Little Monsters (1989) and Munchies (1992)

I posted a few thoughts on the Sideshow’s Facebook page after watching these, but wanted to spew a bit more. I was a frequent watcher of the Wonder Years, and like many other kids, had a thing for Winnie Cooper (Wow, have you seen her lately?). It was a program I anticipated watching and really related to, but don’t think I stuck it out for all six seasons. I also remember watching the specials Howie Mandel did for HBO, with many laughs following the rubber glove trick, and the voice that would later become Bobby (the animated series). So, it’s kind of a surprise I never saw Little Monsters.

In watching it recently, I thought it was a pretty fun flick, kind of a Beetlejuice (1988)/Drop Dead Fred (1991) hybrid, even though DDF came out a couple years later. Several faces and mannerisms made by Mandel seemed to be influenced by Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice, so it makes me wonder if any of the same producers were on both films. Please enlighten me if you decide to dig deeper, as I'm too lazy to do the leg work.

As for Munchie, I actually ran across it after finding Munchies, a Ghoulies/Gremlins style flick, which I will be getting soon. Within the first minute or so, I knew the voice of Munchie sounded familiar, and sure enough, I pegged it as Dom Deloise before the opening credits confirmed it. And, while Loni Anderson isn't hard to look at, I wasn't aware that a young Jennifer Love Hewitt was the female (kid) lead. The animatronics of Munchie were almost Showbiz Pizza Band laughable, and while it was an okay flick, the stacks of "to watch" grow exponentially, so it’s not something I'm rushing to watch again. A side note: Showbiz Pizza blew circles around Chucky E. Cheese, and many of CEC’s band are former Showbiz characters with new costumes after CEC bought them out.

There was a follow-up in 1994 called Munchie Strikes Back, but the only one to return was Jamie McEnnan (the lead boy), which looks like only a bit part. It is worth noting, though, that Angus Scrimm has a part as Kronas and Fred Olen Ray (softcore extraordinaire) plays a band member, but it's probably not something I'm going to seek out.

So, when are we going to get an official release of the entire Wonder Years collection and a Blu-Ray of Drop Dead Fred? And, it's a shame that only Howie Mandel’s first HBO performance is available on DVD, which based off the reviews, is a far cry from what I remember. I’d love to see Shout Factory pick up all of these and do them justice, as they recently did with the Beetlejuice cartoon, and the Halloween Special later this Fall.

It's a short post, but let's take a walk down memory lane until the next one:

Savage Weekend (1979)-Cheezy Flicks

Scared woman in a white dress + psychotic looking hillbilly + running chainsaw = intro to Savage Weekend.

This is one of my first ventures into the company Cheezy Flicks. I’ve read several reviews on their releases over the years, both good and bad, but one thing’s for sure, they’re stuff is cheap, and sure do have appealing artwork.

The print used is in fullscreen, but quite clean, and looked pretty good upverted on my Blu-Ray player. CF has released this title before, but recently decided on a re-issue with new artwork (above). Why, I don’t know, as I really prefer the prior one (below) which was used on Paragon’s VHS release, but I’m sure there’s good reason, maybe a rights or licensing issue.

This title has also been released by Mill Creek Ent. in 2006, Synergy Entertainment in 2008 (same year as CF), Desert Island Films in 2011, on several multi-packs, and supposedly a 3-D version in 2012, so my guess is it’s a public domain title and fair game to anyone who wants to spend a little dough to release it.

The story revolves around a group of people who come to the countryside to relax, party, and help build a boat, and also a hillbilly handyman named Otis, played by William Sanderson, who went on to become a veteran TV actor with appearances in the Lonesome Dove’s, Newhart, Coach, Walker, Texas Ranger, and more recently, Deadwood and True Blood.

There’s quite a bit of sex and boobs on display, including a strip tease and a scene with a cow’s teat that’s meant to titillate. The killer’s mask is kind of a Leatherface (1974)/Michael Myers (1978) hybrid, and the storyline blends with other backwoods horror films of the era, but there’s not a lot of grue, other than a branding, a hanging, a spike impaling, and some chainsaw action, with which Otis isn’t always the culprit.

The mask
There’s very little that’s memorable, but as a fan of the era, it’s cool (and laughable) to see the inspiration filmmakers borrow from other movies. Maybe pair this as a double feature with Rituals, so you won’t be so pissed off for the time spent. Not a great movie, but great artwork to accompany others in your collection, and just as misleading as many others were in the heyday of horror VHS, as video store owners smirked while stuffing your dollars in their pockets.

I’m not sure how long it lasts, but at the time of writing this, Cheezy Flicks has this on their site for 3.99, so it’s a cheap add for fans of this type of cinema, and maybe they have some copies of the old artwork left. Thanks to them for sending me a screener copy, and more reviews to come.