Monster Man

Monster Man

Monster Man

Monster Man

Moviecut—Monster Man

The overall reaction to Monster Man seems to be something like : a cheesy horror comedy that borrows a lot or too much from numerous classics & therefor only manages to entertain a younger audience. Now, i myself am not an expert on the horror genre and still have to get acquaintanced with many of its greatest achievements but i did experience a high concentration of Joy Ride here. Apart from that, this is a highly enjoyable horror comedy, especially for lovers of what i like to call highway-and-desert thrillers. For a horror movie, this one also had quite a happy ending. Not just good, but really happy. Yet, in order not to encourage doubting viewers too much, here are some negative points : the number of splattering on-screen killings could have been much higher & the final twists in the plotline come too fast & too late.

Monster Man is a small and modest production, made by a bunch of people who're obvious genre-lovers and ambitious fantasts. I really can't be too harsh on it as the goodwill and enthusiasm of both cast and crew can count on my sympathy a lot more than the uninspired and plot and messy script. Unoriginal is one thing this film surely is since it borrows ideas from films like Spielberg's Duel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Hills have Eyes and even Jeepers Creepers!! Seriously, why anyone would want to steal ideas from junk like Jeepers Creepers is a complete mystery to me, but still… The plot involves two lowlifes (a male virgin nerd and a boisterous, chubby joker) who're on their way to wedding of a girl they both worshiped in their youth. They pick up the inevitable hitch-hiking sexy babe, which leads to new cliché intricacies. Meanwhile, they're being terrorized by this huge Monster Truck, driven by a ghoulish and severely mutilated madman. The make-up effects in this film are playfully gore and the bloodshed is very explicit…Heads and limbs are cheerfully being crushed under the giant wheels of the truck and numberless `roadkill'-corpses appear out of nowhere. The comedy-horror approach of this film reminds you about other memorable titles such as Evil Dead II, Braindead and The Return of the Living Dead…however, I severely doubt that Monster Man will ever enjoy the same status in the field like the previously mentioned titles do. The extremely far-fetched and stupid climax is a bit too much and hard to swallow, even though I was in a generously mild and open-minded mood. Even for an absurd comedy, Monster Man has a dumb ending and that's a shame because the previous 80minutes are a well-intentioned attempt. Oh well…Monster Man will certainly be appreciated by young and over-enthusiast gorehounds and cinema thrillseekers… The more trained and experienced horror fans can keep themselves busy by tracking down the references and tributes to classic horror delights….IF they're in a good mood, of course.

I rented Monster Man because I thought watching people being chased around by a freak in a monster truck was kind of appealing, but I knew in my heart that I would be sorry, for I have been burned by the cool box covers many, many times now. I can honestly say, I am pleasantly surprised and I actually enjoyed the movie MUCH more than I ever thought I would. I have to admit that they borrowed from many other movies of this type, most notably to me was Jeepers Creepers with the creepy vehicle and the freaky monster type. However, that monster truck was so cool. It was freakier than the truck thing used in Jeepers Creepers. Whoever designed that thing can be very proud of himself. I loved how the truck's front end raised up on it's hydraulics when letting off of the gas and dropped down when flooring it. When letting off the gas and quickly flooring it, it gave the impression of a hungry animal trying to bite it's prey, which was especially creepy and cool. The two main characters, Adam and Harley (Eric Jungmann and Justin Urich), are two guys on opposite ends of the extreme. Harley is an obnoxious, loud mouthed punk and Adam is a meek and timid guy who needs to stand up for himself. Along the way to a wedding they were going to, they meet up with a beautiful hitchhiker named Sara (Aimee Brooks), who joins up with them from that point on. The special effects were great, with the exception of the obviously rubber corpse. The roadkill scene was hilarious, whether or not it was meant to be. The monster truck was awesome. The Monster Man was creepy enough to make it work, despite the so-so appearance. Brother Fred was probably the creepiest and most likable at the same time (hard to imagine I know). Overall, if you are into the low budget horror movies, then I can recommend this one highly to you. The two main characters get annoying but the violence more than makes up for it. 7/10

Before watching this movie from beginning to end, I happened to just catch the last half hour. Ordinarily I don't watch a movie if I haven't seen it from the beginning, but a friend had it on and once I started watching it I couldn't stop. I'm really surprised this movie didn't get a wide theatrical release. This is quite a funny movie (often gallows humor) , and the monster and monster truck in it are quite menacing. The monster makes Leatherface look pretty, and the monster truck is a like a cross between a World War I German artillery vehicle and a giant coffin. A timid twenty-five year-old virgin guy is on a long drive to stop the woman he loves from getting married. His ex-best friend tags along and rags on him constantly. They're menaced on the road by a vintage black hearse and the aforementioned monster truck. They also pick up a hitchhiker, played by the very sexy Aimee Brooks. I also watched the animated trailer with the director's commentary, and the electronic press kit and I found those both to be interesting. I would bet that the feature commentary with the director and the two male stars is pretty enjoyable too, but I have so many other movies to watch I've never seen before....

