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Home Made Monster - The Musical (2008)



Homemade Monster The Musical


Homemade Monster - The Musical
is an awesome, no-budget, rockabilly murder movie made by Scumbag Movies; which is basically Brandon and Leia Gadow, a husband and wife team who do everything from writing and acting to filming and editing (click HERE to read the Film Apocalypse interview with Leia).  Although it certainly is not your standard big-budget horror movie, I can definitely say that what it lacks in gloss and production value, it more than makes up for with originality and heart.  Like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Homemade Monster is a sexually charged, campy musical about someone trying to build the perfect man, but the two films are very different in terms of story and filming style.  Although the no-budget approach is not for everyone, this movie really is charming and a lot of fun.  Homemade Monster is the kind of movie that could end up being a cult classic!


Homemade Monster is the story of a woman who's had enough from her jerk boyfriend.  However, when he tells her that he's leaving, she just can't quite let go.  Instead, she kills him and uses his corpse as the starting point to piece together the perfect Frankenstein monster boyfriend.  As this is a musical, the story is told through rockabilly songs that are sung by lead actors Leia and Brandon Gadow.  Although there are some noticeable pitch issues with the vocals at times, the songs are actually really good and the music is recorded a lot better than you might think for a movie with no budget.  The stark lighting, which would be a limitation in most movies, ends up working extremely well for Homemade Monster and gives the whole movie a classic gothic atmosphere.  Both Leia and Brandon do a fine job of acting.  Although their co-stars seem to be friends who are mostly there to have a good time (rather than serious actors), they too manage to deliver performances that aren't that bad by homemade movie standards.  Another pleasant surprise was that the editing is actually very good.  It seems like many filmmakers are interested in making their movies as lengthy as possible rather than as good as possible, but the 50 minute running time for Homemade Monster seems just right.  Overall, it's rare that I find a movie shot on such a low budget that has decent audio, great songs, good acting, lighting that works for the film AND a fun, interesting story.

If you like the idea of a movie that mixes a murderous tattooed chick that you might meet at the roller derby with a campy classic movie mad scientist set to the beat of rockin' rockabilly music, Home Made Monster - The Musical  just might be the movie for you!  You have to be able to look past the limitations of no-budget films, but then again you may prefer a movie without the backing of a major studio.  I really do hope that Homemade Monster - The Musical ends up getting the attention that it deserves!

Visit the Scumbag Movies website for more info.:

www.scumbagmovies.com


Gore-o-meter rating: 1 out of 5
(despite the four killings, there's not a lot of gore in this movie)

Skin-o-meter: 3 out of 5 (skimpy outfits throughout the film and one scene with full nudity)