In my quest for films so terribly unprofessional that they come across as hysterical, few have risen quite to the heights produced by The Amazing Bulk. Oh, how wonderful it is to say that this masterpiece is absolutely worth the watch, and I’m overjoyed that it exists.
I knew going in that it would be atrocious. All the reviews paint the film as abominable, and I watched a whole video published by I Hate Everything on it. What I wasn’t sure of was whether it would be dreadfully boring or dreadfully sublime. Finding the answer did not take long.
Copy-Pasted Summary
“The Amazing Bulk follows Henry ‘Hank’ Howard and his mission to create the ultimate super-soldier serum for General Darwin, whose daughter, Hannah, is in love with Hank. As destiny calls, Hank will have to transform into The Bulk to save the world from the schemes of the nefarious Dr. Werner von Kantlove.” – Johnny of IMDb
Cool Review
What makes a “so-bad-it’s-good” film? Objective inadequacy, obviously, but it can’t just be that. Any film can simply be bad. No, there must be some motivation for absurdity—things taken straight, only with a winding path. To go so far off the expected trajectory that it borders on uncanny. Not all films that fall under “terribad” understand this phenomenon.
The Room is amazing because Tommy Wiseau is an odd person. By all accounts, it seemed like he wished to make a compelling drama that rivaled that of cinematic masterpieces—he just didn’t know how to emulate them. As a result, that film turned out to be a serious plot executed with as little grace and know-how as possible, making it seem almost satirical. To me, that is what makes these rare films so amazing.
On the topic of amazing, The Amazing Bulk manages to capture that essence. Though it starts somewhat slow, pieces of bizarre additions filter every scene. The budget looks like it was somewhere around $10,000; its special effects were the highlight of everything. Driving around in CGI cars and running in place in front of green screens. Action sequences consisting of a big purple thing running around in a single fashion while everything around it blows up. Magnificent.
Absolutely nothing in this plot makes any sense. Nothing feels earned or properly built up to. There is a five-minute scene near the end where it seems like the filmmakers just threw in a bunch of nonsense so to get their money’s worth. It is the single-most confusing scene I’ve ever seen in any film. And it was beautiful.
Everything about this is terrible. That much should be obvious given the trailer, user/critic reviews, and the blatant rip-off name. Whether intentionally so or otherwise is hard to gauge, but what matters most is that it feels like it’s trying hard enough to reward viewers with a great time. That, for me, makes this a worthy recommendation and a wonderful viewing.
Conclusion
If anything I said prior appeals to you on a spiritually level, The Amazing Bulk is something you should have watched yesterday. An absurdly bizarre experiment of satire and an overly liberal usage of special effects that is a treat to behold. Please bring more happiness into your lives by spreading the word of the great Bulk and his exploits.
Final Score: 1(0)/10
The rating for all other films can be found at Letterboxd.
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