I really really despair that 90% of you rated this above 1. In fact, I despair further that I could not pick a zero for the rating. Woeful acting throughout. Aimee Brooks visibly laughing when she's MEANT to be looking scared (Oh yes she is think about it) about 64 minutes in as the three of them flee the truck on foot. The rest of the unknowns keeping her company are destined to remain so. Parking cars and pumping gas beckons, boys & girls, in a Bacharach & David sort of way. What effrontery to Duel , Jeepers Creepers & Texas Chainstore Masochists to be named on the DVD cover. Also, driving from dusk to dawn day after day - it's T-shirt weather as we see; say 14 hours daylight ? 600 miles a day ? Maybe they should have got their car out of second gear and made the damned wedding.

Just got around to seeing Monster Man yesterday. It had been a long wait and after lots of anticipation and build up, I'm glad to say that it came through and met my expectations on every level. True, you really can't expect too much from hearing the plot rundown, but after reading some of the reviews for it, I was ecstatic. I mean, what trash fan wouldn't want to see a gore flick about a deranged inbred hick mowing people down with his make-shift monster truck? I went in expecting a cross between Road Trip and The Hills Have Eyes and got so much more. This was a horror comedy that actually worked. The film makers got it right when it came to making you squirm and making you howl with laughter at the same time. Kudos to Michael Davis for going all out with the gore and pushing the envelope with the sickass humor. Let me list just a few reasons why I love this movie so much: First off is the story. It's been done to death in so many other flicks. A college guy gets wind that his childhood crush is getting married. He, being the 25 year old virgin that he is, hops in his Vista Cruiser and decides to take the road trip to confess his love, hoping that she will fall head over hills and all that good jive. Hidden in the backseat of his station wagon, is good buddy Harley. Harley is the loudmouth, former friend, who laughs and talks just like Jack Black in High Fidelity. You can't help but like the guy, but if he was your friend in real life, you'd have to keep a whiffle ball bat handy(laugh all you want, but have you ever been hit with one?) to keep him in check. So, he's a little on the obnoxious side, to say the least, but you can tell that he's a loyal friend, deep down...Anyway, they're on the road and when they stop in a bar, they aggravate the locals. Now they're being stalked by a leatherface clone in a monster truck. That's it. Yeah, along the way they pick up a gorgeous hitchhiker but I'm too lazy and hungover to go into that right now... so just watch the damn movie. Second thing I love was the humor. This one had some of the sickest laughs of any movie since Cabin Fever. Just how messed up is it? Well, I won't even go into the whole cat scene and as for the "corpse burrito" thing, I'll leave that to your virgin eyes as well. The bar full of amputees was somewhat disturbing and that guy who looked like John Turturro bothered me too. Harley, although a totally obnoxious frat-boy type, can really sling off the one liners. Love the clogs, by the way. I need a new pair.. The GORE. This one pours it on heavy. While the first hour plays out as a demented road comedy, the last third is all about blood and guts. If the movie hadn't kept such a light tone throughout, it would have been a little disturbing, but seeing how it was all played for laughs, there is no way possible that you will be bothered by it. If you're still in your seat by the time it comes, you'll probably see the humor in it too, but seriously, there were buckets and buckets of the red stuff. There was a big plot turn that I DIDN'T see coming and when the credits rolled, I was completely satisfied. I had gotten exactly what I came for and I'm really glad that I bought it. Much like Cabin Fever, it's going to get a lot of replay. The Look of the movie was outstanding. There was this deliberately cheap look that made the whole thing scream late 80s and I loved the exaggerated colors. It's obvious that Monster Man was done on a relatively low budget, but much like Cabin Fever (sorry I keep comparing the two) it actually works in the movie's favor. Cabin Fever was an ode to the 70s greats, this was the 80s answer to that. So take that for what it's worth. No CGI here. This is what we all needed. I'm not exactly sure why it didn't get a theatrical release because this is everything that Jeepers Creepers SHOULD have been. Thank god for Lions Gate.