Movie Review: Monsturd (2003)

During the late 60's and 70's there were a copious amount of films with wonderfully genius titles. Movies like I Dismember Mama, Night of Bloody Horror, Daddy's Deadly Darling and Scream Bloody Murder drew viewers into Drive-ins and theaters because of the lure of their exploitative titles. Besides the titles one thing these films also had in common was that they sucked ass.This always had me worried about Rick Popko's and Dan West's film Monsturd. The title is perfect, just like those other films - but could I be setting myself up to be disappointed?

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Monsturd combines two of my favorite things in the world: Poo humor and monster movies. Jack Schmidt (Brad Dosland) is a convicted murderer on the run from the law after escaping maximum security prison. Soon Schmidt finds the confines of the nearest sewer to be the safest place to evade the local po po. Little does he know that the feces covered walls and knee-deep sewage aren't the only things in this sewer. His problems get much worse once he gets doused in a mixture of dookie and a powerful chemical disposed of by the mad scientists at Dutech Research Facility.

Popko and West both play roles in Monsturd as bumbling goofs, Deputy Dan and Deputy Rick, two characters hot on the stinky heels of the muddy beast. Be sure to also watch out for Ryan Nicholson film regular and Cinema Head Cheese favorite Dan Ellis (Hanger, Gutterballs, Bleading Lady) in the role of Johnny Waters.

The biggest surprise about Monsturd isn't the scatological humor - that works more frequently than not - it's the look of this indie production. I noticed some great usage of different color gels in some scenes to catch the particular mood. The creature design of the "Monsturd" isn't bad either considering the ultra-low budget they were working with. It really looks like it cost 10 times the amount, so big kudos to the producers.

West and Popko pinch out an enjoyable movie that may just prove to be the best horror/comedy about killer feces in film history. Recommended.