Customer Reviews

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Eegah

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This DVD from Rhino offers up one the most side-splitting, hilarious episodes of the legendary TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," in which they take on a 1962 caveman movie where an awful teen singer, his beehive hair-do girlfriend Roxy, and her fashion-impaired father go searching in the Palm Desert for a caveman named Eegah (played by 7'2" Richard Kiel, who would later plays Jaws in two James Bond films). The movie is horrible, but it'sm the perfect piece of stupidity for the MST3K writers and actors to take on, and the result is one of best episodes ever. This is the kind of episode that will make newcomers fall in love with this brilliant show.

And for those of you who are newcomers: "Mystery Science Theater 3000," (MST3K for short) it is a ninety-minute show featuring a silhouette of a man and two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) in movie theater seats projected in front of a bad movie. The hosts provide hysterical, satiric, and culturally-savvy wisecracks to accompany the movie. The episodes also include sketches and songs and add up to some of the most hilarious comedy in television history.

"Eegah!" (what a title!) is from episode #506, during the last days of Joel Hodgson's run as the show's host (Mike Nelson took over in mid-season). The show was at the peak of its comedic genius, and "Eegah!" is one of the masterpieces of the Joel years. The film is utterly cheap, icky and gross, with some of the most repellent actors ever seen on screen...and Richard Kiel! (Bada-boom! Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week!) It ranks with "Manos: The Hands of Fate" for sheer unpleasantness. As Tom Servo says at one point: "I'm being punished for something, I know it. What did I do? I DIDN'T ASK TO SEE THIS MOVIE!"

So what the heck IS this oddly named, nasty little crumb of cummy cinema? "Eegah" was shot in the Palm Desert by Arch W. Hall, Sr., under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriwether. He also plays Mr. Miller, the adult lead, under the name William Watters. He cast his son, Arch Hall Jr., as the romantic teen lead, one of the worst casting choices in history. Kiel may play a big ugly caveman (with an obviously false beard), but Arch Hall Jr. is a pudgy, sun-burnt, gross, greasy, bleached-bond little creep. (In one sketch, Tom and Crow turn Joel in Arch Hall Jr. by giving him the look of a sun-burnt baby, inhuman play-dough colored skin, and mumpy cheeks.) Arch also `sings' a couple of awful tunes while strumming two chords on the guitar -- his dad apparently thought he was an up-and-coming rock star. When Eegah finally decks the kid, you'll cheer along with the MST3K boys as he hits the sand.

But there's so much else that's wonderful here (wonderfully bad, that is) that the hosts' wisecracks never let up: The sickening scene of Roxie shaving her father while singing, the generally wrong relationship between Roxy and her father (were they off-screen lovers?), Arch wandering through the desert endlessly screaming ROXIEEEEEEEE! ("Well, back to another day of whining,"), the dune buggy racing through the desert sands while Roxy screams "Wheeee!" (Tom's comment: "Stop saying `wheee!' Nobody says `wheee!'"), Eegah's minor rampage in Palm Springs, and the classic line that suddenly comes out of nowhere, with nobody on screen seeming to speak it: "Watch out for snakes!" This became an MST3K running gag in many later episodes.

This DVD is a laugh riot, and an essential Joel episode. Tom, Crow, and Joel have rarely been so funny and so sharp while watching a film. It's one of the classics, hysterical from beginning to end, with funny host segments as well. It feels like plunking down on the couch and watching a film with your best buddies; I think that's the main charm of the Joel years of the show.

The Un-cut, un-MST3Ked version of the film is available on the same side as the MST3K episode; I don't recommend watching the film without the MST3K boys -- you'll suffer brain damage. However, this DVD has an interesting extra that shows up on none of the other Rhino MST3K DVDs. You can switch on an option that makes an icon of Crow appear in the corner of the screen during the MST3K version to indicate a place where a scene was cut from the original. If you hit the ENTER key on the DVD remote when the icon is on screen, you'll be branched out to the cut scene, and then returned to the MST3K version when it's over. A very clever feature, and I wish Rhino had taken more creative approaches like this with their other MST3K DVDs.

So, "Watch out for Snakes"...and watch this episode! Newcomer, or old fan, you'll be on the floor laughing (when you aren't averting your eyes from the horror that IS... ARCH HALL JR.!)

