There's a serial killer stalking the streets of smalltown Bolan, but teenage slacker Anton (Devon Sawa) doesn't care - he's too busy getting high, eating junk food and watching TV. One night he realises he hasn't seen his parents for a couple of days, and the killer may well be in his house! Anton panics, and with good reason, as the killer is closer than he thinks...
This comic shocker was written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer. Cast your mind back to the gory, jokey horrors of the nineteen eighties, remember the special effects guy's favourite trick? That's right, it was the living, severed hand which turned up in everything from Evil Dead 2 to Waxwork. Ah, those were the days, which you can relive with Idle Hands, a throwback to those comedy bloodfests with added stoner humour.
Top-notch work from the cast ensure a lightness of touch which carries the film along merrily, even when people are inevitably being murdered. Devon Sawa ties himself in knots when his little problem takes over. Jessica Alba makes an, er, attractive impression as Molly, the too-good-to-be-true object of Anton's desires. The funniest characters are the permanently stoned double act of Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), who are killed early on only to return as zombies because they couldn't be bothered going to heaven ("Fuck it, man. Too far."). And feisty Vivica A. Fox is out to destroy the evil hand-possessing spirit once and for all.
The film is about measuring up to your responsibilities, whether taking control of your life or your own killer hand: Anton starts out useless, but ends up resourceful - an inspiration to us all, there. And there are plenty of sly elements to put a smile on your face: the zombies watching Dawn of the Dead on TV, the hand sharpening its nails in a novel way and wearing a glove puppet as a disguise, or the bizarre shrine for two of its victims. All this adds up to a most enjoyable ninety minutes, and you don't have to be stoned to appreciate it. Music by Graeme Revell, and watch for The Offspring as the ill-fated band at the high school dance.
American director and horror fan who got his break from Roger Corman. Mostly works in television, but has helmed the first Leprechaun sequel and gruesome comedy Idle Hands.
