Idle Hands Review

The horror comedy genre doesn’t get a lot of serious contenders, at least not in modern times. However, Idle Hands does a good job at patching together a framework of both horror and comedy, that is worth taking another look at. Sure, it’s a teen comedy of sorts, but it’s done with a sense of gore and horror that only the 1980’s could match.

Idle Hands has some serious gore effects, and is surprising for a movie that is marketed to teenagers, and in recent years is only remembered as one of Jessica Alba’s first major roles. The movie revolves around a teen that is in way over his head when his hand becomes possessed by the devil and starts killing off his friends and family.

The movie mixes between two different genres, and does it somewhat well. There are zombie movie aspects, slasher film, and thriller aspects all rolled into one. The movie breaks the frame work set by a lot of traditional horror films, making this movie a lot more dialogue heavy than most people are going to be used to. Some of the lines are quick one liners that are usually reserved only for these types of films.

The music in the movie is set to a classic late 80’s mid 90’s alternative rock radio theme. From Motley Crue (Shout at the Devil) to Sublime (What I Got) to Rancid (Bloodclot) you’ll find the soundtrack is actually halfway decent overall.

Is Idle Hands Scary? : No.

This movie is not scary at all. Yes, it has a lot of horror elements, and yes there are some great gore effects, but it’s not ascary movie. I don’t even feel that the makers were trying to make it scary, they were just trying to mix horror and comedy. Demonic possessions is scary, but this film isn’t necessarily a fright fest at all.

I appreciated the pace of the film, I liked how the elements worked together in terms of parody and tribute at the same time. Idle Hands holds up well compared to a lot of other random horror movies. There is a mixed bag of comedic elements, musical cues, and horror movie elements that will keep any diehard fan slightly entertained, while keeping the better halves watching horror with you.

I’d recommend Idle Hands for at least one or two viewings, and even owning. I don’t think it’s going to be listed as the best horror movies anytime soon, but it’s not half bad. I liked it. I guess I’m getting soft.