IMDb RATING
5.9/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
A master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.A master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.A master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
Dee Wallace
- Suzanne
- (as Dee Wallace-Stone)
Freddie Simpson
- Tina
- (as Freddie Marie Simpson)
Karen Lorre
- Joy
- (as Karen Witter)
Matt Falls
- Lanyard Gates
- (as Mat Falls)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
i remember seeing popcorn for the first time , it was the most fun i ever had at the movies growing up. sure the story is kinda cheesy and so are a few of the actors but horror movies for the most part are meant for enjoyment not Oscars so as long as you don't try to compare popcorn to saving private ryan this movie is great. go rent it . you will have fun for sure guaranteed. i met jill schoelen when she was filming when a stranger calls back , she is so nice! she signed two movie stills and a popcorn crew shirt for me and my sister. she rocks. if you like movies like popcorn then i would like to offer you these titles as choices for your renting needs.... the gate part 1,the fog, the thing,student bodies, wishmaster (part 1 only, the rest suck), and child's play. a couple of titles that are lesser known are spliced (aka: the wisher), cherry falls, my bloody valentine and black Christmas. beware of black Christmas (the language is quite bad lol) i hope you enjoy these titles and i wish you all well. if anyone cares my fave horror movie of all time is of course HALLOWEEN because lets face it everyone is afraid of the boogeyman right? and we all know that you can't kill the boogeyman. moooohaha! (jason and freddy are lucky they had each other to fight instead of michael.
This actually was kind of a fun horror flick, as the Scream movies were. The best part in my opinion is the movies-within-a-movie the characters show at their sci-fi festival ... cheesy 50s stuff similar to what was done in Matinee.
This may look very much like a redundant and unpleasant horror comedy about the umpteenth serial killer wasting a group of film students but, if you give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The premise is quite creative, the film pays homage to legendary titles and directors and believe it or not there even is tension to detect in the script. Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather, Phantom of the Opera) is the ambitious student Maggie who wants to turn her always-returning nightmares into a screenplay. When she's preparing a horror marathon event with some fellow students, she stumbles upon footage that proves her nightmares are real and that she might even be a completely different person. During the movie shows at the remote theater, an actual murderer shows up and goes after Maggie. Granted, Popcorn is an 80's slasher in disguise but at least it tries to be ingenious on several levels. The invented titles that are shown during the "horrorthon" also have potential if you ask me! Who wouldn't pay money to see flicks called "The Amazing Electrified Man"," Mosquito" or "The Stench"? I sure would
As said before, some sequences are quite suspenseful (like the eerie "possessor" film) and the murders aren't too gross. I had some prejudices as well before watching it but I'm glad to admit I was wrong. Too bad the last twenty minutes (and the climax in particular) are a bit of a letdown. Logic wasn't Popcorn biggest trump to begin with but, near the end, director Mark Harrier completely loses his grip on the messy screenplay. Also, the humor most of the time is painfully unfunny (for example on of the male leads constantly bumps his head or falls down) and irritating. Best aspects truly are the light-headed atmosphere, creative plot-twists and very good costumes and scenery. Surely this underrated gem beats the overload of 80's and 90's no-brain horror productions. Check it out!
"Popcorn" from 1991 has to be one of the better feel good horror flicks that's a blend of old style horror meeting the present day and being a film within a film of the 80's slasher style. It's also a twist and tease of drama, suspense, fun comedy, and murder in a bloody slasher type of a way. Set in California at a college some film students decide to run an night horror marathon at an old run down cinema house. The students will do crazy special effects while the crowd watches the old vintage 50's and 60's films. Thru it during the night a crazy sadistic killer is on the loose causing an 80's slasher type stalker feel, from behind the curtain and thru the audience. As this creep has a connection to an old film called "The Possessor" plus this monster knows one of the film students from his past. Also horror queen legend Dee Wallace Stone has a part that's memorable as a damsel in distress who's kidnapped and has her mouth taped with white duct tape! Overall "Popcorn" provides thrills and chills to any horror film buff as it's a little independent horror gem to belong in any fan's chest!
This is a really well-done, early nineties horror flick that actually made it to the theaters. At the time this was a very original movie. It was back in the day before Scream (hate what that movie did to horror) and all the clones dominated the horror box office.
It all starts when a group of film-students looking to raise money, fix up an old movie theater for a one-night-only horror festival. They plan to show 50s horror flicks using old gimmicks (aroma-rama, 3-D glasses, and shock seats). In a box of old junk they find an ancient film reel containing some really graphic and disgusting footage of an insane, demonic looking hippy chanting "posessor" in a reallly sick voice. One of the students is shocked to discover that the man in the film is the man who has been plaguing her dreams lately. The festival rolls around and all is fine until someone starts offing the students one-by-one. It then turns into a whodunnit and things never get boring
I enjoyed "Popcorn" because it was a highly original take on the slasher genre and it was before there was any other films like it too rip-off. There are a few cliches but the acting is top-notch from a great cast. Ray Walston had an amusing cameo and Tom Villard was never better. It's a shame that he's not around any more. The guy had a lot of potential and was very underrated.
I was lucky enough to find this film for sale in a video store that was going out of business. It may be kind of hard to find (don't know if it's available through Amazon) but if you can find it, it's definitely worth seeing.
It all starts when a group of film-students looking to raise money, fix up an old movie theater for a one-night-only horror festival. They plan to show 50s horror flicks using old gimmicks (aroma-rama, 3-D glasses, and shock seats). In a box of old junk they find an ancient film reel containing some really graphic and disgusting footage of an insane, demonic looking hippy chanting "posessor" in a reallly sick voice. One of the students is shocked to discover that the man in the film is the man who has been plaguing her dreams lately. The festival rolls around and all is fine until someone starts offing the students one-by-one. It then turns into a whodunnit and things never get boring
I enjoyed "Popcorn" because it was a highly original take on the slasher genre and it was before there was any other films like it too rip-off. There are a few cliches but the acting is top-notch from a great cast. Ray Walston had an amusing cameo and Tom Villard was never better. It's a shame that he's not around any more. The guy had a lot of potential and was very underrated.
I was lucky enough to find this film for sale in a video store that was going out of business. It may be kind of hard to find (don't know if it's available through Amazon) but if you can find it, it's definitely worth seeing.
Did you know
- TriviaAfter three weeks of shooting, Amy O'Neill was replaced by Jill Schoelen. Schoelen has said that she did not have much interaction with the cast since many of the scenes had already been filmed with O'Neill and in most cases just needed to make quick re-shoots with Schoelen.
- GoofsWhen the killer is putting masks on in front of Maggie, you can see the dead body of Tina hanging behind Maggie. The dead body moves/shakes/breathes many times throughout the scene.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Cine-Masochist: POPCORN (2011)
- SoundtracksSaturday Night at the Movies
Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Performed by Ossie D and Stevie G
Used by permission of Screen Gems - EMI Music Inc.
- How long is Popcorn?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,205,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,563,365
- Feb 3, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $4,205,000
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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