Schlock

Low budget comedy that helped launch the careers of director John Landis and makeup artist Rick Baker. It parodies everything from King Kong to Dragnet to 2001: A Space Odyssey and more. Funny stuff but it does lose steam the longer it goes on. Still worth a watch especially for Landis fans. I would also recommend the many would-be filmmakers whose crappy iPhone-shot home movies dominate the internet today take a look at how a proper low budget (really no budget) indie film can be done.

This is a truly bad film in almost every conceivable way: Poorly scripted, amateurishly acted, badly directed, and incompetently edited, but is saved by director Landis himself: His largely improvised performance in Rick Baker's excellent "monkey suit" for most of the second half of the film is laugh-out-loud funny in places, truly saving an otherwise forgettable film.

Sadly, despite Mr. Landis's encyclopedic knowledge of early cinema, many opportunities to parody or pay homage to other monster movies are missed. For example, the sequence where Schlock is feeding the ducks at the pond is just asking for a reference to the "flower" scene from James Whale's "Frankenstein". (Or is this reference enough? Hmm.) Other similar opportunities are missed throughout.

I suppose I was a little hard on this film. It entertains, indeed, but it's filled with holes and inconsistencies. I suppose if you ignore the aforementioned "holes and inconsistencies" you could get a kick out of this.

Childish, ridiculous, at times funny... Goofy, filled with rotten acting (and rotten bananas), bad camera-work, bad colours...

It's actually kind of nice to see a pretty well established director's first film and realize it's a total B flick.

I like the king kong reference. And the 2001. And the Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau would be proud... either that or roll over in his grave)

This is an early film from John Landis made when he was just 21 years old and funded by family and friends but not released until 1973. He shows a deft touch for writing and directing goofball comedy and this was far more entertaining than I had anticipated.

Landis also wears the monkey suit as Schlock, courtesy of make-up artist Rick Baker, who is the missing link between ape and man. Both Landis and Baker would go on to create the groundbreaking transformation make-up effects for An American Werewolf in London (1981) with Baker receiving an Academy award. Here though the Schlock suit is not quite as sophisticated but Landis delivers some good physical slapstick comedy dressed as the prehistoric creature in a nod to The Three Stooges. This also marks the beginning of the long running professional relationship Landis had with producer and editor George Folsey Jr.

There's not much plot involved about locals discovering an ape like creature in a well which then goes on the rampage but a noteworthy highlight is a lampoon of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and quotes from other movies such as Love Story (1970) and the original King Kong (1933). Essentially this is a 1950's B movie parody with a string of gags and quickfire lunacy that sweeps you along with it's silly but good natured humour in much the same vein as the early Woody Allen films.

Schlock also features the phrase 'See You Next Wednesday', a quote lifted from the aforementioned 2001 and is a running gag featured in every John Landis movie. Some of the on screen lunacy would be later refined by Landis for his more accomplished comedies like The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) and The Blues Brothers (1980).

Don't let this minor cult classic be the missing link in your John Landis collection.

The reviews for this movie here are mainly positive. And it's no surprise. This is a very, Very strong first movie. In fact, it looks almost exactly like the more famous Landis movies down to the lighting and editing. It does have some silly stuff in it, and there are scenes to make the picture longer. But the movie never feels constricted by its low budget, it successfully pokes fun at it. Landis is great as the titular ape and Rick Baker's done a great job on the mask - it even allowed Landis to emote. Eric Roberts' wife plays a blind girl who befriends Schlock thinking he's a dog, but soon she regains her sight and then!... Schlock's really funny, it looks like it's someone's first movie only for the first 15 minutes, and then it becomes big and quite enjoyable.