Schlock (1973)

A small town is terrorized by "The Banana Killer" which turns out to be the missing link between my sanity and madness.
Starring: Eliza Roberts, Saul Kahan, and directed by John Landis

Monkeying around.

The movie starts with a bizarre intro that seems to be suggesting that Schlock is one of the most important events in human history. After having your mind and eardrums blown by that, we see the details of a playground littered with banana peels and corpses, and as the police haul the bodies away there is happy flute music playing. This is the type of dichotomy the movie loves to use. It takes awhile to wrap your head around what the mood of the movie is supposed to be. Is it a comedy? Is it a monster movie? Is it social commentary? Well, it's a bit of everything, often in the same scene.


Landis made this to be purposefully trashy, as a satire with low brow gags and non sequiturs in every scene. It's not as good as the classics by Mel Brooks, but still has moments where it can get some laughs, even if it's out of sheer audacity.
The killer ape, which we learn is actually the missing link named Shlockthropus, turns out to be the star of the movie. We follow him around town as he looks for food, catches a movie at the theater, and makes friends with a blind girl. Occasionally he murders someone for no reason, reminding us that he's just a wild beast, but still the most likeable character in the movie.

The gorilla my dreams.

Sgt. Wino on the case.

The police do a real half-ass job tracking the ape, leading to a shocking 789 deaths in town!
Despite all the chaos and slapstick, it's not too exhausting to endure the constant satire, but you will feel a bit bananas at the end.
The creature makeup looks pretty good, as this was one the first films that legend Rick Baker worked on. John Landis himself wears the costume through the whole movie.

Sorry about the puns, I've been schlocked!


Be sure not to miss:
- The cop was reading Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons.
- I like how the reporter never shakes hands.

Internet review:
"This movie did something to me, something subversive. (I can't remember what, exactly, but it was really something.)"  - enigmann

Should I watch it?
It's weird and trashy, but has earned a cult following for good reason.

Where can I find it?
It was hard to track down, but this video does work. At first it looks like it crashes, but give it a sec.

Schlock gets...