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SCHLOCK

Schlock is a reawakened missing link that suddenly appears in Southern California a jillion years out of his own time. In homage to the trash picture TROG, Landis intended to have the monster be portrayed by a guy in a "bad gorilla costume." However, when he met Rick Baker and saw the genius of the young make-up whiz, he decided to make Schlock look more realistic. Besides, Baker was much cheaper than renting a bad gorilla costume - at the time. He's gone on to win six Oscars.

Landis also saved money by playing the lead himself. A stuntman would have charged plenty - and might have left after having to endure the difficult make-up and long days.

Schlock awakes in 20th Century "Canyon Valley" and immediately goes on a rampage. The media, represented by TV reporter Joe Putzman (Eric Allison of BLOOD MANIA), dubs the mystery murders the work of the "Banana Killer" because the crime scenes are littered with peels, and holds a contest for the viewer that can accurately predict the body count.

Police Detective Sgt. Wino (Saul Kahan, who went on to become a publicist) is led to the monster's cave by some local teens, but the monster isn't home. Schlock is out wandering the unsightly neighborhoods of Agoura, committing random acts of mayhem, until he arrives at the home of Mrs. Binderman (psychotronic legend Harriet Medin), winner of the body count contest. Blind daughter Mindy (Eliza Garrett, Landis' high school classmate who later married Eric Roberts) is recovering from an operation to restore her sight, and in true monster movie tradition is the only one to befriend the monster - though she thinks he's a dog.

She's not quite as sympathetic once the bandages are removed, calling the cops down on the intruder. Schlock pays her back by abducting her from a teen dance, leading to a confrontation with the National Guard (led by occasional actor John Chambers, more famous as the make-up creator for PLANET OF THE APES).

The most charitable thing you can say about SCHLOCK is that it's self-indulgent, in the best sense. Landis had no one to tell him a joke was only funny to him, or that the pace was too odd. At least not until he actually sold the film. Producer Jack Harris agreed to distribute the film, on condition Landis pad the running time by 10 minutes. This accounts for several charming - if senseless - scenes that disrupt the pace of the film even more, including a long sequence set in a movie theater that uses plenty of footage from Harris' THE BLOB and DINOSAURUS.

Landis and Baker clearly bonded during filming, and Anchor Bay reunites the pair for an informal commentrak. Their conversation is rambling and jokey, but they eventually get to many interesting stories about the film. Landis readily cops to the poor quality of the picture and its bland Cracked Magazine humor, but has enough affection for it that he's spent "a quarter of a million dollars" on it over the years, keeping up the legal tending. Their input helps you appreciate what an accomplishment it was for them at the time.

Anchor Bay presents the film in widescreen format for the first time on video. The transfer shows that Landis had a good eye for composition and editing even then - the visual aspect of his films is often underappreciated. Also included on disc is a trailer, four radio spots for the film, an image gallery with dozens of photos, and some biographic text on the principals.