Popcorn (1991)

One of my all time favorites.

Let's be realistic.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It is scarier then A Nightmare on elm street. It is scarier then Friday the 13th. It also scarier then Halloween. It is one of the best movies ever. It is shame it very had sequels.

Popcorn (1991)** (out of 4) Some film students need to raise some money for their program so they decide to show three horror movies at an old movie palace. They plan to re-create a William Castle like atmosphere and all is going as planned until a maniac shows up and starts killing off the students.I remember watching POPCORN the day that it was released and thinking it was an incredibly bad movie. I pretty much stayed away from it until now and my second viewing of it had me enjoying the picture a tad bit more but at the same time there's no question that this is one of the most uneven horror movies that I've ever seen. A part of it wants to be a throwback to the old days when the likes of Castle was putting on these type of strange promotions. Another part of the film wants to be a slasher picture and in the end the two just don't mix.What I enjoyed about the film is the fact that it pays a loving tribute to the type of movies that were being released in the 1950s. The three films shown within the movie deal with a flying mosquito, a killer who was electrified but lived and a strange one dealing with bad smells. If you're familiar with the likes of William Castle then you know the gimmicks that they'd do to promote their movies and that's basically re-created here and this aspect of the film is fun.The problem is that that part of the movie eats up probably seventy percent of the running time. The subplot dealing with the Possessor movie, its creator and his revenge idea was just very poorly done and in my opinion it was a disaster. None of this is entertaining and it really takes away from the rest of the film. I understand that the producers were trying to do two things at once but sadly it just didn't work and we're left with an incredibly uneven picture that falls apart.The cast is fun for the most part and we do get to see familiar faces like Dee Wallace Stone, Ray Walston and Tony Roberts. That adds to the entertainment factor but one wishes that the entire screenplay had been reworked at the start of the production. Of course, this film suffered various production issues, which explains a lot.

I can remember when the movie POPCORN came out how great an idea I thought they had come up with. Movies within a movie and all paying tribute to one of the greatest promoters of horror films that ever lived, William Castle. Not directly mind you, but a tribute to the ballyhoo he was known for. Combine that with the current style of horror film involving teens in jeopardy and you know it had everything a horror fan could ask for.The story revolves around college student Maggie Butler (Jill Schoelen), majoring in film at the local university and living at home with her mother Suzanne (Dee Wallace). Dealing with some terrifying dreams Maggie keeps a record of them intending to use those nightmares for a film she wants to do one day. Suzanne is concerned about her daughter's nightmares but has her own issues to deal with when she's lured to the Dreamland Theater by a voice from her past.In an effort to come up with a unifying project and to generate funds for the fledgling film department Maggie's professor Davis (Tony Roberts) takes a suggestion made by her fellow student Toby (Tom Villard). The group decides to put on an all-night horror movie marathon. At first concerned about the time they have to do so, Davis agrees when he learns Toby has connections to a Dr. Mnesyne (Ray Walston), a memorabilia collector who has the films they need as well as the gimmicks that were used when the films were first released. Gaining access to the old Dreamland Theater, the group sets up cleaning the building and preparing for the big night.While preparing and checking out the items in the box they come across a short film and decide to watch it to see what it is. What they witness is a film by the legendary Lanyard Gates, a crazed film maker who took things to the extreme in an effort to create the most realistic film possible. So real that the last anyone knew of him he was shooting a film that resulted in his demise along with his followers, burned in a theater while filming the short the students are now watching.Not scared off by the film they carry on with their project. A giant mosquito is rigged to fly over the audience, electro-shock buzzers are placed in select seats and foul odors are prepared for a movie in odorama. The day comes, the audience fills the auditorium and the films begin. But something else is going on as well. One by one the various members of the group are being killed without the others being aware. Who is behind it all, who will survive and what it all has to do with Maggie and her dreams will be revealed by the end of the film.There are several things that make this movie work. The first and most obvious is the movies within the movie. Each of them has ties to old hokum live items that were used at one time or another. And the movies themselves are a hoot. They were also what led to the movie getting a new director halfway through as you'll find out in the extras.The second thing that works is the story itself. Using the tried and true theme made big in the 80s with a group of young people in jeopardy and being knocked off one by one keeps the theme of the horror films from them intact while combining it with those old movies at the same time. This nice blend combines to make an entertaining film in the end.Two performances stand out in the film. Schoelen does a great job as Maggie. The whole film hinges on her being believable and she is quite that here. The second is in Tom Villard who is great as Toby. The dedicated film fan who puts it all together could be played too broadly but he does it quite well here. The rest of the cast is great in their performances as well.Synapse has once again done a fantastic job of offering this movie in the best format possible with the cleanest looking transfer I've ever seen of it. It's a 2k scan of an archival 35mm interpostive. Extras include an audio commentary track by director Mark Herrier, Schoelen, Malcolm Danare, and special makeup effects artist Mat Falls, MIDNIGHT MADNESS: THE MAKING OF POPCORN documentary, ELECTRIC MEMORIES an interview with actor Bruce Glover, the theatrical trailer, television trailer and TV spots, a still gallery and reversible cover are by Chris MacGibbon.If you've never seen this film this is the way to do it, a treat for move fans as well as horror fans. Tame enough with little gore to be seen, safe enough to qualify for a PG-13 in today's world and still it's a solid horror film. For me this is one worth adding to your collection.

The majority of this movie was filmed on location in Kingston, Jamaica in the Ward Theatre, 10, North Parade, Kingston. The theatre was opened December 16, 1912 with a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance". It is in a poor state of repair after being badly damaged by Hurricane Dean in 2007 and from 2012 funding has been sought for renovation.I watched this film recently on the Horror Channel in the United Kingdom and found it entertaining, holding my interest until the end. The acting was average for this type of film. As an aficionado of cinema and theatre building, it was its authentic setting which made it most enjoyable for me, and it was great to see the building in such good shape. Let's hope it will be restored in the near future.