This title is currently available on Blu-ray from AGFA, the American Genre Film Archive (www.americangenrefilm.com).
I have to hand it to the AGFA. They are doing their best to salvage some pretty obscure and bizarre films. Their latest release is the borderline demented Godmonster of Indian Flats, a creature feature that awkwardly combines elements of a western with mad scientist B-movies of the 50s and 60s as well as monster movies… all while it tries to insert some sociopolitical underpinnings. The AGFA and Something Weird have located the only surviving theatrical print of the feature and given it a 2K scan, essentially saving it from complete oblivion.
The movie itself doesn’t work at all, but it endlessly fascinating to watch. Those who enjoy so-bad-it’s-good cinema will be quite taken with the picture’s extreme eccentricities. And the titular sheep-mutant monster… woah. It’s simply one of the cheesiest looking beasts ever captured on celluloid (and the make-up and creature work is not helped by the fact that the majority of the movie is shot in broad daylight in a Nevada desert town). Yet in a weird way, it’s such a strikingly sad looking thing that one can’t help but empathize with it. The monster isn’t particularly vicious and is among the most likable characters in the movie.
The convoluted plot involves the residents of a mining town outside Reno, Nevada. A visitor named Barnstable (Christopher Brooks) arrives on behalf of the Wright corporation to try and purchase leases to the local mines from Mayor Silverdale (Stuart Lancaster). Unfortunately, the official has different ideas on how to profit off of the excavation sites. He’s essentially recreated the settlement to be just as it was 100 years previous, with most of the residents working it as an old west tourist attraction. Additionally, he and his “secret society” posse are racists, which add even more problems for Barnstable as he tries to dress up and fit in with locals.
While this is going on, a sheep farmer named Eddie (Richard Marion) discovers a large mutant sheep embryo being born on his property (courtesy of a hilariously psychedelic montage of “baaing” livestock bathed in orange light). With the help of Prof. Clemens (E. Karrigan Prescott) and his assistant Mariposa (Karen Ingenthron), they conduct experiments on the newborn in a lab. They discover that phosphorous gasses rising from the old mines and into the soil may be responsible. After it grows to a size of eight feet in height, the bipedal beast escapes when an angry vigilante mob arrive and shoot things up.
It’s a very strange feature, with much of the film devoted to Barnstable’s experiences in the small community. The town leaders are awful and even the scientists behave strangely. Research assistant Mariposa often gets her fortune told between experiments and the movie hints at a potential romance between her and the slow-witted sheep farmer (it never really goes anywhere significant, though). Then again, numerous characters behave less-than-rationally. It’s all quite surreal. Thankfully, when the monster gets free events become even more absurd. The Godmoster crashes a children’s party and wanders onto a gas station property, panicking the attendant and eventually causing an explosion. These moments are all extremely clumsy in execution and very amusing to watch.
For a film from the early 70s, one does admire the attempts to make an environmental plea and present the monster sympathetically. As mentioned, most of the human characters are horrible. Some are racists, others greedy opportunists. Even random townspeople are eventually presented as a vicious mob. And how they treat the monster is simply awful. As a result, one can give the movie some credit for sustaining an incredibly dark view of the world and humanity. This is most apparent during the over-the-top climax. It features the nasty, backwards town mayor standing on a podium screaming, “Make them all pay… violence in the name of justice controls the masses! It always has!” into a microphone while complete chaos erupts around him.
One supposes that is why the movie has stayed in the consciousness of those who have witnessed it. It’s not good, but its approach is so unusual, weird and unreal that you simply can’t forget it. And for some of us (myself included), that’s what makes a cheesy movie like this so compelling. You have no idea what is coming and for the most part, everything that occurs is unexpected and baffling. And that’s what this title delivers.
The Blu-ray from AGFA is taken from the only film print left, so one shouldn’t expect reference quality material. It’s presented as it was shot in a 1.33:1 shooting aspect ratio. Early opening credits look a bit beat up and there are the definitely scratches present in the source, but sections of the movie actually look quite good. Long ago, I saw a VHS copy of the film and this release is a dramatic improvement, with much sharper image quality and richer colors on display.
The extras are also notable. While there isn’t much to say about the feature itself as filmmaker Frederick Hobbs has passed away, an assortment of bonuses have been included. There area ton of shorts, including Strange Sightings, a 36 minute documentary from the 60s about a UFO expert and others asserting their evidence for alien visitors. The instructional effort School Bus Fires was intended as a training film and details how to deal with blazes that could break out during routes. It’s quite entertaining. There’s also an 10 minute short called White Gorilla, which appears to be an edited highlight reel of the 1945 feature, The White Gorilla. Additionally, there are great trailers for B-movies, including Creature from Black Lake (1976), Grizzly (1976), The Mysterious Monsters (1975), South of Shell Mountain (1971) and Man Beast (1956). They’re a beaten up, but that only adds to the experience.
Amazingly, the Blu-ray includes the “documentary” feature, The Legend of Bigfoot (1975). It follows a tracker’s exploits in trying to locate and film the elusive Sasquatch. He travels up the west coast hoping to locate it and narratives his lengthy adventures. It’s complete baloney, filled with stock footage and a tacked on voice-overs to random (although occasionally pretty) images of the wilderness. Of course, at the end he does claim to have filmed a Bigfoot in action and presents his footage of a man in a Bigfoot suit at a riverbank. It’s a terrible movie, but presents a few amusing moments and is nice to have as an extra.
These additional features really make this an entertaining package. If you’re a fan of the strangest and weirdest B-movies in existence, you may have fun with Godmonster of Indian Flats. And it you like it, you may also be amused by the other clips thrown in for good measure. Kudos once again to AGFA for saving this movie from the dust pile and giving monster movie fans a very flawed but fascinating old title to rediscover and enjoy.