MONSTER!, a low budget TV movie from 1999, is a film that's been written as a homage to and a pastiche of the classic 1950s B-movie monster flicks, in particular THE BLOB which it copies the plot of throughout. It's designed as a nostalgia piece, a throwback to the movies of yesteryear, although it's nowhere near on a level with Joe Dante's similarly-themed Matinée.
Unfortunately this is pretty much a failure as a film; other than the in-jokes and references to previous movies, there just isn't much to write home about here. The scriptwriter throws in a lot of clichéd scenes, like the teens making out in a car and being attacked by the beast, and plays them for laughs, but they just aren't very funny. And don't get me started on the monster itself: this is one of the silliest CGI creations put on screen, and I'm glad it doesn't appear very much.
The only actor of note in the whole thing is M. Emmet Walsh, an old-timer playing an actor from the original run of monster movies. Walsh gives an energetic, tongue-in-cheek performance that sadly isn't matched by the rest of the cast. No, despite the fun elements this is very much a forgettable outing, even for fans of the movies being referenced.
Unfortunately this is pretty much a failure as a film; other than the in-jokes and references to previous movies, there just isn't much to write home about here. The scriptwriter throws in a lot of clichéd scenes, like the teens making out in a car and being attacked by the beast, and plays them for laughs, but they just aren't very funny. And don't get me started on the monster itself: this is one of the silliest CGI creations put on screen, and I'm glad it doesn't appear very much.
The only actor of note in the whole thing is M. Emmet Walsh, an old-timer playing an actor from the original run of monster movies. Walsh gives an energetic, tongue-in-cheek performance that sadly isn't matched by the rest of the cast. No, despite the fun elements this is very much a forgettable outing, even for fans of the movies being referenced.