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Popcorn (1991)

DVD Cover (Elite Entertainment)
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Overall Rating 58%
Overall Rating
Ranked #5,363
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A group of teenagers preparing an old horror movie show in an abandoned theatre discover a recording made by an actual murderer who died long ago. Very soon a shadowy figure resembling the killer starts stalking them one by one... --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: February 1, 2007
There are certain movies that have a bit of a reputation going for them, and this is definitely one of those titles. For years, I'd heard nothing but bad things about this film - "it's a boring slasher", "it's an unfunny horror-comedy", and "the storyline sucks" among countless other negative things. Therefore, I'd always put off actually checking it out, but it finally worked its way up to the top of my Netflix queue, so here we are with the review.

Maggie (Jill Schoelen) is a teenage girl who has been having some horrific dreams about a knife-wielding man. She hasn't been getting much sleep as a result, but that's not an entirely bad thing due to the fact that she's turning these dreams into a script which she hopes will become the next big horror movie. Meanwhile, the high-school theater club (of which Maggie is a member) is looking for a way to draw attention to themselves, and it's decided that a horror movie marathon at the local theater would be just the ticket. Now, this won't be just any horror movie marathon - no, this one will feature some of the gimmicky films of the fifties, with the highlights being a 3D movie, an "electric chair" film, and of course, a film shot in "Aroma-rama."

As the members of this club start to prepare the theater, an older gentleman shows up with plenty of props and accessories to transform this from the amateur production that it's looking to be into an extravagant affair that will surely be the talk of the town. As the members look through the stuff that this mysterious man dropped off, they find a short film and decide to have a little private screening of their own. It turns out that this is a piece of the "Possessor" film, a film thought to have been destroyed years ago. As their teacher explains it to them, a drugged-out director by the name of Lanvard Gates had created this film, but he purposefully omitted the ending. His reasoning for this was made clear during the first screening, when he reenacted this final scene live and in person for the audience by murdering his family, locking the theater doors, and setting the place on fire - killing almost everyone who was trapped inside, himself included. Not exactly the best sign for these film-loving kids, and when it comes time to play some "real" movies for a packed house of rowdy teens, they quickly discover that finding this film wasn't a mere coincidence.

So, was this release as bad as it was made out to be over the years? Not at all - I actually highly enjoyed this one. The problem that most people seem to have had with it was that it was just another slasher flick, coming out during a time when slashers had pretty much run their course. While it's true that, technically, this is a slasher flick (there is a body count and it becomes a guessing game as to who the killer is), this is far from the mindless blood-and-boobs offering that one normally associates with the genre. It's a very self-referential horror film (going that route long before Scream), and it doesn't take long to figure out that those responsible for it were paying homage to the fifties monster and sci-fi films with admiration in their hearts and their tongues firmly in their cheeks. Mix that together with a surprisingly solid storyline (especially considering both the genre and the time it was released), throw in some interesting kills (Mansquito has nothing on the giant bug found within this one), sprinkle in some fairly good acting from the leads as well as an extended cameo from Dee Wallace-Stone, and you wind up with a little something like this.

As mentioned, the storyline is pretty intriguing and goes beyond what you'd expect from the slasher genre. While it seems pretty cut and dry on the surface, it turns out that the plot consists of much more than just the usual "crazy man kills a bunch of teens" shtick, and we also discover that it may not be as cut and dry as it probably seemed when the story started to unfold. I realize the same thing can be said about most of the other offerings from the slasher genre - it's always the person you least expect - but this one turns out to be quite unique, while also making sense and not coming off as a silly twist conceived solely for that final "gotcha!" at the end.

The actual DVD release of this film is pretty horrible, as there's no special features included other than the original trailer and the video transfer is on par with a VHS rental. However, the movie contained within is definitely worth your time if you're a fan of slasher flicks that have a little fun with the genre. 8/10.
bluemeanie #1: bluemeanie - added February 1, 2007 at 2:56pm
Wow...this is from waaaaaaaaay back...in the early 90's. I remember watching this quite a bit when I was younger, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I automatically give credit to the films that made me smile when I was younger. 7.5/10.
grain of sand #2: grain of sand - added February 3, 2007 at 1:09pm
this is a good one, definitely not the waste of time some of my friends made it out to be..
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