Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973)
Article 5673 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-11-2019
Directed by Fredric Hobbs
Featuring Christopher Brooks, Stuart Lancaster, E. Kerrigan Prescott
Country: USA
What it is: Strange monster on the loose saga

A representative from an Eastern corporation tries to buy property in a western town under the control of a local tycoon, but the town preys on strangers and is home to a cult. Meanwhile, a nearby scientist experiments with a mutant sheep.

If I had seen this movie without any knowledge of the director, I would have assessed it as a strange variant of a certain monster movie tradition; it’s one of those movies where the monster is kept out of the action until near the end while the rest of the movie is engaged on an entirely different story, and what would have struck me the most would have been the odd ending. However, having seen it after having been familiar with other movies from director Fredric Hobbs (ALABAMA’S GHOST, ROSELAND), my main reaction is amazement at how relatively normal and disappointingly tame it is. However, my familiarity with this director’s work makes me suspect that the main story involves the representative from the corporation, and the monster is just a side issue; the movie has an alternative title of THE SECRET OF SILVERDALE, and I have a feeling the monster angle was added after most of the rest of the movie was made as a way to make it more commercial. At any rate, only the strange ending (which involves a riot on a garbage heap) really strikes me as what I’d expect from Hobbs, but it’s not enough. Sadly, this appears to be Hobbs’ last film, though there is a chance that I may someday see the only movie from his oeuvre that has escaped me, TROIKA. This one was disappointing.