Ganjasaurus Rex

In high school some friends and I were cruising Blockbuster and we stumbled into the narrow "Other" section, where my eyes set on a movie called "Ganjasaurus Rex". On the spine of the box, under "Genre", some jaded employee entered "BAD". Needless to say, we rented it.

The "plot" of this "movie" involves a six-foot inflatable dinosaur that terrorizes stoned hikers for their pot. For about half the movie, the date and time are in the corner of the frame, betraying the filmmakers' use of a friggin' CAMCORDER! Funny to laugh at (not with), but the absurdity loses its appeal pretty quick.

The plot : "When the federal government tries to eradicate the local marijuana crop, they encounter an unexpected problem - GANJASAURUS REX - a prehistoric 400-foot-tall monster who awakens with a healthy appetite for a particular strain of marijuana - cannabis sequoia!"

With a plot like that I was expecting a "so bad it's good movie", but not at all! It was just a really really bad one. The acting is terrible, same thing for the jokes, and it was THE most boring dinosaur movie I've ever seen so far (and I've seen a lot of them). The dinosaur addicted to marijuana must appears maximum 5 minutes on screen, and that's sad because those scenes are the only "so bad it's good" parts of this movie.

Maybe I wasn't in the good state of mind to enjoy it because people are maybe supposed to be stoned to enjoy this thing...

I admit I'm not an impartial critic in this case because I grew up in Southern Humboldt County where this "film" was made; I know several of the "actors" and a couple of my childhood friends even make cameo appearances. But that said, this is the kind of movie that will really tickle a certain demographic. People who love things that are, as my old manager used to say when I worked at a hipster video store in Marin County, "so bad that they come out good on the other side." Everything about this movie is horrible, from the poor sound quality to the amateur acting to the Ganjasaurus himself, who is actually a toy--that belonged to my pal Travis --held by an always-visible hand. But beneath all this awfulness there's some genuine laughs, most of them coming not from the script but the giddily god-awful execution of this whole weed-infused enterprise. You better believe everyone involved in this movie knew exactly what they were doing, tongue-in-cheek doesn't even begin to describe it. Maybe "joint-in-mouth" would be a bit more apropos. The bottom line? If you like beyond-campy movies and/or puffing the magic dragon, do yourself a late nite favor and track this dirty little gem down.

This was the worst damn movie I've ever seen! So I gave it a 2. It was funny, not because of the dialouge, but the dinosaur. It's so awful all the way through. The film at the begining looks it could be used in a travel video. They use 1985 stock footage of helicopters and raids that have the date and time in the top corner too. The dinosaur on the otherhand is the best part. When he takes to the pot from the helicopter all you see is a big green crudley made glove come up and grab at some green stuff in a toy net. IT'S AWESOME! If you're a fan of these horribly bad movies then this a treat, but good luck finding it. I'd feel sorry for you if actually did come across it. so so so so sorry oh yea, "trog"

Ahhh...the 1980's. I remember them well. Family-owned video rental stores, renting out VHS tapes to the unsuspecting public, were on every other street corner in America. With the proliferation of these stores came the need for product to fill their shelves, and not just in the "Adults Only" section behind the curtain in the back of the store. It seemed like anybody with a video camera and a lot of free time on their hands could call themselves a "filmmaker" and get a distribution deal with fly-by-night companies that have all gone the way of the video stores themselves.

Which explains the existence of Ganjasaurus Rex. a spoof of the giant radioactive monster movies of the '50's that's about 20 years too late and now, 30 years out of date.. It's a film that proves there is no downward limit to the definition of "amateur" or "low budget" movies. A bunch of stoners, who collectively possess less unfried brain matter than a squirrel, start growing a new strain of pot called "Cannabis sequoia", a type of marijuana plant that grows as tall as a redwood tree. It attracts the attention of the worst Not-zilla ever seen on film, played by a plastic toy that can actually be seen carried around by one of the cast members in one scene. With its completely immobile plastic face sniffing around the pot crop and eating it, Ganjasaurus becomes a problem for the stoners and the government team that's on-site to crack down on local pot growers - when he decides to actually show up, which isn't often.

No point in talking about the cast, because you haven't heard of any of these people unless you lived in the area where the movie made. Calling them "actors" may be overly generous. The cinematography is lackluster, with characters' faces disappearing from view every time they step into the shade of a tree to recite some dialogue and the camera lighting reflecting off the inside of Ganjasaurus' nostrils in close-ups. The cops and G-men are indistinguishable from the slow-talking, stiff-necked louts from a Cheech and Chong routine. The film takes a decidedly pro-marijuana stance, at a time when such viewpoints were still considered scandalous, even while telling a cautionary tale about the dangers of pot attracting giant lizards, or something. There is also a "professor" of something-or-other who is an "expert" on Ganjasaurus, despite it not being seen by human eyes since World War II. At one point in the film, he gives a lecture on the history of Ganjasaurus while holding a 12-inch Godzilla toy, a sad reminder to viewers of how much better a giant monster movie could be.

The filmmakers attempt some compositing shots while Ganjasaurus rampages through a town, and some overly-ambitious attempts at stop-motion animation, but the perspective and positioning are always wrong, with Ganjasaurus continually shot with its legs concealed to cover up the sad reality that they lack the flexibility to simulate walking. Microphones are never positioned properly and sound editing is non-existent, making all the dialogue sound like it was recorded in an echo-filled high school auditorium (which it may have been).

It's been said that the best way to truly appreciate "2001: A Space Odyssey" is to watch it when you are stoned out of your mind. That may also be the only way you can watch Ganjasaurus Rex and not think it a complete waste of time. It's certainly the only way you'd find the "comedy" funny.