Today's slice is...
The Monster of Phantom Lake (2006)
The IMDB description says "A mutated monster terrorizes campers in the woods of 1950s Wisconsin."
His website says: Christopher R. Mihm is the writer, producer, and director of the films of the "Mihmiverse," a series of award-winning, loosely interlinked feature-films which pay homage to 1950s-era "drive-in cinema."
Mr. Mihm's filmmaking career began in 2006 with the release of his first retro-style film, "The Monster of Phantom Lake." Made on a nearly non-existent budget, the film went on to garner much critical acclaim, appear in numerous film festivals, win multiple awards and, to this day, continues to screen across the world."
I watched this film again this week and decided to do a review of it and help spread the word of the "Mihmiverse" films to those who haven't heard of them.
Although this film looks like a 1950s, cheesy, black and white movie... it's not. This is a modern movie shot and edited to resemble a 50s style film. Christopher R. Mihm nailed it. I like to tell people it's like someone found an old studio vault and inside there was this unreleased '50s B-movie that nobody has seen, until now. He achieved the look, feel, and style of those glorious old monster/sci-fi films of the atomic age. "The Monster of Phantom Lake" is fun, funny, perfectly written, perfectly acted, perfectly shot, and perfectly edited... a masterpiece that pays great homage to those old films.. The music is very appropriate too. Yes, I did say the word "perfect" a lot. Sure, the acting was purposely over the top and cheesy, some of the shots might have been out of focus, and the monster costume looks super low-budget.... but when I say "perfect" I'm saying it was perfect in being what the filmmaker intended it to be. It worked!
I enjoyed the storyline. A crazy war vet is transformed into a lake monster, sort of like the origin of Swamp Thing, and terrorizes some high school graduates that are on a camping trip.
The characters were fun and there was great development to them. You actually felt for them. The filmmaker captured the clothing styles and the dialogue and slang of the era. If you were flipping channels late one night and came across this film you would think you were watching a legit '50s flick.
Mihm managed to find period vehicles for the film which greatly added to the illusion.
He shot this movie on a video camera that allows you to shoot in 24 frames per second that gives it a film look, just what Mihm was looking for.
If you've never heard of Christopher R. Mihm or of his Mihmiverse films then you are really missing out. They are awesome and have a large cult following worldwide. He makes at least one per year and I can't wait for the annual title to come out. When I open my mailbox and find that his latest Blu Ray has arrived in my box I immediately cancel all plans I had for that evening and rush straight home to immerse myself in the retro, cheesy, beautiful journey that I know awaits.
Give his films a try. I'm sure you will like them. You can buy his DVDs, Blu Rays, and cool merchandise at his website: www.sainteuphoria.com.
If you watch one, drop us a line and let us know what you though about it.
You can also listen to the Pop Ninja Podcast episode where we interview Christopher R. Mihm about his films. Here's the link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1265612/9365214-the-pop-ninja-podcast-season-2-episode-34-54
Stay cheesy my friends. Until next time...
- Patrick Shawn Bennett
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