Strangeland (1998)

Director:

John Pieplow

Writer:

Dee Snider (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

So much flesh, so little time.

Plot:

The place is Helverton, Colorado, a town of about 350,000 people. 15-year-old Genevieve Gage and her...

Plot Keywords:

Chat Room | Torture | Revenge | Sadist | Mental Institution

Cast

Kevin Gage	...	Mike Gage
Elizabeth Peña	...	Toni Gage
Brett Harrelson	...	Steve Christian
Robert Englund	...	Jackson Roth
Linda Cardellini	...	Genevieve Gage
Tucker Smallwood	...	Captain Churchill Robbins
Ivonne Coll	...	Rose Stravelli
Amy Smart	...	Angela Stravelli
Dee Snider	...	Captain 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)

Also Known As:

Dee Snider's StrangeLand (USA) (promotional title)
Rune (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #36303) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Denmark:15 | UK:18 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO)

Filming Locations:

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Company:

Shooting Gallery

Trivia:

Captain Howdy was the name of the ghost 'Blair, Linda' claimed to be talking to through the Ouija board in The Exorcist.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Gage is typing on the keyboard, the computer screen shows that Gage pauses from typing for a moment. But the sound of him typing still continues even when he stopped.

Quotes:

Captain Howdy: My badges is forever.
Mike Gage: My badge represents the law.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Awake

Interesting ideas can't save lame script and execution

It seems that Dee Snyder ran out of ideas halfway through the script. The second half of the movie is basically just a rehash of the first, which makes the film very boring. To sum up: Cop's daughter is suckered into party via chatroom where she is sexually molested/tortured by psychopath (played by Snider). Cop rescues her, psychopath is put in therapy/jail. Psychopath is released four years later and the whole thing is played out AGAIN. Within all this are many unexplained plot elements: Why was "Captain Howdy" psycho in the first place? What's with the one-time personality detour to bible-thumper? How does he kidnap all the adults and manage to sew their mouths shut without a struggle? And perhaps the biggest unsolved mystery of all... how does a 6'2" man with pink hair hide himself completely behind a 5'6" average build woman? These are just some of the questions I had watching this film.

It seems that Snyder was trying to make some kind of commentary on a) the "dangers" of online chatrooms, b) the hypocrisy of Christian sexual mores, and c) the effect our twisted puritanical society has on us as individuals. If that is so, he failed. The movie is just too poorly done to entertain, never mind convey social messages. The torture scenes are stupid and boring, bordering on silly (especially when Snyder goes into one of his "pain and death" monologues), and everything else is just plain dumb. The "call tracing" scene is really lame... when are the cops gonna get caller ID and *69? The young partner of the main cop character is particularly awful... he shouldn't be working as an actor, basically. And the audio in the final showdown scene is really poor. I guess they couldn't afford two boom mikes?

The rest of the acting is not awful but it's not good either. The cop is pretty one note, and his detached quality is not quite believable. Dee Snyder is actually not too bad, but he snarls and sneers way too much. Robert Englund (who deserves way better) puts in a somewhat amusing performance of a hypocritical redneck. If you're a big Robert Englund fan the movie is probably worth seeing just for him. Everyone else is forgettable.

In conclusion, we've seen all these plot elements done before and done better, in films like SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, HELLRAISER, and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. I suggest you rent one of those instead of watching this turkey. 3/10.