I just received my MST3K EEGAH tape in the mail and lookedthrough it, and I got WA-AY more than I bargained for! The DVDversion has not only a crystal clear MST3K version of the movie BUT the full length unMSTied version as well for the MST-it-yourselfers like me!

It is a great bargain for TWO versions of the movies, I only hope they do all of the episodes on DVD now.

As for the central movie itself, EEGAH! Evolves around this caveman who is found along the side of the road, and this teenaged girl comes across him. After the girl tells her father about him, daddy goes a huntin' for EEGAH to study him (as he is some sort of an anthropologist), but vanishes. The girl (Roxy) and her boyfriend search for daddy, where Roxy is now kidnapped, EEGAH wants to do the nasty with Roxy, Roxy escapes, EEGAH tracks them to this pool side party, he tries to take Roxy back, but is fatally shot and puts the pool to good use.

P.S.: Watch out for the snakes and the Cabbage Patch Elvis!

The original full length movie is 90min long

The MSTied version (with all of the host segments) is 92min long

As Joel Robinson points out in one of this episode's host segments, Hell is most insidious and destructive when its effects are sneaky and subtle. 'Eegah!' is a lot like that.

MSTed-movie veteran Richard Kiel returns as the eponymous caveman, who wanders into town in search of the lovely Roxy, whom he had previously kidnapped and briefly held hostage along with her boyfriend and father. Creepy romance is afoot (especially when you realize that Roxy's father and boyfriend are played by Arch Hall Senior and Junior, respectively), along with strange pool parties, strange dune-buggy races, and strange songs sung by Arch Junior. In all, it's just a strange, and kind of icky, movie.

Fortunately, Joel and The Bots are there to lead America back from the foaming mouth of the abyss. Thank you. Thank you. The host segments here are good ones (I've always liked the porkerina), but where J&TB really shine is in the theater, where they spare no effort to give this flick the riffing it deserves.

In all, this is a great addition to any MSTie's shelf.

Fair warning: if you have any aesthetic issues with the movies MST3K does, you'll go mad with this one. As it says in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, this is the worst of the worst. The good thing is, the worst movies offer the best riffs from Joel or Mike and the 'bots (see Hobgoblins from the Sci-Fi years for another example of this). And true to form, they make this garbage side-splitting. A great investment of your money, you'll watch this one over and over again.

This stinkeroo features not only the incredibly whiny Arch Hall, Jr., but his real-life dad plagues us in this film too, playing Roxy's dad. EEGAH is very close in pain rating to the most classic MST of all time, Manos.

How Richard Kiel (Eegah) ever got another job in Hollywood with this film to his credit is beyond me. Apparently, the director or producers thought he wasn't quite caveman material because all of his grunts (he doesn't speak a single line in the WHOLE movie) are dubbed! And what's more, everyone else seems to be dubbed too--mysterious voices off camera are all over this movie, so "Watch out for snakes!" One of my favorite scenes has Tom (Arch Jr.) and his band playing at some ridiculous pool party, and although you might not realize it at first, the band is playing a terribly unspirited version of "Tequila." I laughed until I hurt for that part... You KNOW a movie is going to smell when the opening credits aren't even in focus. The movie is an utter mess, and since the other reviewers have gone over the plot so well, I'll just mention the neat features of the DVD itself.

As with other MST DVD releases, the flip side of the disc has the un-MiSTied version so that you may torture yourself and experience the full-on effects of 2 Arch Halls. You can also choose to watch the MiSTied version with the special cue feature--if you turn this option on, a small icon of Crow will appear on the screen when portions of the original film were edited out to make space for the MST jokes. At that point, you choose the icon and flip to the uncut version. It's a feature worth playing with because the missing footage will help explain some of the jokes, like the "Cabbage Patch Elvis" reference.

The movie is awful, no question about it -- but the DVD is really good. A great addition to your MST collection!

