Movie Review
Don’t let the title turn you off from watching this movie which was inspired by classic sci-fi adventure film serials of yesteryear. Director Andrew Cymek and producer wife and star Brigitte Kingsley deliver a super fun monster movie to watch.
With elements of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and humour throughout, Astonishing Tales of Terror: Rocktapussy delivers on all fronts. It is a low-budget film done right. It uses the story to propel it forward and rewards you with exciting and cool moments taking you along for a fun ride.
The story follows a reporter and a group of unexpected allies as they try to escape the tentacled monster they’ve accidentally awoken while testing new mining technology. Without going into too much story detail, a battle of wits and perseverance begins as the group struggles to survive and uncover the identity of the creature.
This is the type of film that I would have rented as a youth searching the mom-and-pop rental stores for something unique to watch. It’s pure camp fun.
Video
Filmed around Ontario, mostly in the North and inside a warehouse converted to look like a mine, this movie looks great. There are no noticeable compression artifacts and with most of the movie being “underground” nothing is lost in the darker moments of the film.
The selected colour palette shines in the horror/sci-fi-ness style of this movie.
Audio
Presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital the audio is solid. Dialogue is always clear on both tracks. Low-frequency effects rumble through the subwoofer. The score fills the room keeping the focus on the action or dialogue. It’s a well-balanced audio track that fits this Rocktapussy.
If your equipment is capable I’d lean to the DTS-HD track as it slightly edged out the Dolby Digital 5.1 track.
Extra Features
Bonus features are light with a full-length commentary from Andrew and Brigitte which breaks down several aspects of the film from locations to how certain props were made to how it was to work with a particular actor.
Also included is a behind-the-scenes featurette that breaks down some filming locations, the set build (mostly by the director) and the other actors that comprise the main cast.
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
It’s been a while since I had so much fun watching a movie that I literally knew nothing about. I was given this Blu-ray by a friend at Black Fawn Distribution at FanExpo after interviewing both Brigitte and Andrew (link coming soon). It’s a solid disc. The movie is a blast and didn’t hurt that I recognized a few of the outside locations because they’re not far from my home.
I highly recommend you pick this one up if you want to see something different.
