Yesterday I saw this film on TV. The description (I have digital cable) said something along the lines of 'toy possessed by the spirit of the red baron stalks a family'. My thoughts: "Sounds odd, but I guess I can give it a whirl". What I wasn't prepared for though was that it was going to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
The story: An old man (Mickey Rooney) who shot down the red baron years ago (and then built a toy airplane from the scraps of the 'barons' plane), and his family that he lives with begin to be attacked by said toy airplane after a big storm somehow magically transmits the 'barons' vengeful soul into said toy airplane.
Yes, the concept is bad already, but the poor dialog, ultra cliché characters, overacting, poor special effects, and countless continuity errors strive to drive one thought into your head: "Why was this movie made"? For a "B" movie though, this does have its share of cheesy yet clever one-liners (mainly from the 'baron' as he needlessly slaughters many an innocent victim) that manage to evoke some pleasure from this film's viewing.
This film has to have some of the most annoyingly cliché characters in the history of cinema. From the 'overly harsh' dad who doesn't make any time for his son, to the son (played by a young Tobey Maguire) who everyone else sees as 'troubled and untrustworthy', the the 'obnoxiously nosy' neighbor, to the 'fat cop' who is convinced 'the kid did it' even without a shred of real evidence, to the 'very rude' nurse and doctor. There are even a few more, but I think you get the idea. And with the exception of Maguire, Rooney, and Laraine Newman (the 'mom'), all of them make for some extremely unlikable characters.
Special effects: strings. Yes, in almost every shot of the toy plane, you can see strings holding it up. Also, a few times the bullet holes in people don't show up at quite the right time when the 'baron' fires magically endless amounts of ammo from the small, fake, gun turrets on the plane.
Speaking more of the magic bullets: one point in the film the 'baron' *SPOILERS* comes across a few shotgun shells. And somehow now he has unlimited machine gun ammo.
I give this film 2* out of 10, only because a few specs of enjoyment can be scraped from its insanity.
The story: An old man (Mickey Rooney) who shot down the red baron years ago (and then built a toy airplane from the scraps of the 'barons' plane), and his family that he lives with begin to be attacked by said toy airplane after a big storm somehow magically transmits the 'barons' vengeful soul into said toy airplane.
Yes, the concept is bad already, but the poor dialog, ultra cliché characters, overacting, poor special effects, and countless continuity errors strive to drive one thought into your head: "Why was this movie made"? For a "B" movie though, this does have its share of cheesy yet clever one-liners (mainly from the 'baron' as he needlessly slaughters many an innocent victim) that manage to evoke some pleasure from this film's viewing.
This film has to have some of the most annoyingly cliché characters in the history of cinema. From the 'overly harsh' dad who doesn't make any time for his son, to the son (played by a young Tobey Maguire) who everyone else sees as 'troubled and untrustworthy', the the 'obnoxiously nosy' neighbor, to the 'fat cop' who is convinced 'the kid did it' even without a shred of real evidence, to the 'very rude' nurse and doctor. There are even a few more, but I think you get the idea. And with the exception of Maguire, Rooney, and Laraine Newman (the 'mom'), all of them make for some extremely unlikable characters.
Special effects: strings. Yes, in almost every shot of the toy plane, you can see strings holding it up. Also, a few times the bullet holes in people don't show up at quite the right time when the 'baron' fires magically endless amounts of ammo from the small, fake, gun turrets on the plane.
Speaking more of the magic bullets: one point in the film the 'baron' *SPOILERS* comes across a few shotgun shells. And somehow now he has unlimited machine gun ammo.
I give this film 2* out of 10, only because a few specs of enjoyment can be scraped from its insanity.