Schlock (film)

Schlock is a 1973 American low-budget horror comedy film, written, directed by and starring filmmaker John Landis.

Plot
Schlock is a prehistoric apeman who falls in love with a teenage blind beauty and terrorizes her Southern California suburb. Schlock is no ordinary simian as he possesses some very unusual skills. Among other things, he plays the piano and gives TV interviews. In this spoof of early monster movies and missing-link science fiction films, John Landis pays homage to the monster movies of the past with irreverent humor and wacky hijinks.

Cast

 * John Landis as Schlock
 * Saul Kahan as Detective Sgt. Wino
 * Joseph Piantadosi as Ivan
 * Richard Gillis as Officer Gillis
 * Tom Alvich as Torn Cop
 * Walter Levine as Police Thief
 * Eric Allison as Joe Putzman
 * Ralph Baker as Dying Man
 * Gene Fox as Billy
 * Susan Weiser-Finley as Betty (credited as Susan Weiser)
 * Jonathan Flint as Bobby (credited as Jonathan A. Flint)
 * Amy Schireson as Barbara
 * Belinda Folsey as Goria
 * Emile Hamaty as Professor Shlibovitz (as E.G. Harty)
 * Harriet Medin as Mrs. Blinerman (credited as Enrica Blankey)

Production
Shot in the summer of 1971, but not released until 1973, Schlock is the first credited film by John Landis, who also starred in the title role. The feature-length parody of 1950s monster movies was shot in 12 days in the Los Angeles area and had a budget of approximately $60,000, half of which came from Landis' personal savings. Aside from being Landis' first project as a director, the film is also notable for being one of the first jobs for makeup artist Rick Baker.

Release and reception
Landis could not find a distributor interested in releasing the film until 1972 when it came to the attention of Johnny Carson. Carson loved the film and booked Landis as a guest on The Tonight Show, where clips were shown. It subsequently got released theatrically in the United States by Jack H. Harris Enterprises. It opened in Hollywood in March 1973 and in West Germany on September 17, 1982.

The film eventually became a minor cult hit and helped pave the way for the careers of both John Landis and Rick Baker. Current reviews for the film are fairly positive; it currently holds a 60% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, Landis has described the film as "terrible".

Home media
The film was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2001.