Zaat (1971) Review

CLAYTON'S CREEPY CINEMA!

WEEK 2: MUTANT MAYHEM

Zaat (1971)

Zaat, a low budget feature that had been lost for years but was rediscovered and since distributed on DVD and Blu Ray, is a film so special, so unique, and so hard to believe, you have to see it for yourself to truly appreciate just how “special” it is.

It’s hard to explain the film in much detail, but the basic story is as follows. A Nazi scientist who has faced rejection all his life has developed a serum which can turn a human into a fish monster, and he plans on using this serum to turn himself into a fish-man-monster-thing, and then rule the world by turning everyone else into mutant fish creatures. There’s much more to his devious plan, including obtaining a wife whom he attempts to change into a creature like him, and all of it is detailed on a confusing chart in his laboratory, but his central scheme is to get revenge on the scientific community for doubting him and exact his revenge by using his serum on humankind. The local police department—an incompetent, racist bunch of folk—investigate some unusual murders in the small town, and very slowly piece together what’s happening, which points at the scientist as being responsible.

To say Zaat is a god-awful miscalculation of a film would be a severe understatement. This film is definitely one of the greatest “so bad it’s good” type of films. If you’ve seen Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, you know what I’m talking about. Zaat is The Room of sci-fi. For starters, the plot is so convoluted you’ll constantly be questioning what is really going on. The opening of the film shows a montage of various types of fish with a sinister voice over, but what is being said just left me confused and only set the tone for what was to come. How the scientist developed the Zaat formula isn’t ever really explained. When he becomes the Zaat monster (that’s another thing, what “Zaat” actually is, is not made clear), the movie really gets hilarious. The creature suit is the all-time worst suit I’ve ever seen in a monster movie. It looks like it was made by kids with papier-mâché, glue, and dollar store paint. It was obvious the actor inside couldn’t see, because multiple times he trips over his own feet or walks into walls. The death scenes are another hilarious aspect. I won’t spoil the best kill in the film, but it involves Zaat and a bather and Zaat swiping her—at least, that’s what I interpret Zaat’s action as, but who knows, maybe he was trying to give her a hug.

That anyone could have thought the original concept for Zaat would work as a sci-fi horror thriller with what I can only guess is a cautionary underlying statement about the environment baffles me. This mutant monster movie was obviously intended to be scary, but it comes off as downright riotous. As I said, it’s so bad it’s good, and in that sense, Zaat delivers on all fronts. Bad acting, bad dialogue, bad effects, nonsensical scenes, random things that don’t make any sense and many other unique blunders all make it entertaining as hell. 

For more info on Zaat, check out my Top Ten Best Worst Movies list (C.C.C issue #12)