This movie is so bad that Crow and Tom have to wash the Eegah off of them after it's over. There are some horrible things in this movie: Richard Kiel, of course; spasmodic dancing; truly icky singing; the slightly too friendly relationship between father and daughter; and, worst of all, Arch Hall, Jr.'s face and hair. Yes, for as long as there have been movies, there have been bad, seemingly inexplicable movies, and this is certainly one of them. It all starts with greasy Arch's girlfriend encountering a "giant" on the road; no one believes her story, of course, until the gang finds a big footprint several feet off the road. Suddenly, her dad, who dresses and acts like some kind of scientist, is convinced that some kind of prehistoric creature is living in the hills and sets off to find him. What happens is that Eegah, Richard Kiel wearing one of the fakest beards and moustaches I've ever seen, finds him. The trip to pick up dear old dad gives Arch a chance to show off his dune buggy in the desert-he has water in the tires, you know-but, wouldn't you know it, Eegah comes along and snatches Roxie. Back in Eegah's cave, Roxie and her dad meet Eegah's mummified family, drink nasty sulfur water, and try to humor the big fellow. Quite ickily, Roxie decides to give her father a shave and seems to enjoy it just a little too much. Meanwhile, Arch is whining all over the desert sands and cliffs in search of his girl. In the end, we learn that you can take Eegah out of his cave, but you can't take the caveman out of Eegah.

Eegah is the role Richard Kiel was made to play, seeing as how he just has to run around in a fake animal skin and growl and mutter incoherently. Luckily for us, this allows Joel and the Bots extra time to throw in one zinger after another, making this a better than average experiment in terms of the laughs it engenders. This is also the episode where Dr. Forrester replaces Frank's blood with antifreeze, and you don't want to miss that. For no extra charge, you even get the guys' impersonations of such beloved television characters as Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction and Mr. Haney from Green Acres. Order in the next 20 minutes, and you will also get the catchphrase sweeping the nation, delivered by a disembodied voice in the film, "Watch out for snakes!" While this is by no means my favorite MST3K episode, it is one I would not do without.

What can you say about a movie with no merit. I mean, the director meant well. The actors came into the project with the best intentions. Nevertheless, the end product leaves one wondering how money was ever borrowed to make it. (I've got this great project! Arch Hall, Jr is this guy and he finds a caveman! That's all I got so far...) At least Encino Man was in color.

Anyway, bad movies are good for MST3K. Mystery Science Theater gives Eegah! the treatment in their Peabody Award-winning cable show episode 508. Watch Eegah! with Joel and the 'Bots and enjoy their reactions to a movie that didn't stand the test of time.

All the MST3K DVDs are worthwhile for the episodes they contain. One rant, however... I do wish Rhino would introduce some level of consistency to the disc production. I get the feeling all of the MST DVDs were made in someone's dorm room.
Here is a tech DVD breakdown:

[Manos]: Season 4 Episode 24 (Joel) 125 mins including "Hired: part 2" short:
· Disc Label: Purple Satellite of Love graphic
· Menu System: 3 choices - Play Movie, Scene Index, Poopie (annoying Manos music loop)
· Special Features: Poopie - hilarious MST3K outtakes

[Eegah]: Season 5 Episode 6 (Joel) 97 mins:
· Disc Label: Eegah color movie photo graphic
· Menu System: Professional but half done - Play Movie/Chapter Selection, Play Uncut Version, Special Features (Music loop is ¾ of Joel's theme)
· Special Features: List of titles on VHS & DVD - There are the makings of forward and back buttons here but they don't work. All 6 pages just transition through each other slowly. Rhino website address (why this is listed as a feature I don't know.) Uncut version.

[Mitchell]: Season 5 Episode 12 (Joel's Final Episode/Mike) 97 mins:
· Disc Label: Cheap silver silhouette
· Menu System: Cheap flying saucer graphic buttons with semi-annoying music loop from Mitchell - Play Movie, Play Trailer, Scene Index
· Special Features: Original theatrical trailer for Mitchell.

[The Brain That Wouldn't Die]: Season 5 Episode 13 (Mike) 97 mins:
· Disc Label: Double sided disc. (Why? The same features fit on one side with Eegah)
· Menu System: Professional but half done - Play Movie/Chapter Selection, Play Uncut Version, Special Features (music loop is from the movie and moderately annoying)
· Special Features: List of titles on VHS & DVD - There are the makings of forward and back buttons here but they don't work. All 6 pages just transition through each other slowly. Rhino website address. Uncut version on second side.

