The Naked Monster

It's obvious from the opening credits through the cruddy stock shots that it's intended as a spoof of no-budget monster movies. Too bad some people don't have friends to watch it with, because with a group, it's a hoot. Having seen it at conventions, screenings, and living rooms, I've heard people laughing with the gags-- not AT the film, but with it. Ken Tobey is very dry and funny, sending up his roles in The Thing, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, etc.... I think Brinke Stevens is probably at her best here (although she's fine in Teenage Exorcist-- which at least had a couple hundred thousand dollars' worth of budget, unlike this $1.98 miracle), and the cast I just love-- all the oldtimers as well as the young-timers. Yeah, I'm more than a little prejudiced, and believe me, I see and hear the flaws more than anyone else. But I know it works as a silly comedy.

(As cruddy as some people might think it is, it was good enough to get into the CascadiaCon Film Festival in Seattle, WA, the RiverRun Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, and the sci-fi fest in Modesto, CA. Yeah, but what do THEY know, anyway, huh? As opposed to some fnork in East Bombfook, Noo Joisey.)

Great spoof...it has a lot of gratuitous nudity and the violence is silly/goofy. Language is minimal. Overall very fun but yeah, not for the family to sit and watch.

A gargantuan beast attacks, resulting in a battle for the survival of mankind from land, sea, and air!

THE NAKED MONSTER is a gift beyond price for lovers of sci-fi / monster movies from the 1950's. Both homage and parody, stock footage and inside jokes are the order of the day. A cavalcade of our favorite -remaining- stars of yesteryear make copious cameos! John Agar! Les Tremayne! Gloria Talbott! To name a few. Hell, just seeing Kenneth Tobey back in his bomber jacket made me weepy! Intentionally cheeeze-tacular schlock with a side order of corn!

WARNING: Contains groan-inducing humor, gorillas with machine guns, and unnecessary nudity! Absurd, ridiculous, and possibly fattening!

Co-stars Brinke Stevens as Dr. Nikki Carlton and R.G. Wilson as Sheriff Lance Boiler. Watch for Linnea Quigley as an early victim!

You have to approach this movie with humor and nostalgia. If you look only at the technical aspect of the film, yes you will find things to complain about. The humor in it, the one liners, the cameos, the nods to the classic monster movies, that's what this film was to me. Call it "Z-grade" all you want...I thought it was a nice tribute to the genre. There is no doubt this was a low budget film. Yes the SPX can hit the cheese level as can some of the acting. I looked beyond that though and saw some writing and scenes that got me chuckling. Every new cameo from a genre star got me to smile as well. I applaud the film makers for doing what they did on a small budget and doing it with some humor as well as some respect for the classic monster movies.

A new lizard menace has arisen to terrify the world: the Monstersaurus Erectus. But a select few individuals have the courage and tenacity (if not the brains) to combat the monster: amiable Sheriff Boiler (R.G. Wilson), government agent Jeff Trouble Stewart (John Goodwin), take-charge scientist Nikki Carlton (Brinke Stevens), and the legendary monster killer Colonel Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey, returning to one of his most famous roles in high style).

"The Naked Monster" is essentially both a loving tribute to, and sometimes downright hilarious spoof of, the memorable sci-fi / horror flicks of the 1950s and 1960s. And it name-drops a LOT. It may be a fan film (written with passion by producer Ted Newsom, who co-directed with Wayne Berwick), but it has a definite edge over a lot of fan films in that Newsom and Berwick were able to get a number of stars from those vintage genre films to make appearances. In addition to the great Tobey, the line-up consists of John Agar, Jeanne Carmen, Robert Clarke, Robert Cornthwaite, John Harmon, Paul Marco, Lori Nelson, Ann Robinson, Gloria Talbott, Robert Shayne, and Les Tremayne. If you adore those old genre pictures, it's a no-brainer to check this out just to see these familiar faces (even if some of their appearances are rather fleeting). It's especially fun for any Kenneth Tobey fan to see him once again in a top-billed role. And if you love the gorgeous Brinke, you'll delight in seeing her in a lead role. If you recognize Goodwin, it's because he had a small part in "Tremors", a modern classic also made in this vein.

"The Naked Monster" was largely shot in 1988, with reshoots done 16 years later; by that point, much of the veteran talent had all passed away. Brinke returned for the reshoots, and you'd hardly differentiate the new footage from the old. The whole movie is done in a cheap style that really attempts to emulate the feel of some of those old pictures. It comes complete with copious stock footage, and use of stock music cues.

The movie doesn't always have great gags, or great momentum, but when it DOES hit, it's a riot, and it keeps up the irreverence right through the closing credits. It's reminiscent of the kind of thing that the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker boys did so well (except, of course, those guys probably would have gotten more of a budget). The special effects are hilariously, memorably, endearingly tacky. And I do want to stress the word TACKY.

A must see for people looking for humour and nostalgia; if you only approach it on the basis of its technical merits, of COURSE it's going to come up short.

Seven out of 10.