This full-colour comedy satirizes the old black-and-white science fiction films that you might see if you watch Mystery Science Theatre, succeeding where the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra failed. First of all, the dialogue and visual jokes come fast, relying on our ability to recognize allusions to Silence of the Lambs, Monty Python, This Island Earth and so on. Deliberately oversimplified science jargon and repetitious rambling one-man soliloquies feature briefly but do not make the majority of the script, making a nod to the style of the birth of the B-movie genre without letting it overburden its listeners.
Top of the Food Chain features several of the easily recognizable character tropes: Dr. Karel Lamonte is an "Atomic Scientist from Atomic University", a bespectacled and timid young man who loses said glasses, starts looking a bit more muscular and starts spouting 1950's hero-clichés and barking orders partway through the film. As you watch, however, you see that a man this straight-laced and stiff is sexually repressed to the point of ridiculousness, making it impossible for him to respond properly to the female love interest's perfectly obvious advances. The love interest, Sandy, is Exceptional Vista's femme fatale but over-sexualized to the point where she is a raging nymphomaniac involved with practically every man in town. Other clichés abound as we meet the cop character who is suspicious of the FBI, the small town men who are offended by the "big city" scientist. These clichés are often turned on their heads. At several points in the film Sandy makes it known that she is every bit as bright as the professor, but this is ignored by all. In another example, it is mentioned that the city coroner vivisected himself (and then filled out the required paperwork before he keeled over: a true citizen!) and the so-called "uneducated cop" has been performing all of the town's autopsies since (although when he inspects human remains at one point he uses kitchen cutting boards and eats crackers at the time.)
This movie lampoons alien-centric films, government conspiracy-centric films, genetic engineering and sasquatch-centric films, horror films, action films, and mid-1900s' Hollywood. It is dialogue-heavy and relies on the viewers understanding the jokes regarding chauvinistic attitudes, propagandist nationalist/stupidly simplified scientific language, and sexual innuendo that permeate the interactions between characters. This is a funny film, but only if you have a feel for the genre. If you're looking for high-action, special effects or potty humour directed at pre-pubescent teens, you won't find it here. If you want a funny satire of 1950s sci-fi then you're in for a treat.
Top of the Food Chain features several of the easily recognizable character tropes: Dr. Karel Lamonte is an "Atomic Scientist from Atomic University", a bespectacled and timid young man who loses said glasses, starts looking a bit more muscular and starts spouting 1950's hero-clichés and barking orders partway through the film. As you watch, however, you see that a man this straight-laced and stiff is sexually repressed to the point of ridiculousness, making it impossible for him to respond properly to the female love interest's perfectly obvious advances. The love interest, Sandy, is Exceptional Vista's femme fatale but over-sexualized to the point where she is a raging nymphomaniac involved with practically every man in town. Other clichés abound as we meet the cop character who is suspicious of the FBI, the small town men who are offended by the "big city" scientist. These clichés are often turned on their heads. At several points in the film Sandy makes it known that she is every bit as bright as the professor, but this is ignored by all. In another example, it is mentioned that the city coroner vivisected himself (and then filled out the required paperwork before he keeled over: a true citizen!) and the so-called "uneducated cop" has been performing all of the town's autopsies since (although when he inspects human remains at one point he uses kitchen cutting boards and eats crackers at the time.)
This movie lampoons alien-centric films, government conspiracy-centric films, genetic engineering and sasquatch-centric films, horror films, action films, and mid-1900s' Hollywood. It is dialogue-heavy and relies on the viewers understanding the jokes regarding chauvinistic attitudes, propagandist nationalist/stupidly simplified scientific language, and sexual innuendo that permeate the interactions between characters. This is a funny film, but only if you have a feel for the genre. If you're looking for high-action, special effects or potty humour directed at pre-pubescent teens, you won't find it here. If you want a funny satire of 1950s sci-fi then you're in for a treat.