{2jtab: Movie Review}

From the so-bad-it’s-good camp comes this little slice of 1970’s low-budget cheese and PG-rated sleaze.  The year was 1971 and, from the colorful lab sets and hilarious man-in-a-monster-suit attacks, America was obviously afraid of two-legged fish attacks.  Seriously.  Yes, dear readers, Zaat has returned.

Never meant to be a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, Zaat is more comfortable as a long running joke.  Why?  Well, it’s about a giant catfish attacking humans.   That being said, Zaat has its fans and most of them know the film from its treatment on television’s Mystery Science Theater 3000.  And now, courtesy of Film Chest, those fans can have their catfish attacks in High Definition.

The half human/half fish idea comes from the troubled mind of a mad scientist (Marshall Grauer) who looks like he wouldn’t be out of place in any Tim Burton movie.  He, as all mad scientists in these B-movies do, decides to experiment on himself and turns himself into a walking catfish monster that looks more like a green aardvark.  His purpose?  To seek revenge on those who laughed at his ideas and possibly mate with a fine specimen of blonde-haired femininity.

Writer/director/producer Don Barton should be praised for getting this low-budget monster movie to actually be entertaining. No, it’s never scary.  Never, but it is funny.   Albeit, the film makes little sense as the rest involves a pied piper acoustic guitar player who sings the local teenagers into the local jail for their protection and a bunch of dumb “scientists” that wouldn’t be able to identify a marijuana plant from a fern.  Unintentional hilarity ensues and yet Barton has a movie that is never dull for too long.

The acting is poor and never realistic and the actor in the lipstick-smeared catfish suit (the late Wade Popwell) makes Ed Wood’s use of the wrestler Tor Johnson’s stiff movements a genius move for optimum believability.  Zaat, imagine a drunken Dudley Moore operating a 100-pound suit, is not so smooth.   Popwell stumbles in the suit and trips (with each step) over his own feet in several scenes.  He’s also super clumsy in the water and has much difficulty with capturing the babes.  Slippery when wet indeed.

With a couple of era-soaked folk tunes anchoring the film in paisley-soaked peace and love vibes that feels three years too late, there can be no mistaking this feature for anything but what it is: B-movie madness.

Zaat is monstrously silly.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: this title has not yet been rated by the MPAA.
Director: Don Barton
Writer: Don Barton
Cast: Marshall Grauer; Wade Popwell; Paul Galloway; Gerald Cruse; Sanna Ringhaver
Genre: Sci-Fi | Fantasy
Tagline: Is the monster man... fish... or devil?
Memorable Movie Quote: "Nets are no longer for fish. We may use them on you humans - if any survive."
Theatrical Distributor: Synergy Entertainment
Official Site:
Home Video: Cultra
Theatrical Release Date: February 21, 2012
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 1971

Synopsis: A mad scientist transforms himself into an aquatic killer.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - February 21, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles: Spanish
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); DVD copy

Taken directly from the original print, the transfer is presented in a 1.78:1/1080p high definition widescreen that dips from time to time in quality.  Let’s face facts, people. Zaat was not preserved by the Library of Congress so keep your expectations low on the quality of HD. We are lucky to have this in our hands in any form. While colors certainly pop and zap the screen, the transfer wavers in grain specks, dirt, and other various forms of debris. Considering its low-budget and the age of the 35mm print, the transfer isn’t too shabby. The sound is presented in in Dolby 2.0 Stereo and, while it lacks an immersive quality, is suits the flickering and colorful images of the transfer well enough. The mix is front speaker loaded and the surround channels only kick in when those jokey folksy songs are being unwound.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Look, if Zaat can have an awesome and detail-oriented commentary then why can’t all Blu-rays?  The excellent commentary is provided by Don Barton, Ron Kivett, Paul Galloway and Ed Tucker.  Together, they discuss the film’s creative birth and its production history.  The audio quality is poor, though.  Have fun wading through a recording that sounds like there’s a waterfall nearby.

Special Features:

The air tank is almost on empty here for Zaat.  The highlight of the supplemental material is a collection of awful, awful, and seriously hilarious outtakes full of clumsy moments in and out of the aardvark suit.  The other is good radio interview with Popwell about life in the suit.  The rest is a collection of television spots, a photo gallery, a slideshow and a DVD copy of the film for those who wish to share the film with non-HD owners.

• Radio Interview with Wade Popwell and Ed Tucker (11 min)
• Outtakes (4 min)
• Photo Gallery/Slideshow (8 min)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
• Television Spots (1 min)
• Before and After Restoration Demo (1 min)

{2jtab: Trailer}

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