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29 out of 32 people found the following review useful: Excellent, violent tongue in a cheek slapstick horror comedy, 21 May 2002 Author: Mika Pykäläaho (bygis80@hotmail.com) from Järvenpää, Finland
I can only say that I never expected very much from "Idle hands" but luckily I watched it anyway because the film turned out to be rather a pleasant surprise. Brutal gore effects, amusing dialogue, wacky storyline and wild situation comic makes this film much better than most of the recently released horror flicks. Devon Sawa was amazingly funny in the leading role of young Anton and I have to give it to him: he really performed some pretty damn skillful and terrificly successful slapstick comedy. Seth Green and Elden Henson as his silly pothead pals were highly amusing too and Jessica Alba was, well, simply lovely. This movie contains such a crazy ideas and black, wicked humor I can't help of loving it. I also have to say how very happy I was to find out that "Idle hands" wasn't just a bunch of teens screaming, running and hiding from the vicious serial killer but actually much more than that. I'm also a fan of The Ramones and this movie gave me a nice opportunity to hear their classic hit song "I wanna be sedated" as performed by The Offspring. So I suggest you to forget your ridiculous "Scream" -trilogy and the likes of "I know what you did last summer" and "The Faculty" and watch refreshing "Idle hands" instead. This dark and speedy tongue in a cheek splatter comedy is a great, captivating experience you shouldn't miss if you wanna enjoy and have some bloody good laughs.
29 out of 36 people found the following review useful: ...and the best performance award for an actress wearing KISS make-up goes to..., 22 August 2002 Author: Mr Parker (spookyscribe@yahoo.com) from New York City
I don't care what anyone else says, I found this movie to be hysterical. For one, it's pretty violent. People get it in disturbing ways here. One comes to mind in particular where someone gets a knitting needle rammed straight into their ear. It's not nice stuff but it's so funny you can't help but laugh. A major question, first and foremost: just what the hell was Vivica A. Fox doing in this movie? I've never used the word slumming before in a sentence but I think it applies here. Devon Sawa is a cool cat. I liked him here and his brand of physical comedy is pretty impressive. Watch Final Destination after seeing this and I think you'll wonder why we haven't seen more of him. Seth Green is cool and so are Elden Henson and Jack Noseworthy. And for Jessica Alba fans, she's in here, in all her pre-Dark Angel glory. I've never used the word nubile but I think it definitely applies here. She looks so good in this movie that it hurts my chest. She's one of the finer points (literally) of the movie. There's a chick in this movie wearing Paul Stanley's KISS makeup that should email me so I can give her my home address. There's parts of the movie that kinda fall flat but that's to be expected. Check this movie out if non-pc humor and bad mojo violence is your thing. Especially if you liked Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, I think you'll dig this picture. And if you appreciate Jessica Alba in any way. Rating: *** out of *****.
21 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Comedy & Horror Seem To Work Well Together, 1 April 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
I thought this was going to be just another dumb teen comedy. After watching the first 10 minutes, I was convinced it was, and was ready to try something else. Well, I am glad I stayed with it. It was very funny and a combination comedy and horror film. Yes, it's humor geared more for teens but people far older than 15 should still get a lot of laughs out of this.Warning: some of the scenes are pretty gross, at least for a comedy, but that's what made those particularly scenes funny. Comedy and horror mix well together, anyway.The film reminded me a bit of "American Werewolf in London" with the "undead" kids. Despite the absurdity of it, there are a couple of good message in here....but, generally, this is purely escapist fun and nothing else.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: A very pleasant surprise, 15 September 2005 Author: zybch from Victoria, Australia
As mentioned in the other comments, this movie is a awful lot better than it would first seem. Its still a rather brainless teen slasher flick, with the usual array of 2D characters ( the goofy friends, gorgeous love interest, aggressive hunk etc) and situations (school Halloween dance), but the great dialogue and great visual effects elevate it above the majority of other movies in the teen slasher style and doesn't do too much talking down to the audience. Where most other movies of this type give the audience 2 answers before a single question is answered Idle Hands has no fears about leaving things unanswered, where the viewer can make their own mind up (for once). Devon Sawa makes for a convincing and cute Anton, while Jessica Alba is all thats needed to keep the target audience of under 20's males glued to their seats. Don't get me wrong, this isn't up there with the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, but it never sets out to be; it's hilariously funny, satisfyingly gory and one hell of a lot better than you'd ever think. Go rent it, you'l be pleasantly surprised. Also, the soundtrack is great.
