Director: Rodman Flender
Cast: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Vivica A. Fox
Screenplay: Terri Hughes, Ron Milbauer
92 mins. Rated R for horror violence and gore, pervasive teen drug use, language and sexuality.

Idle Hands came and went for his avid horror fan. I remember the trailer in front of one of my VHS tapes, but I never saw it, and it seems a lot of people missed it entirely. Decades later, it’s seen as a cult favorite by some and quite the opposite for others, including a colleague of mine (one I often find myself in agreement with) who referred to it as a contender for most obnoxious film ever made. With that bit of praise, I eventually made my way to it; it’s simply too enticing to ignore, and I believe it’s my favorite film from director Rodman Flender (Leprechaun 2), a movie that disastrously all over the place at times, but the sheer audacity to attempt a stoner comedy self-awareness and an enjoyable cast make this one worth seeking out.

Anton (Devon Sawa, Final Destination) is a low-ambition burnout stoner who spends most of his day cheesing with the TV on and nothing to do. When he discovers his parents dead and his hand possessed by an otherworldly force of nature, his friends are in danger and so is Molly (Jessica Alba, Fantastic 4), the attractive girl next door that Anton can’t help but fall for. His hand has a different plan. Now, the only thing standing in its way is a mysterious woman traveling the country in search of Anton.

There are two major components that kept Idle Hands from being more notable back in 1999. First of all, the studio and the director and the screenwriters were seemingly all making different movies. Seth Green (Guardians of the Galaxy), who plays Anton’s friend Mick, stated that the production was a hodgepodge of conflicting voices, and it became difficult to see the film that was coming out of that division, with no one at the wheel and being the decisive leader. Beyond that, having a film that feels like Scream’s meta-slasher squeezed through a stoner comedy filter ended up making Idle Hands really stupid.It’s surrounded by horror films that feel smart, and it’s really dumb. That’s not a knock; it’s a feature. Idle Hands is pure silliness and also has a bit to say about that part of puberty and adolescence where you feel directionless and hormonal, unable to see the path forward. Anton is a frustratingly relatable character at times. I wasn’t an Anton, but I knew quite a few.

The performances are capable enough, but what elevates them is the chemistry between Anton, Mick, and Pnub (Elden Henson, Killers of the Flower Moon). These three work so well together that I’m sad we didn’t get more of them in the film. Alba is adorable as always, and she works well within that unit, though she isn’t given much to do here, and you can’t sell me the idea that she has to work this hard to find a boyfriend. Jack Noseworthy fits in here also, not really part of the central shenanigans, but there’s a sense that these characters would believably interact with each other in the real world. Vivica A. Fox should work as well, playing the mysterious Debi, but like Alba, the female characters get rather short-changed, likely due to the changing tone of the picture. Debi is so underdeveloped, but she has the so much intrigue, it’s a shame she gets mostly relegated to plot delivery. I’d be remiss not to mention the Hand performer, Christopher Hart, who always played Thing in the Addams Family films of the 1990s, who has a lot of character to an organic without expression.

Horror films played with the meta awareness of horror in the 1990s, but I’m also down for a film that embraces lunacy in a way that feels closer to Gremlins 2 than Gremlins, one that allows for the characters to be a bit more animated and playful, especially with this movie that actually features some really macabre stuff. The makeup effects are great, the style is exciting and vibrant, and the conflicts are constantly building up over the course of the film. It’s also not a time-waster, with an all-killer/no-filler frenetic pace that I quite enjoyed.

Seth Green’s right: this movie is a bit of mess, stylistically and tonally at odds with itself, and that keeps Idle Hands from being a bona fide classic. It’s still a lot of fun, and with plenty of Halloween imagery, it’s the perfect low-stakes bit of cheesy horror goodness that should be more accessible to those who may not be as horror-tinged as the rest of us psychos. I showed the film to my wife recently and she was not terribly excited at first, but it won her over quickly enough. It has that power, and I don’t mind the idea of revisiting it this time of year.

3½/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For more Rodman Flender: Leprechaun 2