Main Cast: Tom Smothers, Carol Kane, Miles Chapin, Debra Scott, Marc McClure
Release Year: 1982
Country: US/CA
Run Time: 82 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Tom Smothers and Carol Kane co-star with Paul Reubens and Judge Reinhold in this uneven comedy spoof of slasher films. Sergeant Cooper (Smothers) is a Canadian Mountie who investigates the death of cheerleaders attending a summer camp at Indiana's It Had To Be University. Cameo appearances by Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard, Eileen Brennan, Tab Hunter, and Donald O'Connor fail to add anything to the thin, sophomoric plot. This film should not be confused with the similarly titled 1988 Australian feature directed by Hadyn Keenan. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
This Airplane!-styled spoof of slasher movies has its moments but is ultimately more bizarre than it is funny. The script takes a shotgun approach to humor, mixing genre-specific humor with the kind of gags that could pop up in any comedy. Some of the gags are truly clever (example: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigate the murders, a nod to the fact that many slasher films were shot in Canada) but those gags are outmatched by scenes involving humdrum grossout humor and other scenes that are just plain bizarre, like a death by electric toothbrush and a throwaway gag about bestiality. That said, director Alfred Sole keeps the film moving at a breezy pace and gives it a surprising amount of horror-film atmosphere for the jokes to bounce off of. Pandemonium further benefits from strong comic performances: Carol Kane uses deadpan wit to impressive effect as the "final girl" heroine, Paul Reubens turns in a deliriously eccentric turn as the main cop's sidekick and the supporting cast includes everyone from Judge Reinhold to Tab Hunter. Ultimately, Pandemonium doesn't produce enough consistent laughs to qualify as a top-shelf comedy, but its cast and its distinctively eccentric approach make it a worthy curiosity piece for the cult movie set. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
James Claytor - Art Director, Richard Whitley - Associate Producer, Jaime Klein - Associate Producer, Roberta Weiner - Costume Designer, Ed Milkovich - First Assistant Director, Alfred Sole - Director, Eric Jenkins - Editor, Barry Krost - Executive Producer, Dana Kaproff - Composer (Music Score), Bob Mills - Makeup, Jack de Shields - Production Designer, Michel Hugo - Cinematographer, Doug Chapin - Producer, Barry Krost - Producer, Charles M. Graffeo - Set Designer, Bob Dawson - Special Effects, Keith A. Wester - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Whitley - Screenwriter, Jaime Klein - Screenwriter