[Wild World of Batwoman]: Season 5 Episode 15 (Mike) 72 mins + "Cheating" short 20 min:
· Disc Label: Cheap blue with flying saucers (Joel's face errantly graces the box. Mike is the lead in this episode)
· Menu System: Professional - Play Movie/Chapter Selection, Play Uncut Version, Special Features (Music loop Is ¾ of Joel's theme... which is strange as this is Mike's episode)
· Special Features: Lists 3 other MST DVD titles. Click on titles to see a clip from each. Very Nice! Rhino Website. Uncut Version.

[The Beginning of The End] Season 5 Episode 17 (Mike) 72 mins:
· Disc Label: Cheap blue with flying saucers
· Menu System: Professional - Play Movie/Chapter Selection, Play Uncut Version, Special Features (Music loop Is ¾ of Joel's theme - again, this is Mike's episode)
· Special Features: Lists 3 other MST DVD titles. Click on titles to see a clip from each. Very Nice! Rhino Website. Uncut Version.

[Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie] 1996 - 72 mins:
· Disc Label: Cheap silver silhouette
· Menu System: None - chapter selection only
Notes: This movie is really hard to find and considered a collector's item. The only difference between the movie and a TV episode are a precious few amped up special effects, makeup and they hired a real actor to play in one of the skits (which I feel is a tragic mistake). It is not worth the (money) that it is going for in Amazon's Used section unless you're a diehard.

Now this is a great idea.Not only do you get the complete MST3K episode featuring Eagah!,but you get the uncut version of the film as well.Eagah is one of my favorite bad movies of all time,and as any mistie would know,the worse the movie the better the episode. Now to the film itself.It's a masterpiece of bad filmmaking.If you're not a fan of bad movies this just might make you one.It's the story of a caveman who lives in the hills and the 3 dumbest people in the world who try to find him.The star,Arch Hall Jr even sings 2 songs(Boy am I being kind).Forget Ed Wood,this is the movie they created the phrase "so bad it,s good" for.Like it or not it's unforgettable.

Quickly, the episode itself is one of the best,even the sketches are funny.A must buy for fans or just those interested.

"Manos" may be worse, but this film is absolutely horrible. And thus a classic episode of MST3K is born!

"Eegah" stars the mostly mute Richard "Jaws" Kiel as the title character (his entire vocabulary consists of saying, "stemlow"). A neanderthal I suppose, although of a long-lived sort since the movie implies that he's thousands of years old (and yet no one has seen him until now?)

Anyhoo, the kinda-hot-but-not-really Roxie (Marylin Manning) is driving along one night and nearly runs over Eegah. Telling her father (Arch Hall Sr.) and boyfriend (Arch Hall Jr.) about what she's seen, the dad decides to look for the big creature himself and he's quickly captured by the irate Eegah. Roxie and Tom (Hall Jr.) search for dad in his dune buggy (with water in the tires, he reminds us about fourteen times). Roxie is captured and molested, Tom runs on foot through the desert whining, "Roxie!!" about four million times. Left to her own devices, she still manages to escape with daddy and eventually Eegah roams his way into a pool party where he's shot dead.

I cannot tell you just how bad this film is. From the inane songs Arch Hall Jr. attempts (and not successfully) to sing to the intense underacting of all involved, "Eegah" is one painful flick to sit through. Thank goodness for Joel 'n the 'bots, whose wisecracks 'n comments are just dead on perfect. Although in fairness, there is so much badness in the film itself that I think anyone could've made a decent roast of it.

As Mary Jo Pehl describes in the "Amazing Colossal Episode Guide" for MST3K, the relationship between Roxie and Dad is just plain wrong and it might be that they were off-screen lovers (which makes for some pretty bad on-screen chemestry between father 'n daughter).

Take particular note of the "cave" that Eegah lives in. It's really apparent that the walls are really just cheap, painted tarps. Also, look for an appearence by fellow bad director and movie maker Ray Dennis Steckler ("Incredably Strange Creatures...yada yada yada") at the pool party.

One line in particular from this film has become an MST3K staple over the years. It happens early on when Dad, Roxie, 'n Tom walk from the road into the desert. Just as they leave the screen, you can hear (strongly) the dubbed line, "Watch Out For Snakes!". It makes no sense whatsoever and thus, it's an instant classic.

If you are new to MST3K, then I would recommend that you purchase the Shorts volumes first to get an idea if you like this sorta thing. If you are a tried 'n true Mystie, then what are you waiting for? Buy this flick today!