Blades

Troma just worked out the story of Jaws and turned it into a bloodfest an a golf yard. However, a machine, normally cutting grass, is killing people now and at least as the machine features the smiling balloons and runs amok on it's own, everyone should have been checked out, this one is not to be taken seriously. But, who cares? A little glimpse on Jason (the worker with the mask, helping the balded man) makes this movie to be a good farce. It has atmosphere, never mind the story is nothing more than a joke.

A good plagiat.

This movie is basically a parody of "Jaws". It took me a bit to get it, but once they strung up the lawn mower I finally got it. I realized they were doing "Jaws" before then, but not until that moment did I realize it was almost purely a "Jaws" parody. The problem, it takes itself a bit too seriously for a parody. That is why I say it is more of a reenactment where instead of an ocean they use a golf course, instead of a shark you have a lawn mower, and so on. For some scenes this works and I chuckled a couple of times, at other times there are long stretches of dialogue that just do not belong in a parody movie or a Troma movie for that matter. Still, this is a company known for its bad movies, and this one is better than a lot of the movies I have seen from them. I just wonder why they and Full Moon Entertainment have to always make horror comedy movies rather than straight horror. Seems to me a straight horror would be easier to make because lets face it most of the movies that come out of these two companies get really low scores. Though to be fair Full Moon has done a few straight horror movies in their day. I have never seen one from Troma. This one has its moments especially the scenes in the van where they were really spoofing "Jaws" in this case I think they just needed to make this one a bit funnier.

In the exclusive, fancy and uptight Tall Grass golf club, bloody leftovers of nightly intruders as well as of loyal club members are found barbarically hacked up. This means bad publicity for the upcoming golf tournament, so resort owner Osgood is quite relieved when the angry mob captures former caretaker Deke Slade as the maniacal culprit. However, resident golf instructors Roy and Kelly correctly assume something much larger, diabolical and superhuman is on a rampage here.

All I ever read about this late 80s horror comedy is that it's a re-enactment of Spielberg's ultimate summer classic "Jaws". And that's true, of course. The parallel sequences, loving tributes and unsubtle references are unmistakably there. What you almost never read, though, is that "Blades" also parodies a large number of other classic cult movies. The uncontrollable murderous device is a machine with a will of its own, which automatically reminds me of "The Terminator". The setting, the cast of characters and many of the situational humor also almost makes it feel like a "Caddyshack" sequel. And a better one than the official "Caddyshack II", for that matter. There's even a guy with a hokey mask named Jason, so you certainly can't claim the writers of "Blades" don't know their landmarks.

Maybe because the film was distributed by the questionable Troma studios, maybe because there already was an overload of low-budget slashers throughout the late 80s, or maybe just because of bad luck; but I personally feel that "Blades" is an underrated horror comedy. It's cheesy and badly acted, for sure, but the concept is really fresh and inventive. Numerous sequences are also downright hilarious, like the redneck mob setting out a manhunt, or Deke's emotional flashback speech. Only the gore should have been slightly more outrageous, perhaps.

As a hardcore Troma fan, I must say this is one of the lesser works. This movie is truly got the Troma completist. There are some inspired moments and how can a fan of bad movies not enjoy the premise of a killer lawnmower?

I found this one quite dull in many scenes. I have no problems with low budget-no budget movies and bad acting is one thing I always look forward to from Troma movies. This had all of those which I enjoyed, but there was so much more they could do with this movie. One thing that can kill a great movie is too much dialog, and this movie has too many scenes of long dialog.

It's certainly not the worst of the bad movies, but it is a disappointment for the Troma team which I admire greatly.

Nice try, but let's see a couple sequels and see what we can do about the long dialog.

This one is a really fun flick that never takes itself serious even for a second. It's basically a spoof movie (like 'scary movie' or 'naked gun') that's a sendup of JAWS but with a killer sentient lawnmower.

I'm a big fan of troma and this one grew on me and is now one of my faves from them. I love that everyone seems to be in on the joke, and totally having a blast filming this.

If you like 80s cheese or so bad they're good type movies, this one may work for you if you know ahead of time it's basically a straight up comedy. Thank goodness for vinegar syndrome putting this out on blu ray finally, it looks great and they clearly put a lot of work into this zany flick!