**May Contain Spoilers**
What can I possibly say about this turkey that hasn't already been said? Probably nothing, but that's never stopped me before. A fortune teller, a hunchback and a leggy stripper star in a cheap carnival where nasty patrons are caged like animals after having acid thrown in their faces. The good news is that these freaks eventually escape and raise havoc. The bad news is that in the meantime, you have to sit through "The World's First Monster Musical." Stripper Carolyn Brandt appears onstage with holes in her stockings. A stupid emcee tells bad jokes in monotone. There are slow, lame love songs, soporific dance numbers and a hypnotic spiral that recurs with annoying frequency. The interior photography by William (Vilmos) Zsigmond is way too dark, probably due to dime-store budget constraints rather than any failing on his part. Apparently afraid that his half-dozen fans couldn't get enough of him, producer/director Steckler shows up under the alias of Cash Flagg. His character--one of several "teenagers" who look as old as the adults--is hypnotized, which doesn't take long; he picks up a knife and commits some violence of the "painted-on stage blood" variety. The villains all have Mexican names like Estrella, Carmelita and Ortega and one of them has an insultingly broad accent. Steckler would never get away with such characterizations today. Ultimately the most mixed-up zombies of all were viewers trying to stay conscious until the end. At some showings actors in monster masks rushed out to terrorize the patrons. That's one way to wake up an audience. I wish I could have seen theater employees trying to fit that outrageous title onto the marquee. A video dealer once told me that there were three directors whose work he couldn't stand: Al Adamson, Andy Milligan and Ray Dennis Steckler. From what I've seen Steckler makes those other two look like Fellini and Bergman by comparison.
What can I possibly say about this turkey that hasn't already been said? Probably nothing, but that's never stopped me before. A fortune teller, a hunchback and a leggy stripper star in a cheap carnival where nasty patrons are caged like animals after having acid thrown in their faces. The good news is that these freaks eventually escape and raise havoc. The bad news is that in the meantime, you have to sit through "The World's First Monster Musical." Stripper Carolyn Brandt appears onstage with holes in her stockings. A stupid emcee tells bad jokes in monotone. There are slow, lame love songs, soporific dance numbers and a hypnotic spiral that recurs with annoying frequency. The interior photography by William (Vilmos) Zsigmond is way too dark, probably due to dime-store budget constraints rather than any failing on his part. Apparently afraid that his half-dozen fans couldn't get enough of him, producer/director Steckler shows up under the alias of Cash Flagg. His character--one of several "teenagers" who look as old as the adults--is hypnotized, which doesn't take long; he picks up a knife and commits some violence of the "painted-on stage blood" variety. The villains all have Mexican names like Estrella, Carmelita and Ortega and one of them has an insultingly broad accent. Steckler would never get away with such characterizations today. Ultimately the most mixed-up zombies of all were viewers trying to stay conscious until the end. At some showings actors in monster masks rushed out to terrorize the patrons. That's one way to wake up an audience. I wish I could have seen theater employees trying to fit that outrageous title onto the marquee. A video dealer once told me that there were three directors whose work he couldn't stand: Al Adamson, Andy Milligan and Ray Dennis Steckler. From what I've seen Steckler makes those other two look like Fellini and Bergman by comparison.