MONSTRO! is another grindhouse-style movie that came out in the wake of the Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration. This sub-genre of films typically harks back to the cheapo B-movies of yesteryear, throwing in copious sex and violence and not worrying too much about strong production values. MONSTRO!, an Australian addition to the genre, isn't as bad as the last one I watched - DEAR GOD NO! - but it's hardly the stuff of greatness.
The template this time around is the cinema of Russ Meyer, with a trio of 'super vixens' parading around in their tattoos and bikinis, although the film is surprisingly coy when it comes to actual nudity. The loose storyline sees the trio hole up in a run-down seaside village, where they encounter the titular menace, the Kraken no less, which proceeds to give them a run for their money.
Sadly the truth is that MONSTRO! just isn't very good. The paucity of the budget is evident in the cheapjack special effects - there's plenty of REALLY bad CGI here when the monster eventually shows up - and the general poor standard of acting from the main cast members. The script is also sub-par, and that opening murder sequence is pointless and actually had me hating the central trio after that. As ever, fans of these productions should just go and watch the original inspirations, because they're invariably much better.