Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Eegah Blu-ray Movie Review

Watch out for snakes!

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 23, 2019

It's often regarded as one of the worst movies of all time, but Arch Hall Sr.'s Eegah (1962) is still alive because of it. Produced on a tiny budget and released with little fanfare, this caveman-meets-girl story proved tolerable at drive-in theaters and quickly faded into obscurity. It earned a second life in 1993 via Joel Hodgson's Mystery Science Theater 3000, where it was predictably roasted to a crisp. Hodgson himself has gone on record as being somewhat remorseful for his scathing remarks (largely due to a 2014 meeting with actor Arch Hall Jr.,) and now views Eegah as harmless fun made by an adventurous young cast and crew just learning the ropes. So, is it really that bad?

Hell yeah it is, but that's OK. Like most "so bad they're good" movies, Eegah gets most of its charm from the scrappy, homemade nature of its production, compounded with the fact that micro-budget horror movies really weren't all that common in 1962. The acting is mostly abysmal, the cinematography is nothing to write home about, and the script itself is more or less a joke: it basically concerns itself with the exploits of hopeful pop star Tom Nelson (Arch Hall Jr., the director's son) and his sorta-girlfriend Roxy Miller (Marilyn Manning), who's enjoying her nighttime drive until a runaway caveman (Richard Kiel in his first major role, years before the Bond films) scares her half to death. Naturally no ones believes her except Daddy (Hall Sr.), an adventure novelist who decides to comb the nearby Californian desert in search of her mystery giant. When he doesn't make the rendezvous point two days layer, Tom and Roxy whiz out in a dune buggy to bring Dad back. But the hulking seven-foot caveman, eventually dubbed "Eegah" after one of his favorite words, knows the landscape better than anyone and uses it to get what he really wants: Roxy.

First-timers will likely be taken aback at some of Eegah's weakest elements: the amateur acting, our titular character's ultra-fake beard, gaping continuity errors, poor editing, and badly-overdubbed dialogue that occasionally comes out of nowhere. Though die-hard fans have given themselves over to its campy atmosphere and most ridiculous quotes, those with a more critical eye might be driven up a wall...because as unlikely as it sounds, a few little tweaks could've made this an unironically enjoyable movie. But I'm a firm believer in viewing movies as what they are instead of what they could be, and Eegah is most definitely one of the most awful movies of its era. Yet there's a certain spark that keeps people coming back, or we wouldn't be celebrating with a Blu-ray edition more than 55 years after its original release. Although director Arch Hall Sr. died all the way back in 1978, his son is still very active and appears on-disc via a short interview, as does MST3K creator Joel Hodgson. But the real secret weapon here is a brand-new 4K-sourced transfer, which valiantly attempts to polish this turd to a gleaming shine. What a time to be alive, right?

Eegah Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Much better than it deserves, probably. Eegah carries a 4K restoration of the original 35mm negative spearheaded by Peter Conheim of Cinema Preservation Alliance, which yields very strong results. Be aware that this 1.66:1 transfer still has its share of flaws, although some of them are likely "baked in": dirt and debris, inconsistent color timing, emulsion damage and color spots, vertical scratches, and more. Yet these appear only during certain sequences, whereas others are razor-sharp and virtually free from damage. Grain levels are satisfying and show no evidence of excessive DNR, although it looks a little chunkier in certain screenshots than it does in-motion. Skin tones appear accurate, black levels are often nice and deep, while overall fine detail and texture can be very striking...so while this isn't the most stable 4K restoration in recent memory (and one that clearly would have benefited from a round or two of manual cleanup), it's certainly far and away Eegah has ever looked on home video and most theatrical showings.

Eegah Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix sounds less impressive in comparison, most of its defects are entirely due to age and original source recordings. Eegah is loaded with dubbed lines that add quite a bit of unintentionally funny exposition (including its most famous warning, repurposed for this review's tagline), and they sound just as bad as ever; maybe even worse. Yet most traditional dialogue remains clean and easy to understand, while André Brummer's original score acquits itself about as well as any other low-budget production from that decade.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included; these are formatted perfectly with no sync issues (screenshot #14).

Eegah Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Eeegah is packaged in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art and an insert booklet with a short essay by award-winning writer Don Stradley. On-disc extras are limited in number but all are extremely worthwhile.

• Mystery Science Theater 3000 Version (92:10) - This classic episode was originally broadcast August 28, 1993 and, for many viewers, served as their first (and perhaps only) exposure to the film. It features all the show's live-action segments which bookend a condensed version of Eegah that obviously hasn't been restored. Optional English subtitles are included, although they mostly ruin the "theatrical" experience.

• Interview with Arch Hall, Jr. (13:29) - Another recent interview, and perhaps the highlight of these extras. The famed Eeegah actor looks back nearly 60 years (!) and is in very good spirits during this short conversation, which largely covers his father's film and radio career and, of course, his time on-set and the film's odd legacy. A shame that Marilyn Manning couldn't participate as well, but any first-hand participation is worth having.

• Interview with Joel Hodgson (6:58) - The MST3K creator himself returns for this recent interview, in which he briefly talks about his first exposure to the film, meeting Arch Hall Jr. and Richard Kiel, and even a few regrets about roasting Eegah back in 1993. Hey, bad publicity is better than no publicity, right?

Eegah Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Truly a film that defies its modest roots, Eegah is a campy horror adventure that was obviously made with enthusiasm by its young, inexperienced cast and crew. Infamous during the drive-in days and later remembered for its MST3K appearance, Eegah's legacy lives on with a left-field limited Blu-ray that includes a 4K-sourced restoration and a few worthwhile extras. Collectors and die-hard fans should grab this while it's still available -- only 1,500 were made!