Monster a Go-Go

Okay here is the scoop. This was an unfinished movie that a few added scenes and was edited together almost at random, so it could be used as part of a double feature. That is why everything is all screwed up, that and the initial inept directing, crappy acting and other such.

Monster A Go Go, it sound like the name of a bad camp movie, but it's really the name of a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad horror movie. It is the worst movie ever made. The reason most MSTies say Manos is worst is because it's a more popular episode because Joel & the bots could make fun of it more. This however was too hard to make fun of. In the MST3K book (Amazing Colossal Episode Guide) they note this was the first time in a while that they didn't do any host segments related to the movie, because NOTHING happens. Manos, had intriguing characters like Torgo, The Master, and hell even Debbie. This has Henry Hite with some mud on his face for two shots.

Only see this movie on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Even then it isn't that good as they don't really have anything to work with.

...but not much else goes together in this film. Very bad acting, you can often catch actors reading from cue cards. It's not really even directed, like the camera was just set up where it would fit, the actors would read their lines, "Cut and print." The story is an amazingly bad Twilight Zone episode dragged on to unbearable lengths, and the surprise ending is by far one of the worst plot-twists ever. The monster itself is a tall guy with bad acne, who just sort of meanders around throughout the duration of the movie. All in all, very hard to watch, even with Joel & the 'bots. Watch for the man doing his own sound effects! "Brrrrrrr!"

A space capsule crash-lands, and the astronaut aboard disappears. Is there a connection between the missing man and the monster roaming the area?

No bones about it, this is a terrible movie. Were it to be remade (heaven forbid) this might actually be alright, because the plot is not awful for a monster movie. But the execution! Oh, man! Poor editing, awful sound (many times conversations are hardly audible or are reverberating), nasty lighting that washes everything out (which is made worse by poor prints, no doubt). Widely considered one of the worst films ever made, it has earned that honor.

What makes it interesting, though, is that despite being a piece of garbage, it was actually made by two great independent filmmakers -- H. G. Lewis and Bill Rebane, the godfather of the Wisconsin film industry. Perhaps even more interesting is a man named Rick Paul who acts in a small role. After this, he apparently stayed out of movies for twenty years before resurfacing in "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" as a victim and the film's art director. Odd! (Though not that odd given the Chicago connection.)

None of this makes up for it being a terrible movie, though. Watch it at your own risk.

ooh...ow, stingy!! that's pretty much sums up the viewing of this Rebane crapsterpiece.

The first time I saw this, I was stunned. Kind of like when you take a test in school and you have no idea how to read Sumerian. The grainy black and white does not make it noir or surreal; it just looks crappy in addition to not being in color. Can you remember one person's name in this film? The only one I can remember is Frank Douglas after the shocking (not in a good way) climax to the movie and that you the viewer were not 800 miles away from this toxic mess. Bad editing, no continuity, nameless faces, great sound EFX (Lucasfilm can't even come close to the phone ring in this one), and illogical events will leave you baffled and bewildered. C'mon! That was the actual space capsule that crash landed? I've seen shop projects that looked more realistic. SHEESH! Also, having events (which you don't actually see) being described by a narrator shows that Rebane has collaborated with Coleman Francis in the past.

Actually, seeing this first on MST made this a lot less painful. Watch it again and you just crack up over how third rate this one is. If only Joel and the bots won the Johnny LongTorso contest cause you can really feel how painful this one was for them!

I'd be hard-pressed to find a more painful film. Nausea-inducing camera twists, seemingly random editing (try and find a scene that has anything to do with the one that preceded it), bad lighting, bad acting, nonexistent writing and a lack of *anything* that makes a good, or coherent film. Add to all that one of the lamest twist endings in cinema history, with out any sort of plot to justify it, and you have one infuriating film. It was so difficult to sit through, I was almost in tears by the end. One of those films you can't enjoy on any level, even as camp.