Hanky Panky

Sam (Jacob DeMonte-Finn) is mistakenly invited to a remote mountain cabin getaway. It's a gathering of friends and non-friends. Well, this got real weird out of nowhere. It is definitely an indie. At least, the filmmaking is very indie. It does have Seth Green and his real-life wife. Initially, I was going to give this a negative review, but the craziness won me over. Apparently, somebody wanted to put in some of the weirdest ideas into a movie and I'm all for it. When the napkin started to talk, I wasn't sure what was happening. I don't mind one bit that the wire is fully visible. There are moments where I laughed at the absurdity, but I wouldn't call this movie funny. Everybody is putting it out there, but nobody is actually all that funny. This is stupid, but I enjoyed some of the stupidity.

In the quirky world of cinema, "Hanky Panky" stands out as a bold attempt at merging eccentricity with profound themes. Set against the rugged backdrop of the Utah mountains, this film weaves together elements of fantasy, friendship, and romance in a way that is both captivating and bewildering.

First and foremost, it's impossible not to appreciate the sheer creativity behind the concept. The idea of a man finding companionship in a sentient napkin, of all things, is undeniably original and lends itself to moments of both hilarity and heartwarming connection. The filmmakers deserve credit for daring to explore such unconventional territory.

However, where the film falters is in its ambition. While the premise is refreshingly unique, it feels as though the story tries to juggle too many elements at once. From saving the world from a dark evil to exploring themes of love and self-discovery, the narrative sprawls in multiple directions, sometimes at the expense of coherence and depth.

Despite these shortcomings, the film does have its moments of brilliance. The acting, in particular, shines brightly, with the cast delivering performances that are both sincere and engaging. The chemistry between the protagonist and his unlikely napkin companion is palpable, elevating the absurd premise into something oddly touching.

In the end, "Hanky Panky" is a testament to the artistry and imagination of filmmaking. While it may stumble in its attempts to do too much, it ultimately succeeds in offering a charming and entertaining experience. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder that even the most outlandish ideas can find resonance on the silver screen.

This film clearly operates on a low budget, and it shows, from the awkward ADR to the dry, sometimes redundant dialogue. The idea of a sentient handkerchief is wildly original and fun, reminiscent of quirky B-horror movies like Jack Frost or The Stuff. Unfortunately, the execution doesn't always match the creativity of the concept. The intro drags, and while there are some genuinely funny moments, the film often leans more on "tell" than "show," which hurts its pacing. The special effects are campy, possibly intentionally so, but still distracting. It seems aimed at a niche audience, likely those who enjoy "so bad it's good" cult films. The actors deliver occasionally amusing performances, though not always likable. The beginning is stronger than the middle, which loses momentum and made it hard to stay engaged through to the end. Still, it has enough odd charm to entertain the right viewer.

Soooo Let's get into this review. I will try my hardest to recollect what I can from this movie. The movie was described to be an unserious horror movie. At first it did do just that. It was off to a really good start actually and I laughed at the beginning of it. I noticed the more I went into the movie the more the movie started to fall apart. I realized that the movie actually reflected my mental.

At the beginning of the movie, I was ready to watch with a clear mind, mid movie my mental started to fall apart a little because I couldn't really keep up. The middle of the movie was a little bit boring so I tried to push through. By the end of the movie it got really chaotic and to reflect onto my brain, it made it feel like I was in a fever dream. It picked up so quickly that i couldn't really keep up. I was so confused and brain numb that I felt like I was high and hallucinating. No joke. I didn't think what to think of this movie. So I had to sleep on it.

However, visually I think the movie is great, the tackiness of the props made funny. Especially when the handkerchief would speak, you can see a hand making it talk. The graininess of the film reminded me of older movies from the early 2000s or 90s as well and made me nostalgic.

I feel like the things in the movie fell apart in the middle so it made me disassociate from the rest of film, hence made it hard for me to think by the end and made it hard what to think when it ended. I am going to be real, I still do not know what the think.

I do, however, believe that the description of an unserious horror movie does fit perfectly here.

This film was alright, it was definitely made for a specific type of audience that I'm not apart of. It is different and new, but I can tell it was a low budget film, and the special effects were too bad, maybe that was on purpose to give more uniqueness to the film? There were funny parts that made me chuckle and was enjoyable and the actors were funny at times, but kind of unlikeable at the same time. I feel like this falls under the "it's so bad it's good" group of films, and could see how this film could get its name out there if it came out in the early 2000s instead of 2023. The start of the film was the better part, and then later on in the middle of it my attention got lost. Since I had a hard time focusing in the middle of the film, the ending was hard to fully understand and get back into.