Strangeland

This movie looked pretty good a first. A somewhat original idea for a horror movie, I was looking forward to this movie to come out. I rented it on DVD, and I just had to laugh. Dee Snyder needs to stay out of the horror movie business! Probably the movie business altogether. The movie starts out promising, but goes downhill from there. The "bad guy," Captain Howdy is laughable, and the piercings and tattoos make you laugh, instead of making you scared! The actors in this movie are horrible, and I'm shocked they ever landed parts in their lives. I just found out the girl from Freaks and Geeks is the young girl who is tormented by Howdy, and I think she was awesome in Freaks and Geeks, but here, she's just like the rest of them. When it comes down to it, she doesn't even have any lines in the entire film, and her part is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. The detectives in this movie are fake, and both of them can't act for nothing. Like I said, the start of the film is ok with an internet stalker/murderer played by Snyder, but his character just isn't scary. Not much in the movie is scary, and most of it is just a way for Snyder to try to freak you out with horrible scenes of girls tied up naked with hooks going into their bodies, etc. I wouldn't waste my time on this movie. It's a bad movie, and an even worse horror movie.

Admittedly this film is far better than the sinister Rob Zombie junk. (sorry Rob fans)

At least Snyder put some substance, plot, and decent action into this. Have to hand it to him: he's not a bad actor. Especially in a psychotic role; which some may accuse of him as being cliché'. However, it is Dee Snyder. He wouldn't unrealistically portray a warm, loving father. Keep it real. And while I was never a huge fan, nor follower of metal music, I loved Twisted Sister. And Dee Snyder is my all-time favorite. Here he almost brilliantly resurrects his Capt. Howdy personae.

And featuring Robert Englund; a very noted actor, whom of course revolutionized horror movie history with his iconic Freddy Krueger. Here we are subject to an opposite, non-sinister role as Jack, much like Englund's nice-guy character Willie, from the classic V - TV series. Snyder obviously is an Englund fan (like the rest of us :) and deliberately cast him in this film, as honorary appearance. No doubt Englund is brilliant, and could easily pull off a crime-drama psychotic serial killer as well.

Overall, a few sinister scenes do drag a bit, and lack some intensity. However, Snyder does pull this thing off, for the most part.

Horror fans who also wanna rock will have a blast with Dee Snider's Strangeland, which sees the Twisted Sister frontman playing Captain Howdy, a metal-loving psycho with a penchant for body modification who uses internet chatrooms to lure unsuspecting victims to his torture chamber.

Filmed during the 'wild west' days of dial up, when the average Joe wasn't online savvy, Strangeland takes quite a few liberties with the technology of the time (downloading a picture took several minutes, so I'm pretty certain that video calls weren't feasible, and accessing the internet in a car was an impossibility), but the film is still a lot of twisted fun thanks to a solid central turn by Snider, whose tattooed and pierced Jame Gumb-style sicko is a memorable maniac, a great supporting cast which includes Robert Englund*, Linda Cardellini, Elizabeth Peña, and Amy Smart, and quite a few graphic scenes of mutilation. Kevin Gage plays police detective Mike Gage, who tracks down Howdy after his own daughter is abducted by the freak.

Decent horror films starring heavy rock/metal acts are so often crap (Jon Mikl Thor in Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare, Alice Cooper in Monster Dog, and all of Foo Fighters in Studio 666), but this is one of the better examples.

7/10.

*Inspired by Twisted Sister's song Horror-Teria (The Beginning), from their classic 1984 album Stay Hungry, Strangeland mirrors the premise for A Nightmare On Elm Street, which makes Robert Englund's presence a particularly nice touch.

The sadistic Captain Howdy (Dee Snider) lures kids to his lair of torture and bondage via the Internet. After being caught (by the police father of one of the victims) and released, will the reformed Howdy be accepted into society? Will he accept the society? Is he reformed?

