Idle Hands (1999)
Starring: Devon Sawa, Jessica Alba, Seth Green
Writers: Terri Hughes, Ron Milbauer
Director: Rodman Flender
*this is a toned-down version of a review I wrote for Idles Hands in 2011.
If you'd like to read the original review, head HERE. Keep in mind that it's NSFW.*
Synopsis (From Image):
Anton
is a channel-surfing, junk-food munching, couch potato burn-out who
can't control the murderous impulses of his recently possessed hand.
With the help of his zombified buddies, Mick and Pnub, Anton's got to
stop the rampaging devil appendage before it takes total control of
his life and ruins any chance he has with class hottie Molly.
Review:
While Idle
Hands is more funny than anything else, Rodman Flender knows
his shit what's up when it comes to horror. This flick is one huge
love letter to the genre, while perfectly blending hilarity and
scares. Though, the movie begins with all the ingredients of a
seriously intense horror film in place. It goes elsewhere right after
Anton's parents meet their demise. You can also tell Flender is big
on Argento, by his use of vibrant red and green lighting and with the
way he incorporates colors into the sets of the film. Visuals are
brilliant; all kinds of cool transitions. One for instance being the
rotating tire of a camper segueing to the wheel of a grocery shopping
cart, while Anton pushes it down a heavily fogged road. There's all
kinds of nifty tilted angle shots, quick zoom-ins and closeups.
Lastly, a favorite work of cinematic genius is when Anton goes
running down a school hall rushing to the Halloween dance. The cam is
at floor level as he gets closer and after he passes it continues
focus on him, while upside down. Love it. Kudos to cinematographer,
Christopher Baffa for lighting and camera placement.
The
film's characters are written really well, and it's clear that the
cast had a lot of fun working here. Devon Sawa absolutely rules as
Anton. His stoner persona is highly (HAH) believable, and I can't
stress enough how well he does at giving his murderous hand a mind of
its own. Seth Green and Elden Henson as Mick and Pnub are super funny
as the sidekick besties, who call out references left and right to
everything from Red Shoe Diaries to Texas
Chainsaw Massacre 2. Jessica Alba plays Molly, the
rockin' bass player hottie that falls for oily Anton and his
awkwardness. Great googly moogly, she is stunning in this flick.
Equally smokin' is Vivica A. Fox as Debi Lecure, who comes to town
with a weapon to rid the evil. She plays a badass with ease. Favorite
character is Randy, the town metal head, played by Jack Noseworthy.
Dude rocks “Shout at the Devil” for the entire film, sports tight
black jeans, Quiet Riot shirts and has some knowledge about the dark
arts. Noseworthy is pretty damn funny in his own way. Fred Willard
has a small role as Anton's Dad, Sean Whalen and Nick Sadler play
cops, and there's also cameos during the restaurant memorial scene
with Ricky Martin and Tom from Blink-182.
Once
Anton detaches his hand, Christopher Hart works hard at giving the
appendage its own conscious. Hart also played Hand in the Addams
Family movies, and it's pretty awesome how utterly different
the performance is here. Mad credit to him, plus he gets to grab a
hot set of boobs.
Cannom
Creations is on SFX, and I applaud their work. Idle Hands
tends to get pretty nasty for a comedy film aimed at a large
audience. Some of the gags include a cat chewing an eyeball, dead
parents corpses, a knitting needle through one ear and out the other,
pencil sharpened fingers, and more! The entire movie is one big hug
to pioneer horror directors. Love it.
While
Graeme Revell's music score is absolutely awesome,
it unfortunately takes a back seat to rock music. I don't always mind
rock in movies. It's perfect for films like Trick
or Treat,
but that's
one which revolves
around music altogether. I hate it when rock takes place of score in
films, and it does here a few times. It works when Randy is rocking
out to Motely
Crue while
working on his truck, it works when Mick and Pnub are smokin' out
to Sublime, and
even when Anton is jamming
headphones while watching TV.
But there's rock all over the place, and it becomes too much after a
while. The center piece at the school Halloween dance is The
Offspring,
and I've always disliked that band. However, I must admit they do a
good cover of The
Ramones'
“I Wanna Be Sedated”. Overall, it's tolerable, and even works
most of the time... I just wish there had been more use of Revell's
score.
Final Word:
Idle Hands is a great comedic nod to the
genre. It doesn't make fun of horror, but embraces it in a hilarious manner. It's also a top ten stoner film, if you ask me. Recommended.
Blu-ray:
Image/RLJ's Blu-ray release of Idle Hands is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track. This is an obvious step up in terms of video and audio quality next to the Columbia/Tri-Star DVD. However, that disc had a fair amount of extras, such as an awesome director/cast commentary, alternate ending, and storyboard comparisons. This Image Blu-ray has none. My advice would be to get your hands on this release for the Blu-ray presentation -because it does indeed look quite good- and hang on to your old DVD for the extras.
Available to purchase HERE
- Eric (Brobocop)
