Strangeland (1998)

The place is Helverton, Colorado, a town of about 350,000 people. 15-year-old Genevieve Gage and her best friend Tiana Moore are typical teenagers who spend a lot of time surfing the ... See full summary »

Director:

John Pieplow

Writer:

Dee Snider

Stars:

Kevin Gage, Elizabeth Peña, Brett Harrelson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Gage	...	Mike Gage
Elizabeth Peña	...	Toni Gage
Brett Harrelson	...	Steve Christian
Robert Englund	...	Jackson Roth
Linda Cardellini	...	Genevieve Gage
Tucker Smallwood	...	Capt. Churchill Robbins
Ivonne Coll	...	Rose Stravelli
Amy Smart	...	Angela Stravelli
Dee Snider	...	Capt. Howdy / Carleton Hendricks
Amal Rhoe	...	Tiana Moore
Robert LaSardo	...	Matt Myers
Andrew Cooper	...	Victim Bob (as Andy Cooper)
Archie Smith	...	Elderly Man
Lois Hicks	...	Mental Institution Nurse
Carey Westbrook	...	Sam the Orderly (as Carey Louis Westbrook)

Storyline

The place is Helverton, Colorado, a town of about 350,000 people. 15-year-old Genevieve Gage and her best friend Tiana Moore are typical teenagers who spend a lot of time surfing the internet and sending messages to strangers in chat rooms. Upon "meeting" another apparent student who goes by the screen name of Captain Howdy, Genevieve and Tiana decide to attend a party at Captain Howdy's house. As it turns out, Captain Howdy has lured them into a darkness from which there may be no permanent escape. But what Captain Howdy doesn't know is that Genevieve's father is local cop Mike Gage. When neither Genevieve nor Tiana has returned home by the next morning, Genevieve's mother Toni alerts Mike. With the help of a younger cop named Steve Christian, Mike tries to find Genevieve and Tiana. Things take an unexpected turn when Tiana's car is pulled out of a lake, and Tiana's tortured body is found in the car's trunk, with her mouth stitched shut. There's no sign of Genevieve. Mike discovers ...

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Plot Keywords:

detective | internet | revenge | torture | chat room | 

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Taglines:

let the ritual begin

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic torture/violence, language, nudity and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dee Snider's StrangeLand

Filming Locations:

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$373,288 (USA) (2 October 1998)

Gross:

$631,221 (USA) (9 October 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shooting Gallery, Snider Than Thou Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD commentary, Dee Snider mentioned that filming the scenes with Carleton Hendricks rehabilitated and wearing a cardigan were the hardest parts of the movie to shoot. Snider hated wearing the cardigan.

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Goofs

The band BiLE isn't in-sync with the music playing.

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Quotes

Captain Howdy: [about the net] Gotta love this technology

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Awake"
Clay People

User Reviews

There's worse ones out there

"Strangeland" isn't that bad if it features fears of yours.

**SPOILERS**

Genevieve Gage, (Linda Cardellini) is just the latest in a series of disappearances plaguing a small town. Her father Mike (Kevin Gage) just happens to be the detective on the case, and his partner Steve Christian, (Brett Harrelson) convinces him to check out a club that specializes in piercing and scarification, which is also the secret hideout for Captain Howdy, (Dee Snider) also known as Carleton Hendricks, who is the suspected cause of the disappearances. With the help of his cousin Angela Stravelli, (Amy Smart) Captain Howdy is caught and brought to justice. After a couple years in an insane asylum, he gets released back into the community, and a local militia group led by Jackson Roth, (Robert Englund) kidnap him and leave him for dead. When new evidence confirms that he may not be dead, Detective Gage tries harder than before to stop him.

The Good News: As it gets more and more commonplace for people to chat online and in instant messaging, the fact that this one was the first out of the gate to show the potential evils and dangers of the situation is a nice and original approach. Even though it deviates from it towards the end, the original set-up is pretty great. The ending is also pretty great and pretty exciting, with a great bit of action in there as well. Most of the focus on this film is the discomfort one gets when exposed to extreme forms of scaring and skin piercing, and it is a subject most get uncomfortable viewing. This is mostly played out in the psychical form of Captain Howdy, who does look pretty creepy. His look, though, drives the film, so I won't spoil it, but it is a really disturbing and shocking look that will definitely get you a little crept out the first time his full appearance is shown.

The Bad News: This film basically relies on the belief that extreme piercing, full-body tattoos and scaring are scary images for the average person. If none of them are scary or frightening, then most of the film's power will be lost. Besides that, there really isn't a whole else in the film. It's not a traditional horror film in the slasher sense, so for some it can be quite boring, as there's no real jumps, suspense or anything similar.

The Final Verdict: If any of the acts or ideas featured in this one are fears of yours, this could be a pretty scary film. If not, this can be a pretty dull experience. Otherwise, it's pretty middle of he road and pretty forgettable. Use your own judgment to determine if you will like this one or not.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, some Language, a brief sex scene, scenes of torture and extreme images of body modification