Your First Mutation

[Al]

My last review talked a bit about how Iron Monkey was my initiation into the world of Cult Films. I didn't know what I was watching at the time, but, clearly, that afternoon was where it all started (our followup film, for the record, was Clerks. Big day for me). From that day on, I was a mutant.

By coincidence, Sue's review two days earlier talked about that same experience in her life while watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

It got me thinking: All of us had this moment. We saw some bizarre little movie that made us say "This is weird and different and I love it and I want more." So, what was you all? Was it bad horror? Or trippy sci-fi? Or Dante and Randall arguing about the Death Star? What made you start to mutate?

[StarOpal]

See here's the part where I always feel a little left out: I don't really have a Mutant Moment Movie. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Princess Bride, The Black Hole, The Villian, Condorman, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century movie/backdoor pilot, The Labyrinth, Big Trouble in Little China... I mean I grew up on them. They were like mother's milk to me. It was a long time before I realized not everyone watched these kinds of movies.

Though, I think my first real find, not something that was passed down through the family but something I myself blindly picked off the shelves, was Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam. I still own it on VHS. I've talked about it before, but man I love this movie, and I think it was the movie that just kinda cemented everything as far as my taste in weird movies goes.

Some are born Mutants, some achieve Mutantness, and others have Mutantness thrust upon them.

[drew]

Al may recall differently (as he is probably the one who introduced me to the film(s) in question), but I'm thinking mine was either Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. I saw Clerks., Mallrats, The Evil Dead and Dead Alive somewhere around this time as well.

[dex]

Well, Al, I wish my cult history was so romantic. The first time I remember this crazy-but-great revelation was rather late, with Tank Girl. That's weird, isn't it? It certainly wasn't the first such moment, but all earlier incidents are blurred together in my memory.

And, true for me as well, StarOpal, for a long time I had no concept of cult. In the beginning, we had no VCR and precious few channels, so the two categories of "interesting" and "awesome" were sufficient to classify all TV. When I first saw Monty Python sketches, I just thought, Man, I love British humour.

At least I remember the first mutation in the literary domain. Without any prompting, without ever having heard of it, I picked up H2G2. Those were the days...

[BlackCatWhiteCat]

I've always felt sort of odd about my mutation. I'm similar to Eunice, in that I was watching weird stuff from childhood. Campy horror crap was my thing as far back as I can remember. I can also recall being in love with The Labyrinth.

Because my parents are neither big movie-watchers nor are they "cool", I didn't see a lot of movies as a child unless it came on a channel the whole family would watch. I really only saw big blockbusters when I begged to go to the movies with friends.

My mutantdome lay largely undiscovered until that fateful Thanksgiving day when I went up to my room, turned to Sci-Fi and discovered MST3K. It was also around this time that I was faithfully watching Saturday Night Anime, so things worked out quite well for me. No social life, but my Saturday nights still rocked, in my eyes!

Once Sci-Fi pushed the show into a no-longer-doable time slot for me I spent years ignoring my cult side. I actually was disappointed with Monty Python and the Holy Grail (SHOCK!!!) when a friend introduced me to it in college. And, when I first started reading MRFH I bought The Princess Bride purely because of the high accolades everyone on the site gave it. I was disappointed with that, as well. It wasn't until MST3K Volume 1 found its way into my hands that I really stopped denying my culty, geeky self. Going back through that amazing show I opened up to the side of myself I had long forgotten about.

[Head Mutant]

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes