Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973)

5/10

This film is set in a Nevada mining town, so there has to be some kind of chemical poisoning involved creating the 'Godmonster'. Supposedly filmed in Virginia City, NV, which the DVD case exclaims is "an actual US historical monument!". Whatever, it looks like a rundown town out west in the early 1970s. The Godmonster is a mutated sheep that spews poisonous gas.

A sheep farmer, Eddie, gets into a bar fight and is taken home by an anthropology professor (Prof) from Reno. Weird sheep stuff happens, and the Prof and an assistant, Mariposa, check up on Eddie. Eddie is a mess, as is some deformed fetus thing.

We meet the Mayor, who owns roughly 1/2 the town, spying on his neighbors. He disapproves of the 'lower class' citizens, tourists, and outsiders who want to buy land. A Mr. Barnstable would like to purchase some land and mine rights, but gets shut down by the Mayor. And Barnstable is black, which turns out to be unfortunate for him.

Turns out the Prof is tossing out weird biologicals at the local dump. Seems like the Sheriff works out of the old Comstock mine buildings, complete with external audio and video feeds. Eddie and Mariposa get close, the Prof experiments on the fetus thing and finds weird bones in the mine. Oh no, 'phosphorus yellow' gas is leaking from the mine!

Oh, man, you have got to be kidding me. As the townsfolk have a celebration, they have a shooting contest. The Sheriffs, nowhere near the same direction of the target, tells his dog to lie down and play dead. Then the yokel puts his hat over the dog's head and accuses Barnstable of being a murderer. Things really go downhill for Barnstable after that. See Spoilers.

After about 40 minutes of nothing really happening, the Godmonster gets loose. Stupid decisions, odd scenes, and havoc ensues. The ending is bizarre and over the top.

While the film is in color, a large amount of it is washed out or in a sepia tone (an effect of age?). Lighting is decent except for the few night scenes. Dialogue and overall audio is surprisingly clear and equalized. The acting is average. The creature is not too badly done, if rather silly looking. No gore and some gun fights. Fist fights are not well done.

The middle of the film is basically Barnstable being screwed over by the racist and greedy power brokers of the town. And it is slow. The payoff would have been worth it if there was more monster time at the end, and if the monster was better done. An interesting rental, though not really recommended. This film is something I would expect to see on a Sunday afternoon or after-midnight show.

*** Spoilers ***

The townspeople frame Barnstable for an assault and try to lynch him, only to be saved by the Godmonster. Martial law is declared as the beast runs around, idiotically blaming Barnstable for everything.