Strangeland (1998)

Admittedly this film is far better than the sinister Rob Zombie junk. (sorry Rob fans)At least Snyder put some substance, plot, and decent action into this. Have to hand it to him: he's not a bad actor. Especially in a psychotic role; which some may accuse of him as being cliché'. However, it is Dee Snyder. He wouldn't unrealistically portray a warm, loving father. Keep it real. And while I was never a huge fan, nor follower of metal music, I loved Twisted Sister. And Dee Snyder is my all-time favorite. Here he almost brilliantly resurrects his Capt. Howdy personae. And featuring Robert Englund; a very noted actor, whom of course revolutionized horror movie history with his iconic Freddy Krueger. Here we are subject to an opposite, non-sinister role as Jack, much like Englund's nice-guy character Willie, from the classic V - TV series. Snyder obviously is an Englund fan (like the rest of us :) and deliberately cast him in this film, as honorary appearance. No doubt Englund is brilliant, and could easily pull off a crime-drama psychotic serial killer as well.Overall, a few sinister scenes do drag a bit, and lack some intensity. However, Snyder does pull this thing off, for the most part.

Considering that horror movies coming out this year are ALL involving exorcism and possession stuff-- which are extremely saturated--, I thought that watching a nineties horror would be a nice idea. In fact, it would, if it wasn't around 11 p.m. in my serene neighborhood. "Strangeland" is in fact a very STRANGE movie, which can be noticed, from the get go, with the weird directing that sometimes focuses on the characters' feet. Also, I had no idea that in the nineties people had personal computers that supported instantaneous video and audio; I mean, in Brazil that was an utopia back then. The film as a whole is very dark, with scenes of mutilation, torture and every freak stuff that you can imagine. Many of those aspects look a lot like Jigsaw's plans-- even if "Saw" came out years later. The bad thing in this plot is the over-the-top character of Smallwood; if he was depressed and pessimist as he said he was, why didn't he ever commit suicide? Besides, how did Mike find the horror house, given that the only noticeable thing in the audio was a dog's barking? How on earth was he standing right in front of the house? And also, HOW ON EARTH a cop can get beaten up by a crazy guy who's been confined in a mental institution for about 4 years? It feels VERY hard to believe. The ending also is a relative let down, but I can't deny that "Strangeland" is an entertaining film for those who like the genre, like me.

This movie is one of the few examples of the whole being greater than the sum of its' parts. The acting isn't great, the storyline is imperfect, the stereotypes are a little painful - in fact the only 2 things about this movie that border on being divine are the soundtrack... and the sum total of all these second rate parts - the creation of this movie is somewhat similar to having a statue manufactured from recycled car parts (if you look at the individual parts, you will think "piece of crap", but if you take a step back and look at it as a whole, you will see the magnificent glory of a work of art). If more movies were made like this, Hollywood would seem less like a factory and more like an artists, workshop.

Dee Snider's "Strangeland" had a long, strange trip. It really started with Twisted Sister songs, then Dee tried writing about a psycho clown, but "IT" had that idea, so Dee set about writing a horror film like "Seven". Hey, Dee! I liked this better than "Seven."Strangeland" is a really sick film. The protagonist, played by Dee himself, is a sicko named Carleton Hendricks aka Captain Howdy, a deviant with tattoos and piercings galore, he stalks young girls online and does really depraved stuff to them. Poor Geniveve Gage is the 1st victim. Note the actress! It ER"'s Linda Cardellini! What follows is really nasty, and scary, note the cauterization! But the film pulls a shocker early!Later on, see Dee in Mr. Rogers mode! Perhaps the most frightening shot in the movie! Kevin Gage plays Gage and yeah he sucks. Actually other than Robert Englund, delightfully playing a righteous redneck, the acting stinks. And the director's idea of suspense is cutting to black every three minutes! Still the heavy metal soundtrack, featuring, Marylin Manson, Pantera, Coal Chamber, Megadeth, Twisted Sister and Snot is truly awesome. Buy it."Strangeland" offers some great stuff and certainly doesn't stint on the horror, though its not anywhere near as bad as I was led to believe. For you DVD fans, Dee's commentary is every bit as disturbing as the movie! A really good horror flick with some very interesting twits and turns. I really have to agree with Robert Englund, the truly frightening thing about this flick isn't the death, its the suffering.. Cool!