Schlock (1973) **1/2
Schlock (1973) is just that—trashy, cheesy, and mediocre. You really can't fault a film that delivers what it advertises. John Landis' feature debut stars himself as the titular "missing link," a prehistoric apeman (designed by the brilliant Rick Baker—one of his earliest screen credits) that terrorizes a small town. There's not much in the way of plot beyond that.
The film was shot over 12 days in 1971 but not released until 1973, thanks in part to Johnny Carson seeing the film and having Landis on as a guest on The Tonight Show (1962-1992) in 1972, showing clips from it, which helped land a distributor. Landis himself calls the movie "terrible" but he has a good sense of humor about it.
Schlock is definitely a rough picture—not all the humor lands and the references to other films are heavy-handed, but it's silly fun, it's easy to spot scenes and gags that Landis would later revisit and improve upon, and I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it. See you next Wednesday!
You can find my John Landis Feature Films Ranked list here.
The film was shot over 12 days in 1971 but not released until 1973, thanks in part to Johnny Carson seeing the film and having Landis on as a guest on The Tonight Show (1962-1992) in 1972, showing clips from it, which helped land a distributor. Landis himself calls the movie "terrible" but he has a good sense of humor about it.
Schlock is definitely a rough picture—not all the humor lands and the references to other films are heavy-handed, but it's silly fun, it's easy to spot scenes and gags that Landis would later revisit and improve upon, and I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it. See you next Wednesday!
You can find my John Landis Feature Films Ranked list here.
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