The Amateur Monster Movie

The writing here in general was quite good. There were many laugh-out-loud lines that perfectly captured the absurdist travesty that is much of the dialogue that dominates many amateur monster movies. What it really came down to for me, however, was the acting. It has been said that only the best singers are able to do a perfect impression of terrible singing, and I feel that this is an apt analogy for the acting in this film. For a movie like this to work, it needs to be believable as an actual attempt at legitimate filmmaking. In order to really pull this off, actors cannot simply do their most over-the-top, chewing-the-scenery impression of bad acting. There is a surprising amount of delicacy to bad acting, and it was touch and go here. Unfortunately, I think the worst offender was the lead actor playing Walter. While he grew on me towards the end, his overacting and frequent smirks to the camera broke the illusion for me. There were some actors who mastered this art, however, including Richards himself, and several of the small roles. When I was able to believe that these people were honestly trying their hardest to make a good movie yet failing miserably, the film was absolutely hilarious and brilliant.

I definitely enjoyed myself during this movie, it was the perfect late-night snack after a long day of much more serious films. Richards seems very familiar and comfortable with the genre of film that he lovingly mocks, and the result is a film that stands on it's own. This is an admirable first attempt by Richards, who shows a surprising amount of wit and insight for such a ridiculously over-the-top gore-fest. I look forward to seeing more from him in the future.