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The Plot: The Milpitas Monster starts with narration from Paul Frees (the golden voice heard during the Disney dark ride, The Haunted Mansion). The story tells of early Milpitas CA, a small town located just South of San Francisco by 40 miles, and its rapid growth during these years. It seems Milpitas has been growing so much so, that the towns garbage consumption is out of control and the smell of the local dump over-comes the city. This leads the town council to bring in officials to investigate the situation.
Once the officials arrive and take their water samples, we’re introduced to the local drunk, George. George is the first to encounter the so-called garbage monster when he wakes from a drunken stupor. George, however, is so drunk that he’s unsure of what he’s seen. At this point, the water samples come back as heavily polluted, thus leading us to believe that the monster is born from the filth. There’s also numerous calls to the police station regarding homeowners missing garbage cans and evidence has been left behind by the monster in the form of giant footprints.
Shortly after all this silliness, we’re introduced to a bunch of teens driving around in their hot-rods. They’re all very excited about the upcoming school dance and upon arriving at said event, spike the punch and begin to do what you do at school dances, dance. This however doesn’t last long as the giant 50-foot monster puts and end to the fun by taking one of the girls captive as his own. The hot-rodders grab their cars and along with the city police and other officials, hunt down the monster in an attempt to rescue the girl and kill the monster.
The Takeaway: First off, let me say that I grew up just blocks from where The Milpitas Monster was filmed. As kids we often heard and read about this film during its production and saw bits and pieces of it on the local news. Though I never did get to see it when it played at the local theaters in Milpitas, it was a film I often thought about when returning to the area to visit. Monster movies owned the silver screen throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. There wasn’t a month that went by without a new monster appearing at the local drive-in. The 70s however was a time of change in terms of what filmmakers were doing. We were seeing less and less monsters and more and more possessed teenagers, chainsaw wielding maniacs and large sharks named Bruce. Yes, folks, the days of the giant monster was nearing its end. But that didn’t stop student filmmaker Robert Burrill from finishing his feature length film, The Milpitas Monster .
The technologies used to create the film and monster are obviously outdated. The monster is a man in a suit appearing to be reptile or fly like in nature. When miniatures are not being used as backdrops, the filmmakers resort to stop-motion technology to get the creature to look 50 feet tall. As far as the film plot goes, it’s solid in terms of how the monster came to be and how the film ends. Although the movie is dated, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s relatively unknown (a true rare monster movie), it’s an absolute blast to watch (this is due to the fact that I’m from the area in which it was filmed). Robert Burrill, though he may not have known it at the time, was a good filmmaker and I’m surprised he didn’t continue working in the monster/horror movie genre. Maybe one day we will see a return of The Milpitas Monster . Then again, maybe not.
Film Facts: The Milpitas Monster was directed by Robert Burrill and written by David E. Boston and Robert Burrill. It was filmed in and around the city of Milpitas CA where it was released to local theaters by the filmmakers. Robert Burrill and friends set out to make a short 10 minute film for a high school project but ended up with a full length feature filmed that took two years to make (1974 to 1976). Robert and his crew used Milpitas CA as the back-drop for their film and aside from some of the miniatures used in the movie, all scenes were shot on location using city landmarks and employees (this would never happen in the city of Milpitas current day). So with the cooperation of the city, media (both print and TV), and a whole lot of other people, The Milpitas Monster debuted at the local theaters in 1975 to standing ovations.
Thoughts In My Head: - Do they still make garbage cans out of metal? - The miniatures used in this film are quiet impressive - I really miss neighborhood carnivals - Giving a girl an ashtray as a gift is a bad idea - Picketing city hall for your missing garbage cans is just silly, right? - “hey, who made those foot prints” (as they stare at the monster) - Being drunk while being used as monster bait is probably best
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Sorry kids, no boobs in this one Favorite Death Scene: Sorry kids, no deaths in this one
Boob Count: 0 pair Body Count: 0
IMDB Rating: 2.7 / 10 My Rating: 2.5 / 10
Final Thoughts: I can only recommend The Milpitas Monster to those who grew up in or around Milpitas CA. Or to those of you who love bad monster movies. While it’s not the worse movie I’ve seen, it’s certainly not a very well made movie.
James May 6, 2012 @ 1:55 pm I was thinking to myself “this sounds like a b-grade, trashy version of King Kong.” Then I watched the trailer, and my intuition was proven right. Brave man! Reply
I was thinking to myself “this sounds like a b-grade, trashy version of King Kong.” Then I watched the trailer, and my intuition was proven right.
Brave man!
Parlor of Horror May 30, 2012 @ 6:46 pm Damn, I thought I had seen every monster movie ever made, but I missed this one! Like your ‘thoughts in my head’ segment of all the reviews, funny stuff! Reply Mike May 30, 2012 @ 7:11 pm Thanks, I appreciate that. I started the “Thoughts In My Head” after I had multiple reviews already posted so they’re not all the films I’ve covered. Reply
Damn, I thought I had seen every monster movie ever made, but I missed this one! Like your ‘thoughts in my head’ segment of all the reviews, funny stuff!
Mike May 30, 2012 @ 7:11 pm Thanks, I appreciate that. I started the “Thoughts In My Head” after I had multiple reviews already posted so they’re not all the films I’ve covered. Reply
Thanks, I appreciate that. I started the “Thoughts In My Head” after I had multiple reviews already posted so they’re not all the films I’ve covered.
Parlor of Horror May 31, 2012 @ 10:28 am Hey mike, if you like monster movies, you should check out my ‘Legacy of Kong’ in movie reviews category. I review every movie related to – or influenced by King Kong. Reply
Hey mike, if you like monster movies, you should check out my ‘Legacy of Kong’ in movie reviews category. I review every movie related to – or influenced by King Kong.
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