I call this a 1990s horror film because unlike any other horror film that I can think of, this one really drove home the 90s underground scene: piercing, tattoos, leather, industrial music, bondage. These things existed in the 1980s and the 2000s, but as someone who grew up in the 90s, I can tell you that they were by far the most prominent from 1994 until 1999. My friend Jason even goes so far as to say this film is more of an advertisement for a lifestyle than it is a horror film. He may be right.

Another great thing about this as a 90s film is the use of the Internet. It may not be the first horror film to utilize the Internet, but it stands out for me as one of the earliest to really make it a central theme. Later films would use the Internet and computers as killers or as tools for killers ("Stay Alive", "Pulse", "Watch Me", and even "Memory" with Billy Zane). But the late 90s were the days of the Internet boom, and this really shows the danger of online chatting before even MySpace existed. (Coincidentally, 1998 was also the year I would meet most of my online acquaintances.)

The film draws on a history of horror with its use of the "Captain Howdy" name (the ghost from "The Exorcist") and the inclusion of Robert Englund, as well as some subtle (or not-so-subtle) "Nightmare on Elm Street" references. The movie knows it really isn't covering any new ground, and pays proper tribute to its ancestors.

I don't think this one should be dismissed as just a period piece. Sure, it can be described that way, but look at what it set up. There's the computer aspect I already mentioned, but also look at the bondage and torture. Today, torture in films is big business ("Hostel", "Saw") and this film beat them to the punch. Again, it's likely not the one that started the torture subgenre, but I think it may have been one of the biggest films of its time.

I recommend this film. If you grew up in the 1990s, you might have a better appreciation for it, but overall it's a good exploration of horror and Gothic themes. Dee Snider knows his stuff, and he has earned his place as the DJ for Fangoria Radio. I only wish he would make another film, if he has it in him to match or improve upon what he laid down here.

For those of you who don't know, or maybe just don't remember Dee Snider was the head of the famous old school metal band Twisted Sister. Snider brought us such great anthems as "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock". Now brings us to 1998 where Snider has began to write again. But he has shifted gear, this time he is writing a movie. "Dee Snider's Strangeland" a movie he not only wrote but produced and starred in as well. This is a fairly unknown movie because the NC-17 rating didn't give it much help at the box office and lets admit it people, S&M doesn't exactly make for good clean family entertainment. But all that aside it is the story of two girls who one night meet our antagonist, Captain Howdy ( played here by Snider himself). Well of course Howdy being the strange and sick person he is invite's the two girl's to a party where he later inflicts all kinds of disturbing pain and torment. Well after the girls go missing the one girls father, Inspector Gage (played by Kevin Gage) goes on a search for his daughter. Through the help of his niece (Amy Smart) he tracks down Howdy and takes him into custody. Four years later Howdy is released a new man. But the towns folk want nothing to do with him and want to see him dead. Along comes Robert Englund as a redneck beer drinking slob who decides to take matters into his own hands. Wanting to see the demise of Howdy an angry mob breaks into his house and take him away. As fate would have it Gage sees the whole thing happen. Well the death of Howdy is unsuccessful and Howdy becomes his same old self again. Target #1 for Howdy, seek revenge on Gage who could have stopped the whole thing but decided to just sit back and watch. So again Howdy goes after Gages daughter and Englund. What we have here is a trip through Sniders sick and twisted mind. There is something here to make just about everyone turn there head in disgust. Some may not even make it past the movie's box which features a picture of a girl with her mouth sewn shut. Definitely not for the faint of heart of the squeamish. With every good horror movie comes a good soundtrack and this is no acceptation. The soundtrack combines today's great metal acts with yesterdays classic styling. The soundtrack and movie starts with a dark and dim solo outing from Snider that sets the mood of the movie. It ends with the first new Twisted Sister song in a long time with all the original members. If you are a fan of the music or just looking for a good horror movie ( a thing quite hard to come about these days) this movie is for you. We ask the question: does it have a cast of top notch actor? No. Will everyone enjoy it? No. Is it an entertaining ride. that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat? Yes.