An uneven blend of horror and comedy, this film is definitely entertaining if not exactly good. Directed by Wes Craven, who has had years of experience behind him now, the film seems to have stolen from a number of sources - HOUSE, THE EVIL DEAD, and the director's own A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. However, the influences blend together into a pleasing film which is virtually a remake of NIGHTMARE, but with a different 'monster' and an opportunity for better special effects. The layout of the film is erratic. It starts off as a standard slasher film, before becoming an undead electrified killer on the loose film (shades of HOUSE 3 here) and then a strange weird film which is quite unlike anything I've seen before, where the opponents fight through the television sets. The final part of the film is by far the most original and the best bit.
The acting is pretty much standard here, but all involved acquit themselves nicely with their roles and there are some interesting names to look out for. The main hero, played by Peter Berg (who reminds me of a young Bill Paxton) is pretty much adequate in his role, and is not given much to do except fight a lot and provide a character for the rest of the film to centre around. Interestingly the actor has now gone on to directing, namely VERY BAD THINGS and BATTLESHIP. However, the role of Horace Pinker was given to a then relatively unknown actor, Mitch Pileggi, who is better known these days as Assistant Director Walker Skinner from THE X-FILES! It was a big surprise to see good old Skinner ripping off people's fingers and generally being an all round bad guy, and it makes for entertaining viewing. In fact Pileggi's wild overacting makes the film worth watching, he's hilarious in his role.
Added to this is a cameo from NIGHTMARE regular Heather Lagenkamp as a victim (what else?) and Ted Raimi as of Parker's friends. Raimi goes his usual way, getting killed in a most bloody fashion! Horace Pinker is pretty much a standard maniac bloke, stabbing people with a big knife, but halfway through the film he also starts spewing a ton of Freddy Krueger-inspired wisecracks, such as biting off a man's fingers and shouting "finger licking good!". As these lines are delivered by Pilegge with gusto I couldn't help laughing. The film also has some excellent special effects, especially when Pinker runs around in a fuzzy, electric-type form, and these are well worth watching for. The film is a derivative affair, but it's handled with pace, and there is a lot of action in it (just watch for the extended fight scene at the end, where the pair practice wrestling moves on each other!) and if you're in the right goofy mood then you'll probably enjoy it like I did. It's quite difficult not to enjoy really.
The acting is pretty much standard here, but all involved acquit themselves nicely with their roles and there are some interesting names to look out for. The main hero, played by Peter Berg (who reminds me of a young Bill Paxton) is pretty much adequate in his role, and is not given much to do except fight a lot and provide a character for the rest of the film to centre around. Interestingly the actor has now gone on to directing, namely VERY BAD THINGS and BATTLESHIP. However, the role of Horace Pinker was given to a then relatively unknown actor, Mitch Pileggi, who is better known these days as Assistant Director Walker Skinner from THE X-FILES! It was a big surprise to see good old Skinner ripping off people's fingers and generally being an all round bad guy, and it makes for entertaining viewing. In fact Pileggi's wild overacting makes the film worth watching, he's hilarious in his role.
Added to this is a cameo from NIGHTMARE regular Heather Lagenkamp as a victim (what else?) and Ted Raimi as of Parker's friends. Raimi goes his usual way, getting killed in a most bloody fashion! Horace Pinker is pretty much a standard maniac bloke, stabbing people with a big knife, but halfway through the film he also starts spewing a ton of Freddy Krueger-inspired wisecracks, such as biting off a man's fingers and shouting "finger licking good!". As these lines are delivered by Pilegge with gusto I couldn't help laughing. The film also has some excellent special effects, especially when Pinker runs around in a fuzzy, electric-type form, and these are well worth watching for. The film is a derivative affair, but it's handled with pace, and there is a lot of action in it (just watch for the extended fight scene at the end, where the pair practice wrestling moves on each other!) and if you're in the right goofy mood then you'll probably enjoy it like I did. It's quite difficult not to enjoy really.