Dan Franzen (dfranzen70) Reviewing and analyzing low-budget movies is almost never as gratifying as it is for the big-budget ones, because often the cheapies make up for their lack of full-throated entertainment with eagerness and a strong effort. You almost feel a bit guilty when you pick on them, too, because you know the director probably hocked his entire Star Wars action figures collection to finance his labor of love.Even so, the odds are against the low-budget movie. In order for it to be successful, it has to be really, really good, because it's sure not going to get a huge advertising blitz – word of mouth will likely make or break it. The good news is that twenty years or so down the road, even the worst (especially the worst) will reemerge as cult classics. Hey, if it worked for Rocky Horror, it can work for anything.I don't think that sort of fate awaits Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas, from the makers of Freaky Farley. This direct-to-video comedy is set in Manchester, NH; well, it's actually Manchvegas, a fictional stand-in for Manchester, but you get the drift. Anyway, the story focuses on a prank-loving group in town called the MOS (Manchvegas Outlaw Society), led by Marshall (director-writer-star Matt Farley). Marshall, who appears to be in his twenties, is in arrested development and only wants to have fun; meanwhile, his female coconspirator, Jenny (Marie Dellicker) is beginning to wish for a more adult relationship, which leads her to date older guys while still pining for Marshall. Secretly.Meanwhile, young women are being kidnapped off the streets and then murdered. Who's behind these diabolical crimes? Who knows? Who's up to solving the mystery? Why, MOS, of course! On the plus side, the movie is enthusiastic and silly; its high-energy attitude (despite the macabre plot) help disguise the fact that this is a poorly acted, poorly written, and poorly directed film. Okay, maybe that's more like damning with faint, faint praise. The acting is uniformly – and hysterically – grade-school bad. People recite their lines as if they learned them two minutes prior and couldn't be bothered to add such luxuries as tone and emphasis. The plot itself is nonsensical, sort of what you'd expect a hyperactive kindergartener to come up with after three hours of recess.And I know that's mean, and after all this is not a theatrical release anyway (it went straight to video), so what did I expect? I didn't expect much at all, frankly, and that's really what I got. The movie looks as if it were produced by a first timer, but this is the fourth entry for Matt Farley. I admire his perseverance, especially since he can't be making any money off these enterprises, but if your fourth movie is still really, really awful, maybe it's time to find another line of work.

Chotchkiesflair This was a fun production that seemed to be made by filmmakers that have a love for the silly qualities of small horror films. They used those qualities to create their own small town horror setting with their own fun and bizarre antics thrown in. This is an independent film made on a smaller budget so keep that in mind, the filmmakers didn't have a bottomless pit of a budget at their disposal. Manchvegas centered around three characters named Marshall, Jenny, and All-Star Pete who formed the MOS (Manchvegas Outlaw Society). The MOS wear their own jerseys while they earn small dollars by using a little red wagon to deliver good around the neighborhood, such as newspapers, hot dogs, lemonade, used books, their own music CDs (The opening theme to the movie was a fun song of theirs called "Summer Fun"), etc. The MOS might sound like a bunch of children but they are actually older which makes it fun, Marshall and Jenny have a possible unspoken romance brewing and they talk to each other in bed through tin cans connected to a string! When a local girl vanishes while swimming in a river, her boyfriend (Vince) is blamed for the murder. But was it murder and if so was Vince in fact responsible? As more girls in the neighborhood go missing, the MOS take it upon themselves to solve the crimes. The other main plot in the movie is whether or not Marshall can finally admit to himself he has feelings for Jenny and if he can act on them. Manchvegas was unique in it's own right and the filmmakers seemed to have fun with it. You should have fun with it as well.

drloomis_carpenter_1980 OK, I know this is low-budget, but I still had a really good time with it. Here's the thing: it's low-budget and doesn't pretend to be high budget. Just a fun time...a movie that's hard to compare to others, and that's good! The girls (characters of Melinda and Jenny) were cute and the lead actor Matt Farley was funny in throw-himself-into-the-character way.It has a mystery and romantic entanglements, but the main reason to watch is the FEEL. It's not all about plot all the time...the feel can be something great in a movie, as it is in this one.Got it on netflix on a whim and it made me happy! It's fast and fun.

Galen I'm really unsure exactly what to make of this project, and while I understand that this is obviously the lowest of low-budget projects (and does deserve respect as such), let's face the simple facts – the actors are not, well, actors. And the script is absolutely atrocious. Is it a drama? Is it a comedy? Who can tell...The basic plot revolves around our three young heroes – Marshall, Jenny, and 'All-Star Pete' (and, yes, in dialog he is always referred to as 'All-Star Pete') – all three of which are the Manchvegas Outlaw Society (MOS). The three 20-somethings pull a red wagon around town delivering newspapers and selling hotdogs, pulling pranks on each other, and saving the day as necessary. It's, quite simply, bizarre.The technical aspects of the project deserve little comment. From the synthesizer-based score, to the poor editing and camera-work (focus is always nice), there's not much here. And I'll not even comment on MOS's "pop music."As I understand the challenges small projects face I'm always willing to forgive flaws when obvious talent is present. After all, money can easily fix technical problems in small projects (i.e. bad lighting, sound, etc.), however if the mega-hits teach us anything it is that money cannot fix poor scripts or poor acting. However, with Manchvegas, there is no talent present – the script is ridiculous and the acting poor – so throwing money at the project would not fix its glaring flaws. Unfortunately, this is just a poor low-budget project.Pass on this one. 1/10.