MST3K: Episode 910 - The Final Sacrifice

I'm watching all of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in order. More about that here and here.

Episode 910: The Final Sacrifice

First aired: Sci-Fi Channel on 25 July 1998
Availability: iTunes,Amazon Instant Video, Amazon (Volume 17), Shout Factory (Volume 17), Best Brains (Volume 17)

Rowsdower!

Rowsdower!

That sums up The Final Sacrifice nicely, I think.

If that doesn't make any sense to you, then you haven't seen the episode. If you have, you understand and agree that there is no better single-word summary than that for this film.

But, whether or not if you've seen the film, if you don't agree with that summary, I challenge you to give me a better summary.

Rowsdower!

Didn't think so.

Let em tell you about this film magnifique from the island state of Canada.

Some guy is shot in the woods, so seven years later, some goofy kid finds a map to a lost city his dead father left him, only a bunch of dudes in tank tops and ski masks try to kill him and take it, so he jumps into the back of a beat-up, old, Sanford and Son-looking pickup and escapes, but it turns out the black hoods are after the driver of the truck, who goes by the name of Zap Rowsdower (no, really), too, because he left the group, which, according to the love child of Yosemite Sam and Gordon Lightfoot, is the last of an ancient race and they want to take over the world but Goofy Kid and Rowsdower stop them and the ancient city rises from the ground, but we never find out if that's good or bad, since it was descendants of that city who were trying to kill everybody to begin with, so Rowsdower and the Goofy Kid drive off. The end.

Holding a gun on Rowsdower!

See? It all makes sense now.
Okay, maybe you think "it makes sense" is an overstatement. To which I simply reply, "Rowsdower!"

I told you, didn't I?

A little background on this film. There was a guy taking a film class in Canada or somewhere, and he made a film.

There you go.

Oh, more? Sure.

The cult catches Rowsdower!

He used others in his class, plus some local actors to play the parts. They didn't spend a lot of money, since they used school equipment. One think I'm not sure about: did the guy get an "A" for this?

It's actually a watchably bad film. Some bad films bore you to death. This one doesn't.

Oh, and on the DVD pack is a special feature that's really special: an interview with Bruce J. Mitchell.

Who is Bruce J. Mitchell? He's ... wait for it ... Rowsdower!

They caught Hockey Hair from Rowsdower!

He said they all had a good time making the picture. He recognized it wasn't a great film, but they had fun and it has received lots of attention, mostly because of MST3K, but it's all good.

He seems like a likable fellow. And, even before I saw the interview, I though it was bad fun. After seeing the interview, I kinda like it more.

It had a plot, such as it was. It had passable actors. Mitchell, in particular, is a decent actor. He's still at it, working stage productions, mostly in Canada.

Oh, and the guy that made the film? He's Tjardus Greidanus (no, really), and he's made lots of documentaries over the years.

The episode had more than just the movie. It had Tom Servo singing a song in praise of Canada that took an ugly turn. Plus, Pearl, Bobo, and Observer all came down with Hockey Hair. It's contagious.

A fun, fun episode.

When many long-time fans think of MST3K, they usually think of Joel. Late-comers to the party usually think of Mike. Episodes like this cross the Joel/Mike boundary. It's a great episode.

And, if I might: Rowsdower!

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