The Adventures of Rat Phink and Boo Boo

Rating:
Summary: "Boo Boo" indeed
Review: "In a world populated by quite a billion souls, there are quite a few who are bound to stand out from the rest..."
Not surprisingly, among those exulted few are the dynamic duo Rat Pfink and Boo Boo.
Released under the mispelled title RAT PFINK A BOO BOO (the budget wasn't big enough to have the error corrected) and filmed in "Regularscope Black And White", this unbelieveably bad cult item from Ray Dennis Steckler is best described as an "exploitative" parody of the old 60s BATMAN TV show. The majority of this picture looks like someones bad home movies which somehow hit the jackpot and achieved minor cult status. In fact, the "plot" in which Rat Pfink and Boo must rescue a beautiful woman who is kidnapped by Korga, "The Swinging Ape" (a guy in a bargain basement gorilla suit) only begins to form in the last half hour! The dubbing is so bad it makes the old GODZILLA movies look like Oscar contenders.
The store I rented this from ... said "This isn't bottom of the barrel, this is under it!". I agree. Grab a shovel and start digging. But movies this bad only come along every once in a while, so it's worth seeing as a curiosity; but don't say you weren't warned. And believe me: There is NO WAY this movie could be rated higher than 1 star!

Rating:
Summary: Superheroes From Sears!
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Dennis Steckler in 2001 at his store in Las Vegas. I found him to be a funny, modest, well mannered, wacky, generous and very, very knowledgeable man during our three hour visit, so please bear in mind that I am not a totally objective reviewer, as I personally like and respect Ray. During the visit we discussed all his films, particularly "The Adventures of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo," and my personal favorite of the Steckler collection, "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed Up Zombies" (TISCWSLABMUZ), two films particularly dear to his heart.

In Rat Pfink, the three principals are Ron Haydock (Rat Pfink, the alter ego of a popular singer), Titus Moede (Boo Boo, alter ego of a mild mannered gardener), and Ray's then wife, the lovely and gracious Carolyn Brandt (as the heroine in peril). The plot is a Batman-esque good versus evil story of general mayhem, kidnapping, and fisticuffs. There is music (do not miss the quirky title song, sung by Ron Haydock), and even a special guest appearance by Kogar, the Swinging Ape! Truly this movie has everything that a camp classic should have and more.

A special bonus of the DVD is a director's commentary option, in which you can listen to Ray discuss varying aspects of the film, but please watch the movie once through without that feature first as the audio track is inaudible when the director's commentary feature on. The insights Ray shares into low budget film making are interesting and revealing. It interested me especially how Ray bought the superhero outfits from Sears, and conceived the plot for the film after hearing Ron Haydock's song 'Rat Fink' and thinking that would be useful in a movie. Ray is (correctly) unapologetic about the low budget devices in his film, and has a disdain for mainstream Hollywood which, as he correctly points out, can make a horrible film for $100 million.

This film is a camp classic, and I hope that we see more of the Steckler collection on DVD (hopefully with commentary from Ray) soon. Ray Dennis Steckler is an American original, and I salute his creative energy, ingenuity, and love of his craft. I wish as many people in today's Hollywood genuinely loved movies as much as Ray!

Rating:
Summary: Steckler is the god of everything that's great!
Review: This awesome movie is almost as biblical in proportion as "THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES THAT STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES aka TEENAGE PSYCHO MEETS BLOODY MARY", Stecklers first masterpiece. The only other moumental feature that tops these high quality films would be "Black Devil Doll from Hell" ... please tell me that these Oscar worthy blockbusters will be on DVD soon. ALL of todays premire directors and producers are clearly influenced by Steckler. This classic was released in 1966, the same year as the mind numbing, made for TV (children) Batman MOVIE. In this DVD Steckler cites the BATMAN TV series as his inspiration to create this magnum opus. I nominate Ray for a Lifetime Achievement award for this movie! and I watch it regularly.