I've read many reviews and their reasoning as to why The Ghastly Love of Johnny X is a bad movie. First of all, I have to ask, at what point does this film try and take itself seriously, and if and when it does, what is the motivation behind it? This question should be asked and answered before a dismissive judgment be made on this film. I feel as if I need to defend this film because I see what can only be described to my eyes as "sheep mentality" in regards to this film. The bottom line is that this movie works on what it set out to do. As far as I am concerned, this film wanted to look good (check). This film wanted to be an atmospheric and campy Comedy Sci-Fi Musical(check, and this film wanted to tell a morality tale without getting too heavy handed (CHECK!) In the process, if one decides they can not relax enough to sit back and make an honest effort to stop picking things apart and to truly just let the movie transport you to the world it has set out to create (successfully), then it is simply not a movie for the spectator. And not every thing is for every body. Fair enough. No need to take a sprinkle on the experience, just move on. Maybe I am blind, but I cannot see anything that would be considered offensive here. Quite the opposite, actually. But to condemn this film for "trying to be this film, or that film", is just dumb. At no point did I find myself wanting to throw rice at the screen or sing along. I simply enjoyed a lighthearted musical Sci-Fi that not only entertained me and put me into a mood that 99% of modern films never can, but also saw a film that had enough balls to agitate the gravel enough to keep the viewing experience from being Disney without crossing the line into Argento or Corman.
Thank you, film makers! Thank you for using a beautiful collection of lenses to capture this great film, thank you for using a deep, nicely contrasted black and white look and thank you for taking it on the chin when you took this project out into this ungrateful climate of supposed film lovers. It didn't aim to be Gone With The Wind, so WHY does it have to be Gone With The Wind? It didn't aim to be The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so why is it being compared to The Rocky Horror Picture Show?
Now that's what I call "REAR PROJECTION"!
"The Ghastly Love of Johnny X" IS a modern day Classic and like many Classics, it will take time for most people to "get it".
It's not the best movie ever made, not by a long shot. It simply is a great movie that does what it says. The title is not misleading. It is a simple, goofy, beautifully shot, corny, campy sci fi musical morality tale action picture that is meditative at the same time it takes getting there.
Thank you, film makers! Thank you for using a beautiful collection of lenses to capture this great film, thank you for using a deep, nicely contrasted black and white look and thank you for taking it on the chin when you took this project out into this ungrateful climate of supposed film lovers. It didn't aim to be Gone With The Wind, so WHY does it have to be Gone With The Wind? It didn't aim to be The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so why is it being compared to The Rocky Horror Picture Show?
Now that's what I call "REAR PROJECTION"!
"The Ghastly Love of Johnny X" IS a modern day Classic and like many Classics, it will take time for most people to "get it".
It's not the best movie ever made, not by a long shot. It simply is a great movie that does what it says. The title is not misleading. It is a simple, goofy, beautifully shot, corny, campy sci fi musical morality tale action picture that is meditative at the same time it takes getting there.