Main Cast: Steve Van Wormer, Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Christopher Hart, Vivica A. Fox, Jack Noseworthy
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Teenage burnouts and post-modern slasher films are both raked over the satiric coals in the blood-soaked comedy Idle Hands. Anton (Devon Sawa) is a cheerful but exceedingly non-ambitious 17-year-old stoner who lives to stay buzzed, watch TV, and moon over Molly (Jessica Alba), the beautiful girl who lives next door. However, it turns out that the old cliché about idle hands being the devil's playground has a kernel of truth after all; there's a demonic beast living in his house that has already decapitated Anton's mom and dad (though it takes him a while to notice), and now the Dark Lord Himself has taken possession of Anton's right hand. Before he's entirely aware of what's happening, Anton's demon hand has killed his two best friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), though both come back as zombies to keep Anton company. Can Randy (Jack Noseworthy), local metalhead and expert on all things Satanic, figure out what the Evil One has planned next for Anton's digits? Will traveling demon slayer Debi (Vivica A. Fox) vanquish the possessed in time? And most important, will Anton get to go to the big dance with Molly before his hand starts causing trouble again? Director Rodman Flender certainly knows the genres he parodies here; he cut his teeth in horror working for exploitation legend Roger Corman and directed the film Bloody Mutilators as well as episodes of the TV series Tales From The Crypt, while more recently he immersed himself in teenage culture directing episodes of the TV series Party of Five and Dawson's Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Released hot on the heels of a long line of conventional Scream rip-offs, Idle Hands unleashed its own brand of silly, gore-soaked black comedy upon unsuspecting moviegoers in 1999, only to find its true audience later on video and DVD. Definitely a case of "it's better than you think," this horror comedy is high on gags and giant doses of marijuana. While social drug use is the norm in these types of flicks, weed is integral to many of the characters -- and humor -- of the film, as is the love for good old bloody slapstick. It's as if Evil Dead 2 took a massive bong hit and decided to make a teen love slasher story. By the end, there're stoned ghost zombies, young Jessica Alba, and plenty of decapitated-hand insanity to entertain any happy horror fiend. In the lead role, Devon Sawa shows off a fairly good knack for physical comedy and Seth Green provides some choice one-liners as one of the two dead stoner friends in the neighborhood (which in a sly wink, just so happens to be the same one from John Carpenter's Halloween). ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Katie Wright - Tanya; Sean Whalen - McMacy; Nick Sadler - Ruck; Fred Willard - Mr. Tobias; Connie Ray - Mrs. Tobias; Mindy Sterling - Lady Bowler; Steve Van Wormer
Credit
Roland Rosenkranz - Art Director, John Papsidera - Casting, Christian P. Della Penna - First Assistant Director, Rodman Flender - Director, Stephen E. Rivkin - Editor, Jeffrey Sudzin - Executive Producer, Graeme Revell - Composer (Music Score), John Houlihan - Musical Direction/Supervision, Greg Cannom - Makeup Special Effects, Keith Vanderlaan - Makeup Special Effects, Gregory Melton - Production Designer, Christopher Baffa - Cinematographer, Andrew Licht - Producer, Jeffrey A. Mueller - Producer, Suzanne Todd - Producer, Jennifer Todd - Producer, Scott Herbertson - Set Designer, Evette Knight - Set Designer, Peter Kuran - Special Effects, Joseph Geisinger - Sound/Sound Designer, Chuck Picerni, Jr. - Stunts Coordinator, Terri Hughes - Screenwriter, Ron Milbauer - Screenwriter
