The Overlooked ‘90s Horror Gem On Streaming That Deserves Your Attention
Pluto TV is currently streaming the stoner horror-horror film Idle Hands, and if you like your gore with a side of laughter and mayhem, then this is a must-see. Though this movie performed abysmally at the box office, and even worse on the critical front, it has since garnered a cult following, and rightfully so. Simply put, Idle Hands is very much a party movie, and will appeal to a very specific audience.
If you’re not sure if Idle Hands is the movie for you, we’ll ask you a question that will more or less seal the deal. Have you ever made yourself a bologna and cheese sandwich with potato chips on top, and said “hell yeah” while doing so? If you answered “yes,” then you’re part of the core demographic, and you should stop everything you’re doing and watch this movie right now.
What makes Idle Hands truly work is the fact that it plays out more like a Halloween episode of The Simpsons with its delivery.
Idle Hands centers on the life of stoned slacker Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa). Anton lives with his parents, seemingly never goes to school, and is so unaware of his surroundings that it takes him over a week to realize that his parents were brutally murdered while he was sleeping. But everything changes when Anton runs out of weed, and meets up with his friends Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Hensen).
When Anton can’t secure the baggie he so desperately needs, he decides to roll a joint full of nutmeg and oregano, and goes into a coughing fit. While making a sandwich, he realizes the knife he’s holding is covered in blood, and he not only finds out that his parents are dead, but that there is actually a serial killer on the loose. It’s at this time that Idle Hands shows its namesake, and Anton realizes that he can’t control his right hand.
The final act of Idle Hands is a blood bath that will make you laugh hysterically as three slackers who are way in over their heads try to save the day.
If you’re primed to laugh at high-school students getting mutilated by a disembodied hand to the tune of The Offspring, then grab a seat, and give Idle Hands your undivided attention.
When Mick and Pnub show up at Anton’s house, they put two and two together, and realize that Anton is the killer. In a frantic attempt to keep them quiet while trying to convince them it’s not him, but rather this hand that has committed the murders, Anton kills Mick with a beer bottle, and decapitates Pnub with a saw blade. But what makes Idle Hands truly work is the fact that it plays out more like a Halloween episode of The Simpsons with its delivery.
Though Mick and Pnub are now buried in Anton’s backyard, it doesn’t take long for them to rise from the dead. The important takeaway is that they’re not necessarily zombies, but were simply too lazy to walk toward the white light when summoned to do so. After several failed attempts to cut off his own hand with a bagel slicer, Anton sets the final act of Idle Hands in motion by chopping off his right hand with a meat cleaver, and throwing it in the microwave.
Not knowing that the hand is trapped in the microwave and still alive, Seth and Pnub inadvertantly set it free so they could heat up some frozen burritos that they picked up from the gas station. Knowing that his disembodied demonic hand is on the loose, and ready to kill again, Anton decides to act like everything’s fine, and take his romantic interest, Molly, to the Halloween dance.
The final act of Idle Hands is a blood bath that will make you laugh hysterically as three slackers who are way in over their heads try to save the day.
As amazing as the above plot sounds, Idle Hands was a massive box office flop, earning just over $4 million against its reported budget of $25 million. To add insult to injury, this comedy-horror only earned a 15 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences beg to differ and gave it a 58 percent.
As ridiculous as its premise may be, Idle Hands does exactly what it sets out to do, and it’s clear that this film appeals to a very specific niche audience. Horror-comedy is a tough genre to execute properly because there are two possible audiences that filmmakers could alienate, but Idle Hands knows how to tread the line, and does so effortlessly.
If you want to be scared stiff, then you might want to check out something a little more serious. But if you’re primed to laugh at high-school students getting mutilated by a disembodied hand to the tune of The Offspring, then grab a seat, and give Idle Hands your undivided attention.
