There was a time in my childhood when Kenny Everett was seen as the cutting edge of comedy, he pushed the boundaries and mixed zany antics with in your face attitude. Someone in the early eighties thought it might be a good idea for him to branch out into films and follow in the likes of Frankie Howerd and do a spoof movie.
A roll call of named stars from the era assembled for the gig, Pamela Stephenson, Vincent Price, Gareth Hunt, Don Warrington, Cleo Rocos and etc etc, names that certainly to Brits taking an interest in entertainment in the late 70s and early 80s were familiar with. In principal the horror spoof looked a good idea, but having been done so well by the Carry On team in 1966, all those that followed had something to live up to. And sadly filling out the movie with toilet humour was not an advancement in spoof movies.
The whole film just comes across as an excuse for mates to get together and lark about making easy money. Plot is completely irrelevant, the whole picture serves only to see how many spoofs of movies they can cram in. Everything from ET, Alien, American Werewolf In London and onwards is rolled out like some extended sketch show, usually accompanied by some lame joke involving gas, genitals or homosexuality. Stephenson tries to do some sort of plum in the mouth act that greatly annoys, Price turns up for the money and sleepwalks through his extended cameo, while Warrington and Hunt are trying to subvert their ladies men images by playing gay. And this before we get to Everett who is off the scale with his inane sense of what makes a good joke work on film.
Fans of Everett definitely will get something from this, while those who keep filing into current day theatres to watch Scary Movie 23, they also will find spoofing a thing of fine art. But when the funniest thing in the film is Vincent Price saying a swear word, then you know it's not really worth your time. 3/10
A roll call of named stars from the era assembled for the gig, Pamela Stephenson, Vincent Price, Gareth Hunt, Don Warrington, Cleo Rocos and etc etc, names that certainly to Brits taking an interest in entertainment in the late 70s and early 80s were familiar with. In principal the horror spoof looked a good idea, but having been done so well by the Carry On team in 1966, all those that followed had something to live up to. And sadly filling out the movie with toilet humour was not an advancement in spoof movies.
The whole film just comes across as an excuse for mates to get together and lark about making easy money. Plot is completely irrelevant, the whole picture serves only to see how many spoofs of movies they can cram in. Everything from ET, Alien, American Werewolf In London and onwards is rolled out like some extended sketch show, usually accompanied by some lame joke involving gas, genitals or homosexuality. Stephenson tries to do some sort of plum in the mouth act that greatly annoys, Price turns up for the money and sleepwalks through his extended cameo, while Warrington and Hunt are trying to subvert their ladies men images by playing gay. And this before we get to Everett who is off the scale with his inane sense of what makes a good joke work on film.
Fans of Everett definitely will get something from this, while those who keep filing into current day theatres to watch Scary Movie 23, they also will find spoofing a thing of fine art. But when the funniest thing in the film is Vincent Price saying a swear word, then you know it's not really worth your time. 3/10