TFFF: Godmonster of Indian Flats Synopsis

The Final Film Festival 7-9 Aug 26

Godmonster of Indian Flats is the story of an eight-foot-tall toxic sheep monster that blows up gas stations, smashes crooked politicians, and terrorizes children!

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you... Eight. Foot. Tall. Monster. Mutant. Sheep.

Infamous outsider artist Frederic C. Hobbs spins a bonkers tale of mayoral corruption, goo fetuses, and eco-activism to deliver a truly singular experience. On the surface, we're drifting somewhere between a good ol' Western and a schlocky creature feature, but Hobb's unique creative sensibilities and belief in anti-establishment filmmaking harnesses these genres into a deranged-yet-beautiful expansion of his work as a visual artist.

Hobbs' is credited with founding the "ART-ECO" movement, an approach that combined multi-media art, sustainable technologies, solar-based design, and environmentally conscious ways of living to encourage both ecological awareness and spiritual reflection. This ethos is thematically and practically present across his small body of narrative work. His proficiency as a sculptor is especially present in Godmonster. Hobbs created the mutant sheep puppet out of repurposed wool, bones, and synthetic flesh.

The Godmonster itself serves as a harbinger of destruction and justice, fighting industrial hubris with an almost Old Testament sensibility. It comes head to head with a variety of characters who represent different facets of the decline of rural America. As with Hobbs' other works, it was shot on location and features a cast of local actors from Virginia City, Nevada. The film, while initially dismissed on its release, has developed a cult status over the years (a legacy TFFF is excited to continue). As Mayor Silverdale says, "Time is the eternal judge of events!"

This screening will be preceded by an intro.

- Maurielle McGarvey