A mysterious stranger named Howard Turt arrives in the small town of Holoway to put on a stage show. It couldn't have come at a better time as several members of the town we meet are living in sin. The mayor just accepted a bribe; his wife is cheating on him; his young son runs away from home; his older son is smoking dope and having sex; and the son's girlfriend likes disco dancing. The townies pack the local theater to see Turt's performance, which involves a coffin-shaped box that emits a bright blue light. After that, all of the attendees emit a blue aura and are unable to lie. Yes, the H. Turt has set them free.
Filmed in Brantford, Ontario in 1979, this bizarre Canadian film almost feels Earl Owensby-esque but minus all the cool exploitation stuff he would put in his movies. You'd think it was a Christian film, but it has full nudity and cursing. My favorite part has the town council having a meeting about the stranger and the police chief offers the following: "Just as a precaution in case this guy is up to no good, as Elliott feels he is, I'm going to post an observation on him of 24 hours. I think he's up to no good." I also love when one council member reads Turt's flyer: "It's taken all civilization to the end of the 20th century to make Howard Turt. Come see for yourself, don't rely on others. See the truth for yourself. Admission free, donations gratefully accepted at the end of the show." Should you really trust a mysterious deity with truth-spells who asks for donations? Dialogue like that and people being nonchalant about suddenly glowing blue make this film by director David Eustace and writer Norman Fox almost blissfully naive. Sadly, it is also pretty dang boring, although I give it credit for having the best opening minute I've seen in a movie in a long time. It doesn't look like it played anywhere theatrically and only got a limited VHS release.
Filmed in Brantford, Ontario in 1979, this bizarre Canadian film almost feels Earl Owensby-esque but minus all the cool exploitation stuff he would put in his movies. You'd think it was a Christian film, but it has full nudity and cursing. My favorite part has the town council having a meeting about the stranger and the police chief offers the following: "Just as a precaution in case this guy is up to no good, as Elliott feels he is, I'm going to post an observation on him of 24 hours. I think he's up to no good." I also love when one council member reads Turt's flyer: "It's taken all civilization to the end of the 20th century to make Howard Turt. Come see for yourself, don't rely on others. See the truth for yourself. Admission free, donations gratefully accepted at the end of the show." Should you really trust a mysterious deity with truth-spells who asks for donations? Dialogue like that and people being nonchalant about suddenly glowing blue make this film by director David Eustace and writer Norman Fox almost blissfully naive. Sadly, it is also pretty dang boring, although I give it credit for having the best opening minute I've seen in a movie in a long time. It doesn't look like it played anywhere theatrically and only got a limited VHS release.
