Monsters, Marriage & Murder in Manchvegas

There aren't many DVDs that boast filmmaker contact information as a "special feature." Nor are there an abundance of "making of" supplements that point out how many actors faked illness just days prior to production, leaving reluctant family members and girlfriends to take on leading roles. Interviews similarly take a self-deprecating approach, with actresses rolling their eyes as they point out the similarities this film has to the terrible '80s horror The Pit. It all makes sense though, as there is no moment in Monsters, Marriage & Murder in Manchvegas that takes itself seriously or boasts any semblance of filmmaking competence. From the get-go, when we're introduced to Marshall (Matt Farley), Jenny (Marie Dellicker) and All-Star Pete (Tom Scalzo), a team of newspaper and hotdog delivering jokers in matching T-shirts, we notice an almost porn-like aesthetic and feel. Actors look at the camera, stumble mid-sentence and occasionally seem unaware of what emotion should be attributed to their dialogue. Shots occasionally cut off actors' heads, miss the action and misunderstand exterior lighting, leading to an abundance of continuity errors. By the time we get to the kidnapping of the recently engaged Melinda (Sharon Scalzo) by Gospercaps, which appear to be men in ape costumes, with Zsa Zsa Gabor wigs and random carpet samples duct taped to their persons, the search for logic and competence has long subsided. This is a film that wants to be an MST3K classic like Laserblast, The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II and Slumber Party Massacre III, revelling in ludicrous character decisions and occasional incompetent ADR. For folks that like watching movies where boom mic operators are accidentally visible and background actors stare at the camera confusedly, Manchvegas is the veritable Holy Grail. Of course, if we're being blunt, these viewers could probably get themselves a used camera and make a film of similar quality in their backyard with construction paper props and an untalented neighbour that has always wanted to be a star. It doesn't matter if secondary characters wear the same outfits for five days straight in the film, as people will be too caught up in the peculiar dialogue and bizarre cinematography to notice.