Something Weird Video presents

Godmonster Of Indian Flats (1973)

"I want you to let us keep this hybrid organism here, in my private laboratory. If we can keep it alive, it may provide the proof I need for a certain theory of cellular realignment that I've been working on since we came up here."- Dr. Clemens (E. Kerrigan Prescott)

Stars: Christopher Brooks, Stuart Lancaster, E. Kerrigan Prescott
Other Stars: Richard Marion, Karen Ingenthron, Erica Gavin, Peggy Browne
Director: Fredric Hobbs

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (mild violence and nudity)
Run Time: 01h:28m:49s
Release Date: 2001-10-02
Genre: horror

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
D+	D+	D	C-	A

 

DVD Review

Experimental director and artist Fredric Hobbs is the man behind this 1973 oddity. While it never was released theatrically, and thus became his last mainstream film, it stands as one of the more bizarre and disjointed of the so-called "nature retribution" films of the 1970s. Not in the league of the big bunny rampage of Night Of The Lepus or Marjoe Gortner's futile stand against huge beasties in Food Of The Gods, Godmonster Of Indian Flats is a monster movie that almost forgets the monster.

Hobbs made his real mark with the 1970 release Roseland, a completely unhinged saga laced with nudity, depravity and the dreamy visual influence of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch. For his foray into giant animals run amok, Hobbs decided to use a sheep as his monster. Yes, a mutant killer sheep.

The story is set in the modern-day (well, 1973, at least) former mining town of Silverdale, Nevada. The town, which is run by the domineering and corrupt hand of Mayor Charles Silverdale (Russ Meyer vet Stuart Lancaster), seems to exist in some bizarro parallel universe where the old West never died. Everyone dresses like a cowboy, and hangs out in a typical Western-type saloon populated by the very, very friendly girls who work for Madame Alta (Peggy Browne), the local psychic/madame. The bulk of this film deals with the attempt of Barnstable (Christopher Brooks), an outsider, trying to buy up the townsfolks shares of the old mine.

A secondary story line, which really should have been the primary plot when you consider the title, is the discovery of some type of mutated sheep by simple-minded rancher Eddie (Richard Marion). The mutant is whisked away to the secret lab of Dr. Clemens (Hobbs regular E. Kerrigan Prescott) and his faithful assistant Mariposa (Karen Ingenthron). Dr. Clemens discovers that the old mine gives off some strange vapors that may be the cause of the mutation, as well as being the origin for the old legend of a monster that once haunted the area. Clemens lab is full of wires and beakers and strange equipment, and it's not long before the mutant sheep has morphed into an 8-foot monstrosity.

The monster's lack of screen time could be forgiven if it were to actually cause some decent mayhem. Sadly, that isn't the case here. Despite character's claims of the beast "terrorizing the community", it really does not do more than wander aimlessly and frighten a couple of little kids. Instead, Hobbs focuses extensively on the characters of Barnstable and Silverdale, and their fairly dull story line.

Once the beast finally appears, however, the wheels really fall of this film fast. A guy lumbering around in an oversize wool blanket just doesn't ever work up any genuine level of fear, I'm sorry to say. I won't claim to really understand what the heck was actually occurring on screen during the final fifteen minutes, but it was definitely out there.

Rating for Style: D+
Rating for Substance: D+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: I sense Something Weird is less concerned with image transfer than most studios, as this release shows. This disc, presented in 1.33:1 full-frame, is nothing to brag about. Colors are at times flat, and then without reason have a tendency to get a little oversaturated. Plenty of grain, nicks and splices add to the generally lackluster image transfer.

Image Transfer Grade: D
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The original mono track is a fairly flat mix that offers nothing significant to enhance the viewing experience. This track is typical of most cheapie exploitation flicks of the era, and is no better or worse than most.

Audio Transfer Grade: C- 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Nasty Nature Short Subject #1 Rural Rat Control
2. Nasty Nature Short Subject #2 Community Fly Control
3. Oddball Short Subject #3 You Cannot Fart Around With Love
4. Oddball Short Subject #4 The Geek
5. Oddball Added Attraction The Girl And The Geek (a.k.a. Passion In The Sun)

Extras Review: While Godmonster Of Indian Flats lacks much in the way of entertainment, Something Weird has lived up to their name by loading this release with a smorgasbord of over two hours of really strange supplements, which are referred to on the menu as "Mutton:"

Nasty Nature Short Subject #1
Rural Rat Control (15m:51s)
A Communicable Disease Control Production, this short from the 1950s, teaches farmers how to control and eliminate rats. Features the disturbing quote: "Farms are islands of rat life."

Nasty Nature Short Subject #2
Community Fly Control (12m:01s)
Another laughably dated short from the good people at Communicable Disease Control Productions. This time it is the dreaded fly that is slated for control and elimination. The highlight here is the Boy Scouts "war on flies."

Oddball Short Subject #3
You Cannot Fart Around With Love (4m:21s)
A black & white music number, featuring E. Kerrigan Prescott, from director Fredric Hobbs epic oddity Roseland. This really has to be seen to be appreciated, if possible.

Oddball Short Subject #4
The Geek (15m:18s)
A grainy color short, circa early 1970s, about a group of pseudo-hippies that attempt to track down Sasquatch, a.k.a. Bigfoot. This film's claim to fame here is a fairly graphic sex scene between Sasquatch and one of the hippie girls. Very bizarre.

Oddball Added Attraction
The Girl And The Geek (a.k.a. Passion In The Sun) 01h:09m:41s
A bonus full-length feature, from director Dale Berry and starring stripper Josette Valague and the appropriately named Mike Butts. This ultra-cheapie from 1964 features carnivals, geeks, chases and plenty of nudity from women that maybe should have kept their clothes on.

Gallery Of Horror Drive-in Exploitation Art With Horrorama Radio-Spot Rarities (5m:43s)
A nice montage of lurid exploitation horror posters, promising such things as "the Horror Chamber Of Blood And Gore", all accompanied by various equally goofy radio ads promoting the same.

A fact-filled insert card detailing Hobbs' career and 12 chapter stops complete the extras. It might be quantity over quality, but I like it.

Extras Grade: A
 

Final Comments

Godmonster Of Indian Flats is a really bad movie. Exploitation director and experimental artist Fredric Hobbs does not deliver a particularly watchable film, and this doesn't compare to his even stranger Roseland feature. For a monster film, the beast is almost an afterthought.

Only the weird array of supplementals make this disc a bizarre curiosity that might just be up your alley.

Rich Rosell 2001-11-09