Plot: What’s it about?
Jack Schmitt (Brad Dosland) is a sick and sadistic serial killer, but he has been behind bars and of no threat to anyone. But when he manages to escape, his twisted desires pose an immense risk to the locals, without question. So the police unleash a massive manhunt to track him down, one which leads to the sewage treatment plant. A standoff ensues and in the end, Schmitt is gunned down and falls into the horrific filth from the city’s toilets. This should be the end of the story, since police took down the insane madman, but this is not the conclusion. As it turns out, Schmitt wasn’t killed when he fell into the mixture of human waste and toxic chemicals. No, he was still alive and when he was immersed in the sick concoction, he was changed forever. The chemicals and human waste combined to cause some alterations within Schmitt’s genetic makeup, so he is no longer just a man, not even close. Schmitt has turned into a hideous creature that is only half man, with the other half made up of stinky, smelly shit. This is not how he planned to end his escape, but now with enhanced powers at his disposal, Schmitt decides to continue his murderous ways. At first, no one believes the stories about a massive pile of shit on a rampage. But soon enough, the rumors become fact and perhaps even the police can’t stop this Monsturd!
I’ve seen a literal ton of monster movies, with all kinds of oddball creatures, but none quite the one found in Monsturd. I’ve seen winged beasts, mutants of all kinds, even cockroaches with bad attitudes, but never a murderous pile of shit. As you can gather from the title alone, Monsturd is about a walking heap of shit that goes on a killing spree. In other words, the premise is a home run in all respects, but can the flick live up to its potential? As it happens, Monsturd is a bad movie, but then again, we all knew it would be. The dialogue is hilarious, with all kinds of cornball one-liners and of course, the cast is just as entertaining. As expected, the actors are local talent and friends of the filmmakers, though Mark Pirro does make an appearance. Pirro has starred in other outlandish B movies, so he fits in rather well in Monsturd. The performances are campish and over the top, which is just what this material called for. Monsturd is all about the sick, toilet humor style and for the most part, it all works well. I can see why folks would be offended and grossed out, but if you’re that kind of person, why check out a movie called Monsturd in the first place? Elite’s DVD is solid too, with some nice supplements to peruse. So if you like wild B movies in the vein of Troma, then make sure you check out Monsturd.
Video: How does it look?
Monsturd is presented in full frame, as intended. This movie was shot on video, with a minimal amount of resources, so we can’t expect perfection. The image looks better than expected though, so at least some care was taken with the visuals. You can still tell this was a low rent production, but for the material, this transfer is quite impressive. The print is clean, with only some minor issues to mention, which means no thick grain or debris hinders the visuals. The image is soft, as most shot on video releases are, but the detail is still solid. I found the visuals to be a tad dark, but aside from that, contrast is even and colors look passable also. So while it has some flaws, this is a more than acceptable treatment for the material involved.
Audio: How does it sound?
A Dolby Digital 5.1 option is included here, but the sound design isn’t able to take full advantage of the added channels. But even if the audio technicians spent more time on the soundtrack, this kind of material just isn’t that dynamic by nature. The audio is a little thin at times, but that is to be expected, since this was such a low budget project. And on the whole, this is a cleaner and sharper track than I had expected, so I won’t complain much. The music and sound effects come across well and don’t often distort, while dialogue is always easy to understand. As I said, a few problems could be heard here, but not enough to be that concerned about.
Supplements: What are the extras?
An audio commentary is up first, one with directors Dan West and Rick Popko, who are joined by two main cast members. This is a fun track and if you’re interested in low budget filmmaking, you won’t want to miss this one. The two filmmakers detail the ups and downs of the production, as well as what changes they would have made. In others words, an honest and informative session, not a common find on most discs. You can also watch a brief behind the scenes featurette, or view the film’s humorous trailer.
