His best film, The Thrill Killers, is a taut melodrama set in the remote canyons of Los Angeles County, but for pure, unadulterated cinema nuttiness, Rat Pfink A Boo Boo is the one to see. That's unfortunate and unfair, because at his best Steckler is a talented and unique stylist. Ray Dennis Steckler usually gets lumped together with Ed Wood in the pantheon of legendary 'bad directors'. Like the crows sing in Disney's Dumbo: "I have seen everything, when I see an elephant fly" 9/10 Time to round up your buddies for a good laugh, the more, the marrier. Steckler hijacked a local town parade for his movie, as his sub-shoestring otherwise wouldn't allow for such extravaganza. An incredibly inept fistfight in a backyard ensues, where poor Boo Boo stumbles and falls all over the place and in between all this our hero just whips out a guitar to sing a song for no reason whatsoever and everyone starts dancing. Highspeed chases at 20mph follows, speeded up by the oldest movietrick in the world: Fast motion. At this point Rat Pfink feels that needs to remind Boo Boo that they have one weakness: Bullets! And then they are ready to rock. For reasons unknown he becomes pretty quickly fed up with the thriller, so our two protagonists are rushed in to a closet and stumbles out in Batman and Robin-like attires as the crimefighting duo, Rat Pfink and his assistant Boo Boo. Director Steckler, who always worked without a script, started this little monochrome movie as a dark, sinister thriller about 3 thugs harassing and stalking his gorgeous real-life wife, Carolyn Brandt. Much better than most self-confessed comedies. It is jawdroppingly hilarious at every turn and totally inept at the same time, but it is FUN. It is difficult to prepare people exactly for what they are going to see, this movie is a class act of its own: Made by the sixties maestro of improvisation, Ray Dennis Steckler, and this is his true masterpiece. when they begin to pick on the girlfriend of rockabilly musician Lonnie Lord (secret identity of Rat Pfink) they cross the line and incur the wrath of our heroes! Genius filmmaking! Just imagine what director Ray Dennis Steckler could do with a budget! but actually created and filmed BEFORE the popular 60s TV show! A bunch of psycho delinquents are terrorizing women. it transcends its monetary limitations and is wildly infectious in its creativity! Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, our two low-rent superheroes, are obviously inspired by Batman and Robin. it is absolutely brilliant! Infused with incredible passion from the director and the cast. as low-budget and cheesy and downright STRANGE it is. After having dreamed about this movie for so long could it possibly live up to my expectations? Or would it be just another in a long list of disappointments? Well, I needn't have worried. after purchasing it, I was scared to watch it at first. God bless the amazingly fast growth of DVD technology which allowed me to finally *purchase* the movie for my very own at a ridiculously low price! Even so. and not even the more eclectic video stores around here ever carried it. It never plays on TV, never ever made it to any repertory cinemas in my neck of the woods. RAT PFINK A BOO BOO (5 outta 5 stars) I have been dreaming about seeing this movie ever since I heard it mentioned in an old issue of Castle of Frankenstein Magazine when I was like 10 years old.
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