Tonypulp Three dangerous vixens, one giant tentacle monster.. it's a recipe for a good old fashioned disaster. In a good way, of course. In this brand new ozploitation flick, the glorious classic elements of the exploitation and the input of several characteristics of the monster genre collide. It's the best of both worlds. I wasn't expecting much, but the first few minutes caused my jaw to drop and my drool to escape. Just a figure of speech..It starts off with the three ladies hanging around in the middle of the desert in their broken down car, all shot in classy black/white, steady photography. Australian director Stuart Simpson is obviously paying a tribute to Russ Meyer's monumental classic 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'. It's an effective start and it immediately brings a certain attitude and vibe to it that fans of the traditional action/crime genre will definitely love.The happy, cheery vibe changes as we witness a terrible crime committed by the, apparently, hit-man-chicks. Monstro Del Mar shows a serious side, but at the same time it will never forget the essence of a great monster flick; taking a breath every once in a while and have a laugh. Plenty of room for silly activities, exploiting the female presence without getting to sexual or cheap.With only 75 minutes on the clock there will be little time to get distracted or bored with the ladies, the monster or the epic combination of both. The ending is one to remember and the fact that they used practical effects for the most part is something that made me smile from cheek to cheek. Stuart Simpson knows what's right, resulting in a mixture of genres that will entertain you in a way that most other modern exploitation revivals fail to do.It's not easy to point out exactly what makes Monstro del Mar that much different from the rest. We've all seen it before for as long as we can remember. Maybe it's the lack of convincing new material that makes this traditionally built piece of horror worth your while. Why change a killer recipe, right? The three vixens, Beretta, Blondie and Snowball are all played by first time actresses, making their part even more impressive. They play their roles as if they are having a good time, not as if they're trying to act.I could just repeat the above and call it an end, but I'd like to point out that it really is a refreshing film in the midst of all the crap released lately. Stuart Gordon, who began his career at Troma (where else?), has convinced me of his talent in a way that very few are capable of nowadays. Check this Australian masterpiece out whenever you can, it will be worth your time!

Leofwine_draca MONSTRO! is another grindhouse-style movie that came out in the wake of the Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration. This sub-genre of films typically harks back to the cheapo B-movies of yesteryear, throwing in copious sex and violence and not worrying too much about strong production values. MONSTRO!, an Australian addition to the genre, isn't as bad as the last one I watched - DEAR GOD NO! - but it's hardly the stuff of greatness.The template this time around is the cinema of Russ Meyer, with a trio of 'super vixens' parading around in their tattoos and bikinis, although the film is surprisingly coy when it comes to actual nudity. The loose storyline sees the trio hole up in a run-down seaside village, where they encounter the titular menace, the Kraken no less, which proceeds to give them a run for their money.Sadly the truth is that MONSTRO! just isn't very good. The paucity of the budget is evident in the cheapjack special effects - there's plenty of REALLY bad CGI here when the monster eventually shows up - and the general poor standard of acting from the main cast members. The script is also sub-par, and that opening murder sequence is pointless and actually had me hating the central trio after that. As ever, fans of these productions should just go and watch the original inspirations, because they're invariably much better.

Sorpse el monstro del mar had some pretty good things going for it but in my opinion is ultimately a failure. The directing team seems to have lots of potential but just couldn't muster up enough talent to make these half ass actors look good. I liked where they were going, three sexy bad girls on a killing spree fight for their lives against a tentacled beast from the ocean. Its a low budget grindhouse style film which happens to be one of my favorite genres but this one just didn't do it for me. The biggest problem is the actors; the three lead female bad girls are unattractive. They are a bunch of 3's dressed up as 9's and are only wasting my time. Its not that there is anything wrong with being unattractive its just that the role seemed to call for hot chicks and these girls fell short, also their tattoos looked stupid. This could all be forgiven if they maybe had some sort of acting talent, they vomit out their lines in a completely annoying fashion. I felt the whole movie dragged up until the last 10 minutes where it comes quite close to redeeming itself. Once the monster shows up for the final showdown the movie shows some huge potential and had I not been annoyed for the first house I could have seen myself really digging this movie. The monster looks cool and there is some nice gooey action that almost distracts from the horrible actresses fighting it off. I like me some low budget campy grindhouse-esque monster movies but el monstro del mar is hindered by terrible acting and cheap sound.

Jason Evans Three girls out having fun. By fun, I mean murdering, snorting blow, and raising hell. The official movie synopsis describes this flick as a Australian homage to Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Add in some crappy cgi/sock puppet with an attitude special effects, and that's what you get.Our three gorgeous rockabilly-esque anti-heroines are driving through Australia, doing their murdering shtick. They stop at a shanty near the beach and decide to take a dip. There are curves galore, but no nudity. An old man who happens to live near by sees them and starts yelling at them to get out of the water. They laugh, and the following night El Monstro Del Mar shows up to devour the town.Is this movie crap? You bet it is, but it's the enjoyable kind of crap that's best seen with friends and maybe a little buzzed. While I wouldn't call it strictly dark humor, it doesn't take itself serious at all. It's not meant to scare you or teach you something about humanity. It's meant to entertain and it succeeds at that. I saw this flick at the Nevermore movie festival, and that's a great kind of venue for it. See it with friends, have a good time with it. If you like cheesy movies, you'll love this.