{"id":1280,"date":"2008-09-13T18:37:16","date_gmt":"2008-09-13T08:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/2008\/09\/13\/review-monster-from-bikini-beach\/"},"modified":"2008-09-14T18:32:42","modified_gmt":"2008-09-14T08:32:42","slug":"review-monster-from-bikini-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/2008\/09\/13\/review-monster-from-bikini-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Monster From Bikini Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To fully appreciate <strong>Monster From Bikini Beach<\/strong> (US-2008; dir. Darin Wood) you have to take the &#8220;Truth in Advertising&#8221; approach to criticism. Look at the title. Right? Now what do you expect to find in this movie? Cheesy monsters? Bikini-clad beach bunnies? Trash cinema aesthetics? Okay, keep that in mind.<\/p>\n<p><em>Monster From Bikini Beach<\/em> is a pastiche of cheapie 1950s\/60s B-grade exploitation flicks that fully knows that it has a minuscule budget, no subtext to speak of, actors of varying ability and a low-brow generic attitude toward narrative, artistic design and tonal ambiance. It has, in fact, embraced these things with enthusiasm, not simply of necessity but with deliberate intent. Therefore, what it offers is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Bikini-clad women dancing on a beach<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-01.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-01.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 1\" height=\"249\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u00a0A &#8220;man-in-a-suit&#8221; monster &#8212; with an outrageously non-naturalistic design:<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\">\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-02.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-02.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 2\" height=\"249\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Lots of spilt blood:<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-03.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-03.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 3\" height=\"248\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>And spaghetti guts:<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-07.jpg\" title=\"Monster from Bikini Beach 6\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-07.jpg\" alt=\"Monster from Bikini Beach 6\" height=\"251\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Plus bikini tops being removed, accompanied by lots of screaming:<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-05.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 4\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-05.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 4\" height=\"252\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>And gratuitous nudity (bare breasts mostly, of course):<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-04.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 5\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-04.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach 5\" height=\"248\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And all of this in the pre-credit sequence!<\/p>\n<p>Now if the above causes you to mutter <em>tsshhh&#8230; rubbish<\/em> and wonder where you left your copy of\u00a0 <em>\u00c0 la recherche du temps perdu<\/em>, it&#8217;s probably fair to say that you\u00a0 shouldn&#8217;t watch this film or, if you do, you shouldn&#8217;t expect to get much enjoyment out of it. On the other hand, if you like cheap, energetic exploitation films from the &#8217;50s and &#8217;60s, you just might be on a winner.<\/p>\n<p>In the township of Camaroville, which boasts the groovy Bikini Beach as its main attraction, a bunch of eager bikini-clad and body-painted beauties and their lusty partners have gathered to take part in a dance contest. With immaculate timing a terrible monster arises from the stereotypically murky depths &#8212; a primordial fiend whose over-sized claws and enormous mouth just can&#8217;t get enough of the local beach-blanket bingo. The story follows a crooked cop (Sammy Payday) and his naive squeeze as they try to score bigtime:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-06.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini beach Sammy and Squeeze\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-06.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini beach Sammy and Squeeze\" height=\"247\" width=\"331\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8212; and an eccentric, rather nerdy guy (Archie Barclay) and his attractive &#8220;I-wish-she-was-my-girlfriend&#8221; buddy, who realise the Truth early on and must work to Save the Party.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-09.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach Archie and Chick\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-09.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach Archie and Chick\" height=\"247\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Will they be too late to stop the monster&#8217;s bloody rampage before the town is denuded of its bikini-wearing wildlife? Will they keep the monster away from the big televised final of the Dance Contest?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>(If you answered that last question in the positive, just wait on a sec &#8217;cause I&#8217;ve got Marcel Proust&#8217;s phone number here somewhere and I know he&#8217;d love to talk to you.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-beach-cover.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach poster\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-beach-cover.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach poster\" height=\"543\" width=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It should be said that though the low-end nature of the project is sometimes apparent in various technical aspects of production &#8212; lighting, sound recording, SFX (though the gore and dismemberment is more than adequate for the genre), variable acting ability, occasional flat sections of narrative and some overkill in the dialogue (see Sammy Payday&#8217;s final soliloquy) &#8212; the cast, crew and director Wood do a smashing job with what they&#8217;ve got, and the result is an enjoyable way to pass the time &#8212; but only, as I&#8217;ve said, if you like this sort of thing.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Stephen Vargo as Sammy Payday and Galen Howard as Archie Barclay bring an eccentric and sometimes [endearingly] awkward energy to their roles that makes the whole thing less stereotypical than it might have been.<\/p>\n<p>Other positives are lots of groovy beach music and the groovy retro design:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-10.jpg\" title=\"Monster from Bikini Beach groove\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-10.jpg\" alt=\"Monster from Bikini Beach groove\" height=\"247\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Oh, did I mention the cool monster?<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-11.jpg\" title=\"Monster From Bikini Beach nicking girl\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-11.jpg\" alt=\"Monster From Bikini Beach nicking girl\" height=\"249\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and the gore?<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-12.jpg\" title=\"Monster from Bikini Beach gore\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/monster-bikini-12.jpg\" alt=\"Monster from Bikini Beach gore\" height=\"249\" width=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">It&#8217;s lots of trashy fun. If you get the chance, see it at a fleapit cinema near you!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Official website<\/em>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.trashfilmorgy.com\" target=\"_blank\">Trash Film Orgy Productions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To fully appreciate Monster From Bikini Beach (US-2008; dir. Darin Wood) you have to take the &#8220;Truth in Advertising&#8221; approach to criticism. Look at the title. Right? Now what do you expect to find in this movie? Cheesy monsters? Bikini-clad &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/2008\/09\/13\/review-monster-from-bikini-beach\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,44,26,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}