Idle Hands (1999)

A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.

Director:

Rodman Flender

Writers:

Terri Hughes, Ron Milbauer

Stars:

Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Devon Sawa	...	Anton Tobias
Seth Green	...	Mick
Elden Henson	...	Pnub
Jessica Alba	...	Molly
Vivica A. Fox	...	Debi LeCure
Christopher Hart	...	The Hand
Jack Noseworthy	...	Randy
Katie Wright	...	Tanya
Sean Whalen	...	McMacy
Nicholas Sadler	...	Ruck (as Nick Sadler)
Fred Willard	...	Dad Tobias
Connie Ray	...	Mom Tobias
Steve Van Wormer	...	Curtis
Kelly Monaco	...	Tiffany
Timothy Stack	...	Principal Tidwell

Storyline

Seventeen year old slacker Anton Tobias wakes up one Halloween morning to discover that both of his parents have been turned into two headless Halloween decorations. After speaking to his equally irresponsible friends, Mick and Pnub, he discovers that his right hand has a blood-thirsty mind of its own and is hell-bent on wreaking havoc whether he likes it or not.

---

Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | breasts | slow motion scene | trailer home | incense | 

---

Taglines:

The touching story of a boy and his right hand.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and gore, pervasive teen drug use, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

El diablo metió la mano

Filming Locations:

1034 North Madison Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,807,181, 2 May 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,002,955, 13 June 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Licht/Mueller Film Corporation,Team Todd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Anton, stunned after killing his two friends, walks into a support beam in his house, the thudding noise his body makes was not digitally added in after production - this is Devon Sawa actually walking into the solid-wood support beam. Often, when the cast would do a photo shoot or had to re-shoot a scene after this one, Devon would start off by walking into the support beam over and over again to the point that editors working below the stage started to wonder what the noise was.

---

Goofs

The X-Marks on Debi's map changes over the shot.

---

Quotes

[Anton is about to chop off his 'evil' right hand]
Mick: Wait a minute. If you chop off your right hand, how are you going to chop the other one off?
Anton: Oh no, man, the lefty's a keeper. I mean, I guess it wasn't idle enough.
Mick: Really?
Anton: Oh yeah, I mean, I hit the remote with it, light up with it, relieve a little tension. No, this is the answer.

---

Alternate Versions

The DVD contains the original ending, set in the school's gym pool. The producers and the director decided to shoot a different ending because the original ending was very different in its style of humour and horror and they thought it didn't fit into the film.

---

Connections

References Devil's Harvest (1942)

---

Soundtracks

Pop That Coochie
Written by Luther Campbell, Mr. Mixx (as David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (as Christopher Wongwon) & Brother Marquis (as Mark Ross)
Performed by 2 Live Crew, Fresh Kid Ice, Luther Campbell, and Brother Marquis
Courtesy of Lil' Joe Records, Inc.

User Reviews

A very pleasant surprise

As mentioned in the other comments, this movie is a awful lot better than it would first seem. Its still a rather brainless teen slasher flick, with the usual array of 2D characters ( the goofy friends, gorgeous love interest, aggressive hunk etc) and situations (school Halloween dance), but the great dialogue and great visual effects elevate it above the majority of other movies in the teen slasher style and doesn't do too much talking down to the audience. Where most other movies of this type give the audience 2 answers before a single question is answered Idle Hands has no fears about leaving things unanswered, where the viewer can make their own mind up (for once). Devon Sawa makes for a convincing and cute Anton, while Jessica Alba is all thats needed to keep the target audience of under 20's males glued to their seats. Don't get me wrong, this isn't up there with the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, but it never sets out to be; it's hilariously funny, satisfyingly gory and one hell of a lot better than you'd ever think. Go rent it, you'l be pleasantly surprised. Also, the soundtrack is great.