PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Like most people my age, I grew up watching the infinitely quotable Caddyshack. And its legacy as the quintessential golf comedy is still stronger than ever. So imagine my delight when I saw that there was a horror/comedy titled Caddy Hack being released. But, I thought with some trepidation, it couldn’t possibly live up to the title, right?
Fortunately, writer/director Anthony Catanese (Hi-Fear) combines the right amount of low-brow humor, and subtle sweetness, to deliver everything the title promises!
Caddy Hack Synopsis
“A struggling golf course suffers a string of caddy murders at the paws of pesticide-mutated gophers while the greedy owner of the facility tries to cover up the carnage and an unhinged groundskeeper wages all-out war on the vicious vermin.”
There’s trouble at Old Glory Holes golf course. There’s a big tournament coming up that could save the struggling links, however, a recent spate of caddy deaths may just derail the operation altogether. Owner Mr. Landon (Jim Gordon; Hi-Death), a spot-on parody of a certain golf course-owning former president (complete with a terrible hair piece), enlists the help of dim-witted groundskeeper Hambone (Nick Twist) to get to the bottom of the problem.
The group of misfit caddies, led by the nerdy Googy (Jake Foy), are also investigating the fates of their fallen comrades, complicated by the arrival of the new caddie manager Becky (Chrissy Cavallo; Girls Just Wanna Have Blood) who is bent on whipping them into shape. And yes, true to the cover art, the gophers, mutated by Hambone’s pesticide formula, are the culprits, soon sanity (and good taste) go out the window as the caddies prepare for the final showdown against the savage rodents!
Boasting an amalgamation of Caddyshack, Animal House, and pretty much any Troma flick, Caddy Hack brings the laughs and the gore, and toes that often precarious horror/comedy line with a deft touch. With Twist providing a more modern, goofy version of Bill Murray’s Carl, a suitably awkward romance between Googy and Becky, and a frat-boy sensibility of the caddies, Catanese paces the film, and the jokes, with one foot in both groan-inducing humor, and clever one-liners, with a heaping spoonful of scathing parody.
There are references to other golf flicks (and oddly The Deer Hunter), Wilhelm screams, and a hilarious musical montage set to “Balls Deep In Love” to keep things moving along, and the puppetry of the demonic gophers is worth the price of admission alone!
The Blu-ray release boasts a folded mini-poster, commentary tracks, alternate artwork, a faux Glory Holes commercial, the fun Caddy Hack rap track, “Balls Deep” karaoke, trailers, and even a much-needed drinking game! There’s even an Old Glory Holes V.I.P. card included!
Fun, original (despite being a parody of Caddyshack), and bonkers as all get out, Caddy Hack proves, that even decades after the reference material, a lot of new fun can be had, as long as you have some great writing, a talented cast, and a knack for comedy and horror. Tee this one up, swing away, and go balls out!
Caddy Hack is available now on Blu-ray from Wild Eye Releasing at fine retailers.
