The VHS Strikes Back
Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)
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Episode notes
After a couple of big-hitting blockbusters the last couple of weeks, Patreon JAC has remained we stay grounded with the little-known cult movie Tammy and the T-Rex.
"Tammy and the T-Rex," a film so bonkers you'd think the creators were on a week-long bender, was directed by Stewart Raffill. The story behind this 1994 madness starts with Raffill and producer Diane Kirman discovering a fully operational animatronic T-Rex gathering dust in Texas. Seeing a golden opportunity for cinematic lunacy, Raffill churned out a script in a week, featuring a brain transplant that turns a bloke into a dinosaur. They then filmed the whole thing in three weeks flat, probably because they were worried someone might come to their senses and shut the whole thing down.
The cast included a young Denise Richards and Paul Walker, who, bless his soul, is no longer with us. Richards played Tammy, keeping a straight face through scenes where she's meant to be romancing a bloody dinosaur, while Walker had the unenviable task of making us believe he was a human stuck in a prehistoric puppet. They shot it all around sunny California, with the production as chaotic as you'd expect. Critics initially tore it to shreds, but over the years, "Tammy and the T-Rex" has found a cult following who appreciate its sheer, unapologetic insanity. It's a reminder that in the world of movies, sometimes the crazier the idea, the more memorable the result.
Checkout JAC's LetterBoxd review here: https://boxd.it/6suS21.
And also JAC's podcast, Back to the Filmography, where he's currently going through every Jason Stathom movie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/back-to-the-filmogr.
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Plot Summary:
High school student Michael is viciously attacked and left for dead by a gang of bullies. A mad scientist transplants Michael's brain into a giant animatronic T-Rex, bringing him back to life in an unexpected form. As Michael, now a dinosaur, tries to reconnect with his girlfriend Tammy, he seeks revenge on those who wronged him while navigating the absurdity of his new existence.
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