you that you're not in for a very serious 90 minutes (Sort of like "Lumber vs Jack" or "Jack vs Lanterns" ).  The movie is distributed by Troma, so there's another clue that it's bound to have a campy edge.  And, like so much modern camp, it was aware from moment one that it would be a campy movie.  Unlike many other campy movies, however, this one doesn't shy away from its comedic nature.


Right from the opening it makes it clear that you should expect jokes and it keeps delivering.  It's got an almost "Airplane" (1980) quality to it in its absurdity.

The movie involves an experiment to reanimate the dead and create a super soldier, but something goes wrong with the intended head and a hapless assistant is sent out to secure a new one.  What she finds is a barn, so she returns with the head of a cow (a nod to Frankenstein and the abnormal brain ).  The result is a man/cow hybrid which is enraged whenever someone eats meat or uses dairy.

Leads, Tanya Van Graan and Greg Viljoen turn in solid performances.  They keep the acting "straight" through the most absurd circumstances.  The rest of the cast is hit and miss on talent, but overall they fit the tone of the movie.  Some over the top, some very understated and one incredibly self-aware that she's in a movie and it makes for a perfect performance.

Technically it's well shot and the audio quality is fine throughout.  The special F/X range from quirky to silly, but again, they all fit into the patchwork that is this film that knows it's a film and never once pretends to be as serious as the people who are acting in it seem to be.

Self aware camp can go wrong in so many ways, but this movie had me laughing even when many of the jokes were clichés from other campy movies.  The one or two really creative gags made up for the run of the mill stuff.

It's not "Young Frankenstein" (1974), but for an indie effort with an IMDB reported budget of $50K, it's impressive.  Definitely worth a 3 AM watch if you have a Prime Membership and want something funny with a chainsaw wielding, vegetarian, animal headed monster in it.

The trailer really doesn't do it justice.

Oh, and if you're looking for something short and silly to watch, may I suggest giving "X-24" a view.  At the end of July 2018 it will no longer be "free with ads" on Amazon. To give you an idea of the type of monster movie it is, the working title was "Monster Mop" and it was shot in about 8 hours for $4. (I had to buy a fresh mop head because the used one was too disgusting for any of us to handle without gloves on.)

Brewier Welch stars in "X-24"

"The Nostril Picker" aka "The Changer"

"The Nostril Picker" or, as it is known on Amazon Prime, "The Changer" is a strange movie for sure.

The movie's basic concept that a grown man with an attraction to high school aged girls can make  himself look like a teenager is pretty creepy.  The basis for his ability to change makes little sense and the "effect" is achieved a bit like how they did it in "Quantum Leap" (except here there are a few reflection "goofs".  A common problem for any independent production.)  Overall though, once  you buy into the concept, I think that aspect of the movie is pretty convincing.

The movie is a strange watch though.  I think it's biggest problem is a lack of focus on its intent.  It swings from gory to intentionally (or I think intentionally) humorous pretty quickly.  I've been known to inject humor into my own movies, such as "Alien Vengeance" or "Stopped Dead" and "Lumber vs Jack" was clearly meant to be an off kilter concept from the get go, but something about this movie's core concept and then the High School comedy tone of the music video in the early few minutes was odd.  Although, if I'm honest, I guess AV suffers the same quasi serious subject matter vs humor of the cheesy retro F/X and use of a plunger as a weapon.

The Movie's Musical Interlude.
Warning: Disturbing finger use ahead!

The movie's tone aside, modern audiences also may be put off by a few other points. Being a product of the 90s, some things will stand out as not commonly acceptable. Transvestitism is used as a source of comedy, with a tongue in cheek performance by Steven Andrews as a cross dressing prostitute.  The fashions may seem like they're there for comedy, but people used to dress that way for real.  Although clothes in indie horrors do tend to be a few years out of date since we all know we'll be covered in blood before the shoot is over.  The video quality is also not what one expects from a modern "shot on video" affair.  The audio, however, is surprisingly clean for what seems to be a very independent effort.

Overall, if you're a fan of offbeat, disturbing and unintentionally funny horror, I'd give this one a spin.  Some of the acting is exactly what  you'd expect when someone gets non-actors together for a movie.  ( A few of the cast members have only this movie to their credit.)  Carl Zchering, however, is very effective and creepy in the lead role and that's what really matters.

You'll find yourself scratching  your head while watching, "The Nostril Picker", which I guess is better than what you could be doing with  your finger.

The transformation ritual.

I'm not going to review this one at all.

Because it's one of mine.

This is the short season 2 premiere of "The Simplest Things".  It should be the only episode still publicly searchable on YouTube and that is likely to change soon.  Both full seasons are now available for viewing on Prime Video.

Want to watch season 1 first?
See it here!

The Simplest Things Season 1

See all of Season 2 Here.

Dinosaurs, spaceships, time travel, ray guns, a Chihuahua and the end of the world.  TST has it all!

It's sci-fi adventure comedy like you've never seen before because nobody would dare present such a silly series before this.

F'd A Post Apocaplyptic Comedy Web Series

You can see this one on Amazon Prime at the moment.
I don't know if I'd call it "Dark Comedy", but it's certainly comedy in a dark situation.  Not for the kiddies.