The Experiment
A standard series of host segments as far as MST is concerned. There's your run of the mill jokes along with some sight gags, as well as some strange ideas for monster movies. One very strange stand out host segment comes from Tom and Crow dressing up in strange celebration costumes similar to the movie. They simply walk around in a circle with their costumes, and they never stop. Jonah, Kinga and Max all beg them to stop walking around and talk to them, yet they keep walking around in circles without a word until there is Movie Sign.
Beyond that, it's funny, it's witty, it's MST.
The Beast of Hollow Mountain
An American rancher lives in Mexico as a rancher, and has trouble with a local rival rancher. The girl of his dreams is being forced into marriage and a local boy and his father are needing his help. Among all of this, there is a beast somewhere.
What makes this movie bad?
Honestly, this is a pretty decent movie, especially for its time. It's a normal cowboy film with decently bad acting and a good bit of story and action. The characters are well fleshed out, the atmosphere and setting are fitting for the genre and everything is well in hand when it comes to watchability.
Then there comes the title character. The monster is jarring and so out of place, it is hilarious! The monster was an obvious ploy to try and make it stand out among other western films. What it serves to do is make the movie go way out of wack. The monster doesn't show up until the end and causes viewers to get whiplash from seeing a dinosaur (yes, a dinosaur) in a cowboy flick. Though it is built up throughout the movie, it still doesn't seem to belong. However, that still does not make this movie bad, it simply gives our hosts a slew of ammunition in terms of riffs and gags.
The Riffs
The riffs in this experiment are absolute gold! Cowboys, Mexicans, fist fights, cute little kids, and drunks, all of it equates to a rocking good time. Seemingly every riff works in this episode. There are no notably bad riffs or dry periods with no good riffs, it's a laugh-a-thon from start to finish! Some of the greatest riffs come from two side characters, Pancho and Panchito. They are not annoying characters, they are simply quirky and even adorable. They are not so much plucked apart by the riffs, as they are defended as humans and brought in a more realistic light.
The riffs work in a wonderful way, even when the movie itself is not actually bad.
The Episode
A wonderful episode all around! The movie is an easy sit and the riffs are comic genius! Watching our boys take on a cowboy flick with a random giant dinosaur monster? What could be better? This episode is memorable, and would even be good for people who are just getting into MST3K. Do not skip this gem of an experiment!