18 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Idle Hands Do Devilishly Good Work!, 25 April 2001 Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ
Watching "Idle Hands" is like watching an R-rated rendition of "Beetlejuice." It has the same tone as the Tim Burton classic. Though it is basically a dark comedy--emphasize the word "dark" as much as you can--there are some moments of graphic violence that the casual moviegoer might not expect out of a comedy. But not all comedies are meant to be like Mel Brooks movies. Peter Berg explained it perfectly on the David Letterman show when he was talking about "Very Bad Things," which he wrote and directed. He said, "Just like how some people, like me, like our food spicy--some people also want their comedy spicy." Just like "Very Bad Things," "Idle Hands" is a grotesque, slightly off-putting comedy that won't be taken easily, but that's part of its appeal. It gives you that "dark comic rush." And there are moments where you can't help but laugh hysterically. Seth Green and the other boy--I don't know his name--have some extremely funny moments. Most of the jokes have to do with scatological and drug-related elements, but they work perfectly. This is not for the prudish, not tailor-made for the sick and twisted (though they would probably take delight), but makes intelligent use of gruesome and coarse gags. I know that doesn't sound appealing on paper, but you'll see what I mean. See for yourself. "Idle Hands" is not for all tastes, it's not sophisticated and I would call it a popcorn movie...but you'd probably throw up your popcorn if you were to watch this flick. As for eye candy (for the guys) we have the stunningly beautiful Jessica Alba, who never gets naked (Dammit!) but struts around in a revealing blue nightie with her beautiful cleavage on display. She's just one of those extremely cute babes that you just want to cuddle like a teddy bear. Idle Hands may do the Devil's work, but it makes heavenly entertainment!My score: 7 (out of 10)
18 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Great mix of horror and humor, 12 November 2000 Author: dee.reid from United States
For reasons unknown, I couldn't see Idle Hands when it was released into theatres last year in 1999. I didn't get a chance to see it until it came out on tape in August later of that year. The plot centers around Anton Tobias(Devon Sawa), he's 17, he hasn't been to school in 6 months, he's in love with Molly(Jessica Alba) a girl who has lived across the street from him for lord knows how long, and he smokes pot with his friends Mick(Seth Green) and Pnub(Elden Henson). Anyway, Anton wakes up one day to find that his parents have disappeared, (although it takes him about two days to realize this). This goes to show you should stop smoking pot all the time. It isn't long before Anton discovers his horribly mutilated parents and that his right hand has been possessed by Satan. His hand soon kills his best friends Mick and Pnub. With the help of a priestess Debi(Vivica A. Fox) and a local headbanger (Jack Noseworthy) Anton comes up with a few odd ways of keeping his hand occupied from its homicidal tendencies such as listening to heavy metal and needle point. Let me just say that this movie is hilarious. I should also say that this movie is also one of the grossest and goriest movies I've ever seen. There are quite a few hilarious moments as well as a few shocking ones. Vivica A. Fox's name says it all and Jessica Alba isn't bad to look at either.10/10
10 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A horror spoof that doesn't forget the horror, 28 September 2005 Author: EpeeBill from United States
Usually, when you watch a movie that sends up the horror genre, the movie sacrifices the scares in favor of the laughs. But, in Idle Hands, the movie makers remembered to keep all the creepy touches and startling frights that make a horror movie when they mixed in all the humor.Not nearly as heavy handed as, say, the Scary Movie franchise, Idle Hands has all the normal trappings of a good teen horror flick: The unstoppable killing evil that has come back, the buddies of the main character who don't understand the danger until it's too late, the horny girl who main character must protect and a brave hero who is a bastion of all that is good in the world to defend us... OK, so I was lying about that last one. And that is one of the best twists of the film, the main character is a screw-up and doesn't act very heroically until very, very late in the film. In addition to really revving up the laughs, this feature is also what kind of makes this movie stand out from the usual horror fare.Now, here's the key: While Anton struggles with the evil in his bumbling way, egged on by the wise-cracks of Mick and Pnub, the film delivers actual horror. We get shocks, we get creeps, we get gore and we don't get the "ha-ha got ya!" joke right afterward that you get in most parodies. The scares are real, the deaths are real, the danger are real. And, surprisingly, so are the laughs.
