If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

If you look at IMDb's infamous Bottom 100 list of the lowest rated films of all time closely, you may just notice that a HUGE number of these films have been featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-- and that is THE reason they've made the list. This does not necessarily mean that these films are the most horrible ones out there and I have been surprised to see that a few of the MST3K films aren't even that horrible. While "The Final Sacrifice" is bad, films like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or "The Room" inexplicably never made the list...and should have instead.My verdict for "The Final Sacrifice" is that the film shouldn't be considered for any list for several reasons. While it does suck, the movie was a student film made by some young folks STUDYING to be filmmakers. It also was not released in theaters. Yes, the acting is bad at times, there isn't a lot of plot and the editing, continuity and direction are poor--but so what? It's what it is--a bad student film and nothing more.

Fleeing from the cult that murdered his father, a teen (Christian Malcolm) is aided in his quest to find the lost city of the fabled Ziox by a secretive drifter.Typically a film ends up on the Bottom 100 because people see a movie on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and then instantly give it a 1 or 2. Some of the films they show honestly are not that bad, but are just bad edits or bad quality prints. This film is the exception, and definitely belongs on the list.The acting is bad, the story is weak, the directing is just so-so, the cinematography has a weird ankle obsession. Wardrobe is nothing special, and whoever designed the "map" used in the film did an awful job. The only thing redeeming about this picture was the guy playing Mike Pipper.Just awful, through and through.

Somewhere in Alberta (Eagle Hat?), Troy MacGregor is trying to find out why his father was killed when he comes across a map of the Ziox civilization in his attic. He's not the only interested party however, and is chased by Satoris and his hooded thugs. Troy chances up with Zap Rowsdower(yikes) who just happened to be a member of the cult until he was kicked out. Zap seems to have an instant dislike for Troy,as did I, and tries to rid himself of him by turning him into the police. As events unfold, it turns out the pair are close to where the map places the city so Troy investigates. Soon they meet up with Mike Pipper, who is Troy's fathers former partner. He's also the filthiest, grimiest man ever to grace the screen. Troy is kidnapped by the cult so Zap is off to save him and the truth about what happened to Troy's dad comes out in one big happy Chevy pickup truck flavored ending.Alright, it all sounds like a great story, but really, it's not told all that well. I guess it was made by some college students on a bus fare budget, which actually seems to add to the appeal. All the characters are hilarious at best. Rowsdower is an out of shape drunk with awful hair. Troy is a stick thin nerd who fills out a red sweater like nobody's business. And of course there's Mike Pipper and Satoris. Pipper's voice must be heard to be believed and Satoris is just terrible as the villain.Still, I actually will watch this movie and kind of like it. I've seen the MST3K version and I love it, but I've also seen it without Mike and the bots. It has a certain charm to it. It's not good by any means but it's fun and fun to laugh at. All in all, I say give it a try if you can find it.

While rummaging through his father's old stuff, a boy named Troy discovers a map that leads to an ancient civilization. Troy thinks the map may also lead to answers to his father's death. But there are other, darker forces at work. A cult bent on world domination wants to get hold of the map. With the help of a former cult member named Rowsdower, Troy hopes to get to the bottom of the mystery before he ends up like his father.While I usually pride myself in being able to separate the two, in the case of The Final Sacrifice, it's really difficult to imagine watching the movie without the Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentary. The movie seems to have been tailor made for that type of ridicule and mockery. From Mike Pipper's Yosemite Sam-like voice to the over-weight Canadian guys in black hoods and tank top running through the woods to the nonsensical plot to the cardboard Ziox civilization – it's like shooting fish in a barrel – the riffs just can't miss. I've probably seen The Final Sacrifice a half-dozen or more times and I'm always astounded at the ineptitude of it all. Some things are so bizarre, however, that it leaves me scratching my head in wonderment: • Zap Rowsdower? Really? You've got to be joking. The name, the actor, the character motivation – none of it makes the least bit of sense.• Troy McGreggor? Again, you've got to be joking? I sincerely doubt you could find a punier or bonier looking guy to play the role. And that incessant whining of the name "Rowsdower". It makes me want to slap the guy every time he opens his mouth.• Plot coincidences. Can you write a plot with more unrealistic and unfathomable plot coincidences? Take the bad guys timing in coming after Troy. The map has been sitting undiscovered in Troy's attic for seven years. That's right – SEVEN years. But the moment Troy discovers the map, the bad guys immediately show up on his doorstep. Yeah, right. Or take Troy's chance meeting of Rowsdower. Of all the trashy, redneck pick-up trucks in Canada, what are the chances Troy would pick one to climb in that just happens to be owned by a former member of the cult that's chasing him? Not very likely.• Is Canada really that desolate of a place? Troy's aunt's house appears to be in a neighborhood of some sort. Is there no one around to notice that something's amiss when hooded goons take a chainsaw to her front door? Does no one notice a band of thugs chasing Troy on his bike? And why doesn't someone notice the shootout Rowsdower and the cult members have on the highway? Is this kind of activity normal in Canada? This is too easy and I've barely scratched the surface. I haven't mentioned the lousy technical aspects of the film, the amateurish acting, the poor special effects, or the ridiculous music score. The Final Sacrifice has it all and none of it is good. Because of some unintentional entertainment value I derive from the film, I can't rate it any lower than a 2/10. But as far as MST3K episodes goes, it makes for one of the best. I'll give that version a 5/5 on my MST3K rating scale. Enjoy.