The Channeler (1991) User Reviews

Decent flick but....

[Movie Nuttball · 6/10 · 29 July 2002]

May contain spoilers

The movie was good but it just didn`t explain much. I wondered what were the hooded monsters and why were they after the people? What was the mine? Was it the gate to hell or another dimension? How did the woman know about the strange happenings in that area? There are many other questions to be answered like these that are part of the Channeler. Dan Haggerty was very good but he didn`t show up untill the middle of the film. It was a good movie but there isn`t much blood and gore for big horror fans plus with its many unanswered questions it may turn away the fans of the genre but if you have nothing to do and want to watch something different then rent the Channeler.

Typical Quicky No-budget Horror

[BloodTheTelepathicDog · 3/10 · 15 January 2012]

University professor Pam leads a group of students and her boyfriend (Jay Richardson) on a little excursion to rural route redneck land on what she claims to be an environmental field trip. But she has ulterior motives, of course. She seems to possess knowledge of some mystical beings in the area that dwell in a mine and she uses one of her students, who happens to be a "channeler" to help her locate the creatures' dwelling.

The story is okay but the dialogue is terrible. The writers throw your typical country jokes that fall flat because we've heard every redneck rhubarb 100 times before--and all delivered much better. The one-liners issued by sassy tramp Cindy Brooks are so telegraphed they fail to elicit a response from the viewer beyond an eye roll. This movie is essentially only for low-budget horror enthusiasts who are fans of the B-Rate stars.

STORY: $$ (The story, although on paper looks good, didn't translate well to a script. The characterization was lacking in our characters as Pam's motives weren't well thought out and Dan Haggerty's survivalist/chemist seemed out of place and entirely unnecessary. More should have been done, but this was clearly made by amateurs).

ACTING: $$ (The acting is quite weak from almost everyone involved. B-Rate star Jay Richardson (SINS OF DESIRE) does a fine job and Grizzly Adams lookalike Dan Haggerty plays himself as usual. Cindy Brooks was annoying as the slutty girl and Oliver Darrow (SPIRITS) has little to do as the bad boy. Brenda James (SLITHER), credited as Brenda Klemme in this film, seems the only thespian among the students that was well cast. She shines in her bookish, studious role and gives the film's best performance--but that isn't saying too much).

NUDITY: $ (There is a pointless shower scene in the wilderness at Haggerty's cabin showing an obvious body double standing in for Cindy Brooks).

Channel no. 5

[udar55 · 1/10 · 6 March 2006]

A teacher and a group of college students head up to a mountain area to do something I can't remember but end up fighting demons that somehow escaped from a mine. Along the way they receive help from Dan Haggerty and Richard Harrison (who isn't even credited here at the IMDb). Man, this is one bad movie. Somehow everything Haggerty starred in during this time period (this, REPO JAKE, ELVES) just drags and drags and drags. The plot is relatively simply but director Grant Austin Waldman does his best to fudge it up. Seriously, by the time it ended I need a notepad to figure out the entire thing. The best scene has Haggerty finding out something about someone's blood and racing to tell the others on his motorbike. He gets knocked off and killed so we never learn what he found out! There are some bad effects and one nude scene that can't help cover the taxing cost to one's brain from the entire film. Also starring Fred Olen Ray alum Jay Richardson.