4.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A mad scientist (and apparent former Nazi) unleashes his master plan: to transform himself into a mutated walking catfish, gain revenge on those who have spurned him, and kidnap nubile young women to similarly transform so that he can breed. Or something like that.
Starring: Marshall Grauer, Wade Popwell, Paul GallowaySci-Fi | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 0.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
By some cruel twist of fate, review copies of both Zaat and Plan 9 From Outer Space arrived the same day to my home, certainly a sign as ominous as any Mayan calendar that the world is nearing some sort of Apocalyptic fury. Plan 9 From Outer Space is often saddled with the soubriquet “Worst Film of All Time”, which certainly seems hyperbolic, especially considering the fact that time hasn’t ended yet (it’s not December 21, is it?) and the concomitant fact that Tyler Perry is still making films. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) But in terms of those films that have already been made, Zaat more than gives Plan 9 From Outer Space a run for its “Worst Film of All Time” money. This spectacularly awful quasi-revision of The Creature From the Black Lagoon features a laugh out loud horrible monster, equally hideous “acting”, and a sort of cut rate ethos that makes the oeuvre of Ed Wood, Jr. seem positively glamorous by comparison. Zaat was the “brainchild” of one Don Barton, a Florida filmmaker whose IMDb biography is a glowing testimonial co-written by one of the participants in the commentary on this Blu-ray, the rather strangely capitalized ED Tucker, who shall remain “Ed” for the purposes of this review lest anyone feel we’re talking about a symptom a “little blue pill” can cure. Barton’s bio lists a handful of documentary features and insists that the entrepreneur has a long and varied background in film, but according to IMDb so far his only feature film is Zaat. (In what must be unintended irony, his bio states that he’s working on a spoof of Zaat, which of course completely misses the point that Zaat is hilarious enough in and of itself that it really doesn’t require spoofing.)
Zaat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Chest and Cultra with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This has evidently been sourced from a 35mm print that was in acceptable condition, but which had faded considerably and showed signs of damage. The restoration featurette included on the Blu-ray demonstrates quite good color correction, as well as some digital sharpening and (bugaboo alert) some digital noise reduction. Even DNR doesn't affect the stock footage here in any great degree, and it still looks rather grainy and fuzzy. Colors pop quite well on this release, though reds especially tend to bloom slightly from time to time. The entire film has a sort of garish look that was probably inherent in the original theatrical exhibition. Fine detail isn't superb here, but it suffices most of the time, especially with regard to the unbelievable monster costume, whose frilly boa neck trim must be seen to be believed. Considering the shape of the elements used to make this high definition presentation, things look really rather surprisingly good, but those who are expecting state of the art HD imagery had best keep looking.
Film Chest and Cultra haven't quite stepped up to the high definition audio plate and Zaat follows their custom of only having a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. That said, it's hard to say what lossless audio might have added to this release. The first half hour or so of the film is filled only with patently silly voice over narration and some actually kind of appealing sound effects, and then when there is dialogue, you kind of wish there wasn't. Fidelity isn't great here, with a somewhat boxy sound that is clipped at the extreme high and low ends of the spectrum, but which still maintains acceptable fullness in the midrange. The track shows no overt signs of damage but it's very sonically limited.
Zaat has seen the light of day under a number of different titles, including The Blood Waters of Doctor Z (its title for the MST3K outing), Hydra and Attack of the Swamp Creatures. Whatever you may choose to call it, Zaat is a steaming pile of film detritus that is so awful it of course has become a classic of sorts. Lovers of fantastically bad films rate Zaat one of the worst, and demand for this title was so pent up that Amazon evidently went through their initial allotment in record time. With a properly cynical, jaded attitude, certain audiences will most definitely love Zaat. Anyone expecting anything approaching a traditional monster- horror feature will in fact be horrified, though not for the reasons they expect. This release offers pretty good looking video (albeit with that typical bugaboo, DNR) and acceptable audio, and it also has some appealing supplements. Fans of the film will probably be well pleased with this release, certainly one of the finalists for a Niche Title of the Year Award.
1955
1977
2019
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2013
1957
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1957
1944
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1977
2019
2019
Theatrical Edition
2017
Earth vs. the Spider
1958
2001
Warner Archive Collection
1957
1957
1982
Amazon Exclusive / Signed | Limited Edition to 1000
1978
1956