| "Rock Monster" (Sci Fi Channel)
The Sci Fi Channel calls its Saturday night movies "The Most Dangerous Night On Television." This is the night they show their monster movies, and most of them are fairly scary and almost all of them are a little cheesy. Their offering for this week is "Rock Monster" and it is cheesy from start to finish.
Chad Collins stars as a college student who learns he has inherited a house and some acreage in a village in Europe. He and three of his friends decide to go and check it out. After their bus breaks down the group takes off on foot through the forest. There they see a sword sticking up in a stone. Jason (Collins) pulls it out (shades of the Arthurian legend). When they arrive at the local village they learn that by pulling out the sword they have unleashed a "stone monster."
Things of course go from bad to worse as the monster ravages the village. Jason learns that only he has the power to possibly destroy the monster based on his heritage. It seems the sword, combined with his genes, might be the source of power needed.
Collins is not the best actor on the scene today. He looks and acts like a young Michael Crawford, not the "Phantom of the Opera" kind but rather the "Hello Dolly" kind. The other members of the cast are totally forgettable with the exception of Jon Polito who plays the "Colonel" in the village. Polito somehow manages to make his role both serious and tongue in cheek at the same time. It is a fine line to walk but he pulls it off.
The monster in the movie looks like a few boulders strung together. It is an awkward creation and a funny one. The special effects are only marginally good.
"Rock Monster" is the kind of movie you can watch while munching away on popcorn. You can make fun of the storyline and howl at the acting. You can boo the monster and cheer the hero. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday night.
"Rock Monster" airs on the Sci Fi Channel on Saturday, March 22 at 9PM. |
