1 out of 5 - Would Recommend: The Final Sacrifice

AKA The Final Sacrifice, depending on what release you watch.

Welcome back to 1 out of 5 – Would Recommend, where I completely forgot the MST3k Reunion Show was tonight! So instead of D.O.A. – Dead or Alive, we will be watching 1990’s The Final Sacrifice, the subject of a classic MST3k episode.

What’s The Plot?

Indeterminately young man Troy McGreggor discovers a strange map among the personal effects of his late father, who was murdered seven years earlier under strange circumstances. He follows the map, hoping to find the reason for his dad’s death, and attracts the attention of an evil cult that wants the map for themselves. He will need the aid of mysterious drifter Zap Rowsdower to evade and thwart the cult…but what is Rowsdower hiding?

The answer to the question “What If Dennis was an action hero?”

Who Made This Beautiful Garbage?

Students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, up in Canada. Armed with $,1500 and some borrowed equipment, director Tjardus Greidanus made his horror movie idea a reality in the backwoods of Alberta, with fellow students and local actors rounding out the cast & crew. It’s honestly not a half bad concept and could have been something pretty decent with the budget of The Room ($8 Million) or even Birdemic ($10,000).

Five Reasons to See It

The protagonist’s name is Zap Rowsdower. Zap. Gottdanged. Rowsdower.
Zap Rowsdower & Troy discover Mike Pipper, research partner of Troy’s father, hiding out in the woods near where Troy’s dad was murdered. Pipper looks like a prospector from an old western and talks like the love child of Rowlf the Dog and Red Green.
Pictured: A college kid in real life, allegedly. Also: Troy.
Zap Rowsdower, in an unusual move for a film, actually looks like an ex-backwoods cultist drifter SHOULD look like: Mulleted, middle aged, a little doughy, and full of beer.
The epic “Burning 2×4 Vs. Giant Grappling Hook” duel that ends the film.
“I’m Rowsdower. Zap Rowsdower.” – Is that a nickname? Short for Zapery? Zaperiah? If it is a nickname, is it one of those dorky self-imposed ones? It is, isn’t it?

Recommendation

This is a strong example of the so-bad-its-good form, a movie made by earnest people with good ideas that just didn’t quite have the money or skill to pull them off. As mentioned, it’s the subject of a fan-favorite MST3k episode but it’s worth giving it a watch on its own if you have the opportunity.

AND Tonight (Tuesday, 6/28) at 8 PM, at a movie theater near you, RiffTrax is reuniting most of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000! If you missed it, they’re doing an encore on July 12^th.