Giovani diavoli

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.

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.

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)

The teenager wakes up on Halloween and discovers that his right hand is possessed and murderous. After unsuccessful efforts to control it, he decides to cut it off, but the hand continues its killing spree on its own. A premise that is irresistibly reminiscent of "The Evil Dead" and the hand is the same one used for "The Addams Family". The film was shot in the area we remember from "Halloween", and the gym where the school dance is held is the one from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Everything in this film is obviously "secondhand", but it works great. It is classified as a horror-comedy, but I would rather call it a silly horror that is both a homage and a parody of B horrors and teenage comedies from the end of the last century. Plenty of violence, gore, and disgusting scenes, dull stoned teenagers, a few zombies, a bit of nudity, good music and, like icing on the cake, seventeen-year-old Jessica Alba. The film is somewhat in the style of the series "Ash vs. Evil Dead", but it mostly reminded me of "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil". I really enjoyed it.

7/10

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.