Title: ZAAT
Year: 1971
Director: Don Barton
Writer: Ron Kivett, Lee O. Larew, Don Barton
Starring: Marshall Grauer, Wade Popwell, Paul Galloway
ZAAT is a special kind of movie. It’s the sort of scifi, drive-in, b-movie fare that a specific group of movie fans will enjoy. Fortunately for me I am this type of movie fan. Being this type of movie fan allows me to truly appreciate and enjoy the fact that a movie this bad (but oh so good) was able to receive such a beautiful bluray release thanks to Film Chest Media.
ZAAT is the story about a mad scientist (Marshall Grauer) who transforms himself into some type of half human, half fish creature. His goal is to get back at those who have wronged him! He also decides to kidnap some young ladies to transform them as well so he can breed a race of weird sea creatures. And then profit? I’m not sure, but I don’t care!
The film opens with some narration and we see the scientist hard at work inside his lab. The lab is fantastic. I love how in these old b flicks the labs always have so many flashing lights and random buttons. It always looks cheap, but really cool. The narration is from the scientist as he kindly explains to us what is going on.
Then the experiment begins! It’s only a partial success. The plan was turn himself into a walking catfish and he looks nothing like a catfish, a fact he openly complains about. Instead he just looks like some weird mutation (psst, it’s just a guy in a rubber suit!). After the transformation is complete the scientist turned monster takes a look at his outline of what he has planned to do. This outline is in the form of a massive circular board hanging in his lab. The monster grabs a marker and crosses off “self transformation.” We then see the board is full of tasks and every time one is complete, the monster crosses it off. This…is…amazing!
The monster then begins to terrorize Florida while being chased by a government agent. You know what this all builds up to, right? An epic conclusion of course, but I won’t spoil that for you!
ZAAT is a bad movie all across the board. Plot, acting, props, effects, just a whole lot of bad, but it is full of charm. There really is something to be appreciated with a movie like this. Don Barton wanted to make a movie and he did. Movies of this type, particularly from this era, contain a sense of joy and passion that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. The reason I enjoy ZAAT and similar movies is because that sense of joy and passion is able to seep through all the bad.
If you plan on watching ZAAT (and I think you should), I highly suggest picking up the bluray from Film Chest Media. The work they have done here is simply fantastic. The opening credits feature this yellow font for the titles that really pops on this release. The colors in general are superb. Everything is so vivid and crisp. The bluray (which is also a DVD combo pack) comes in a case with great artwork and features some pretty snazzy special features. There are some old TV spots which I really love and you can see a demo of the restoration which will blow you away.
In terms of a movie and judging it strictly as such, ZAAT is probably a 2 out of 5. For a low budget b-movie I’d probably rank it a little higher. Judging it on just the bluray release, this is a solid 4 out of 5 for sure. I was really impressed. Film Chest Media has really outdone themselves with this one. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Own ZAAT today: http://filmchestmediagroup.com/blog/tag/zaat/
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