Idle Hands

‘Idle Hands’ is a fun and demented late 90’s horror comedy filled with wacky over the top moments, crass humor and some inventive death scenes filmed in that typical 90’s style and flavor. The movie blends the horror and mean-spirited comedy elements into an unusual combination that makes for a thrilling and yet oddball viewing experience. This is without a doubt a forgotten gem of the 90’s that’s still entertaining to this day.

The plot = A teenage slacker stoner Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) wakes up one Halloween morning to discover that both of his parents have been murdered and that is hand is possessed and forced him to commit the murders. He cuts the hand off and instead of freeing him from the evil, the hand comes alive on its own and goes on a murderous rampage.

I saw this movie when it first came out and enjoyed it and viewed it again recently and enjoyed it yet again. The movie’s main draw is its deadpan satire and tongue in cheek splatter that goes totally off the rails with its bizarre premise. The balance of its genre’s is handled effectively even if it does play more towards the comedy, which isn’t a bad thing by any means as this is entertaining as hell and unique enough to stand out from the crowd.

Loaded with unforgettable sequences and smart sight gags and the special effects holds up rather well for the most part. Okay some of the side plots seem unnecessary and the movie feels a product of its time very much, but that doesn’t stop this from being an overall good time.

The cast here are outstanding with plenty of familiar faces from the time period. Devon Sawa does a fantastic job with the material and balances the dark tones and physical comedy with perfect timing and comes across as very natural and impressive. Jessica Alba gives a decent performance as the main lead’s crush; she’s simply drop dead gorgeous in the role. Seth Green and Elden Henson both provides great comic relief as the stoner friends and have great chemistry together.

Vivica A. Fox gives a bad-ass and awesome performance as the demon killing nun and Jack Noseworthy is great as the heavy metal rocker who joins the fight against evil.