28 out of 48 people found the following review useful: Horrifiying and Hilarious!, 16 July 2001 Author: movies2u from United States
I rented "Idle Hands" and I have to say that it was a GREAT movie! It was kind of like "Scary Movie", but better! It was VERY funny!! Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Eldin Ratliff, and Jessica Alba were SPECTACULAR! This is a very funny/gorey movie. The acting is funny and great, and the directing is great! This is a smash-hit! I loved it! I highly recommend this film to horror fans and comedy fans for that matter! I give this film a perfect 10 out of 10!!!!!!! :)
14 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Fun story, much blood and – oh yeah – a very yummy Jessica Alba, 9 January 2005 Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
"Idle Hands" isn't priority viewing for horror fans but it's a very entertaining little gem, nevertheless. Cast and crew were smart enough to put the whole horror genre into perspective a bit and therefore this feels a lot more like a light-headed spoof than a sickening gore flick. Ever since that dreadful "Scream", the teen-slasher flicks are going through a revival and "Idle Hands" picks into this in a funny way with a very exaggerated plot, eccentric characters and outrageous situations. Devon Sawa (Final Destination) stars as an offbeat teenager whose goal in life is too sleep late and smoke dope. It takes him quite some time to realize that his right hand is possessed by evil forces that force him to kill. With the help of his stoner-friends (killed as well, but too lazy to reach for the light at the end of the tunnel), he has got to prevent that the beautiful muse across the street gets killed by the bloodthirsty hand. The storyline is ultra-thin but don't let that keep you from having a good time watching the well-elaborated gore effects and funny one-liners. Very creative (but especially comic) butchering in this film, as it for example contains one of the potheads getting stabbed in the head with a beer bottle! That same bottle than remains embedded in his skull for the rest of the movie, which is a pretty cool sight. There are terrific tributes to horror titles that featured the same idea of a murderous hand earlier (like "Evil Dead 2" or Oliver Stone's "The Hand") and an excellent soundtrack with songs from Mötley Crüe, Rob Zombie and The Ramones. The best acting performance is given by Seth Green who has an undeniable talent for comedy roles. And then there's Jessica Alba who portrays one of the most gorgeous horror-heroines ever! I've seen a few episodes of her "Dark Angel" TV-show but she definitely didn't this good there! "Idle Hands" is an overall okay film...not good enough to be named among the better horror-comedies but surely a lot better than the so many other pretentious spoofs.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Really Good Film, 14 September 2005 Author: Beechy_31 from South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
i am particular about my films and usually don't go for "stoner" comedy but i thought this film was hilarious, i mean the story was a little thin but and the main star isn't a star but what makes a movie is how it plays out and it played out brilliantly even though the acting was poor in places it didn't matter cos u couldn't stop laughing long enough to notice Jessica Alba played a very cheesy yet funny part my favourite line being "mmm, your Kinky" the look on her face and how she said it made me collapse into laughter, and being a great fan of the offspring made it even more of a bonus though Dexter's acting was terrible.i was a great fan of Sam Raimis Evil Dead Trilogy the hand scenes reminded me a lot of Bruce Cambells Hand trying to kill him the hand scenes in Idle Hands were very well done Please see this movie, u wont regret it
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