PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Ever watched a movie as a child and then many years later you can’t find it to buy? Well, this seems to happen to me a lot. Especially with 90’s films. If I do seem to find one it’s usually a dubbed copy or it’s a way expensive out of print DVD. Well, awhile back I wanted to watch the movie Popcorn. So I thought to myself, “I can just order that off of Amazon!” I was wrong and very disappointed. This past week on a sick day home from work, I came across my old dusty but trusty VHS collection and low and behold I found my copy of Popcorn! On that note, let me tell you why this movie is awesome and why it’s possibly so hard to find!
February 1st, 1991, directed by Mark Herrier, Popcorn was released into small theaters. It’s considered to be a box office flop, however, when it hit rental shelves the cover art for the VHS just popped off the shelf! Making it a quick word of mouth movie to rent. IMDB.com has a rating of 5.7 and Rotten Tomatoes has it as 29% rotten. I really don’t understand these numbers. You want to talk about movies lacking originality, well critics this one does not. They released this on DVD in 2001 then discontinued it in 2010. What a bummer. I have some good news, though. Although no release date has been confirmed yet, according to Wikipedia.com, a Blu-ray release is planned to be released from Synapse Films. I, myself cannot wait to see the cover art!
What’s actually so cool about this movie it’s a plot within a plot! The first plot centers on a girl named Maggie (Jill Schoelen), who keeps having spooky dreams about a man, which she plans to make into a film. She just so happens to be a film student (this is where the second plot kicks in), Her film class is a newly developed department and needs funding. They come up with this amazing idea to host an all-night horror marathon at a rundown movie theater, filled with gimmicks to get people in the door. While getting the theater ready, the class comes across a snuff type film in which they discover a cult film leader, Lanyard Gates, who is kind of like a Charles Manson wannabe, just happens to be the man in Maggie’s dreams and she thinks he’s after her. Soon after, the film class is being killed off one by one. Is Maggie Crazy? Or is Lanyard just back to finish his snuff film?
Why is this movie is awesome? Well, first, the kills are freaking epic!!! A guy gets killed with a giant mechanical mosquito, someone gets shocked to death, and another is stink bombed to his demise. Need more reasons? I got em! The killer, after he kills someone, casts their faces and molds them into a mask, and then wears them! Creepy, right? How petrified would you be if you were killed by someone wearing your face? Another awesome thing is this film was made in Jamaica, so the whole soundtrack is reggae! Lastly, they did a great job with casting – Scream Queens Jill Schoelen and Dee Wallace really show off their acting skills and are always entertaining to watch.
There is some awesome quotes such as:
“I look like a fuckin snowcone!”
“And I become Tina the class binbow!”
Seriously, this movie is so much fun! It also has 4 other movies within the movie. Mosquito, The Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man, The Stench, and The Possessor. There was some type of gimmick from each of the films, like a large flying mosquito above the audience, shocking people in their seats, putting an odor in the room, and then a live final act. If other filmmakers did things like this other than just 3D, they’d probably make more money! I’d give it to them!
Final Thoughts:
Popcorn is very creative film. To me, it’s like a black-comedy horror story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s all great – the kills, the acting, plus you basically get five different films in one! I would recommend until the Blu-Ray is released if you happen to come across the DVD, do yourself a favor and pick up this rare gem to own for your collection and Pop it right in!
