Jack-O (1995)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Oh dear, oh dear where can I begin with this mess? The story? The acting? The effects? Well seeing as I have to write at least 10 lines I can't mention any of those as they simply don't exist in this. The back story is as pedestrian as the rest of the movie; a warlock gets hanged by a farmer for conjuring the pumpkin headed demon Jack-O. With the warlock dead, Jack-O is put in a shallow grave marked with a make-shift wooden cross. Cut back to the modern era and some haphazard teenagers, (that all happen to look at least 30) are getting drunk and skylarking in the woods on the hunt for old graves and such. After some misguided teenage-esque antics one of them removes the still brand new looking 100+ year old wooden cross and Jack-O is back to cause havoc. With the demon on the loose he kills the 3 teenagers plus an assortment of random townsfolk before his showdown with the descendant of the original farmer who imprisoned him. The whole movie is contrived, I've seen better and more believable effects in movies made in the 50's, the dialogue seems forced and the acting is non- existent. I don't get why the extended shower scene was necessary in any way, it just slowed down the film for no good reason. Splicing in old footage of John Carradine was a poor idea based on the need to have a familiar actor to try and make a rotten apple seem not so rotten. This is another one of those movies where no matter how fast you run for your life in the opposite direction, a shuffling murderer carrying a large cumbersome weapon will always be right behind you if you stop for a breather. At the end, no one seems to be traumatised by what they've seen, no one calls the police despite all the dismembered bodies littering the woods, they just walk back home wondering what they're going to have for breakfast. I couldn't even laugh at this as the whole thing was just too stupid. Some stupidity is to be expected but when it's like this it's better to just leave it alone.

As in *hack* up a hairball. As in, this movie is about as thrilling as a cat hacking up a hairball. And I don't like cats. "Cats are for jerks and lesbians." - Homer J. Simpson.Drunken idiot teenagers disturb a grave in a local cemetery and resurrect a demon, dead for several hundreds of years, who then seeks vengeance on the distant relation of those responsible for his burial, and revenge against the teenagers who disturbed his grave. He should be happy they disturbed his grave, as it brought him back to life to avenge his own death. There's nothing wrong with this film, technically speaking, it is well-made, and sporting a very creepy atmosphere, with a kind of creepy looking villain and decent enough gore, but this B-movie is sunk by largely abysmal acting and painful dialogue. The little boy plays a major role in this film, despite the fact that he looks bored, like he's not sure what is going on or why he is even there. Top-billed Linnea Quigley is only there for her name value, she has about fifteen minutes of screen time, playing a minor character. Marginal so-bad-it's-good movie, but it could have (and should have) been a LOT better.

There's something to be said for good movies. There's also something to be said for bad movies. But what about a bad movie that's sincere, very likable, very nostalgic in capturing the fall/Halloween season and full of energy and audience good will? Well that's exactly what is found in Jack-O, a movie with so many painfully bad, laughable elements that somehow mix with the fun elements and turn it into a very entertaining B level horror movie! The good stuff here is the breezy tone of the film and the story itself is enjoyable and fun. I liked some of the small touches like the Halloween garage spook show and the weird conservative neighbors who are killed. Also good to see is Linnea Quigley in a role that is probably too small but it's still Linnea and she brings an element of fun to the film, even if her role was almost useless. The cameos from John Carradine and Cameron Mitchell are from some unknown archive source, but still I liked seeing both of them here. The bad stuff. The plastic Jack-O pumpkin mask is really lame. And the acting is the cheesiest! Then again, that only adds to the fun. The little kid (son of the director) might be the worst child actor I've ever seen but it's hilarious to watch! The adults aren't much better. There's one woman in a flashback scene who you must see in all her monotone glory to believe. The woman who plays the psychic is also quite awful. You will be rolling on the floor in laughter! There is a bit of gore and one topless scene from Rachel Carter who plays the Quigley character's sister in the film. The gratuitous shower scene I see people talking about must have been cut from my tape because you only see Linnea from the shoulders up. There's no other way to rate a film like this than with a 5!

Am I being sacrilegious for watching such an awful movie on Easter weekend? This weekend is used to reflect and celebrate the joys of our lives with the spirit of rebirth. And believe me, this movie couldn't have killed that spirit more. To save you from being bored silly with the plot, let's just go straight to the check list:-Awful plot. Check! The story layout appeals to a Friday night flick fan but has about as much emotional depth as dinner theatre. The film is disastrously long and dull. About 30% of the film is designated to Sean Kelly's dream sequences (don't ask), 25% to introducing people who have no effect on the plot, 15% to Sean's dad's haunted mansion, 10% to trick-or-treating with kids no one knows who the heck they are, another 10% to some moron, his girlfriend, and his Harley, and a remaining grand total of 5% to Jack-o. The remaining 5% is reserved for shots of nudity, storm clouds, and people talking about food. -Totally non-frightening antagonist. Check! I've screamed more in an episode of Murphy Brown than this. Jack-o himself is about as lame as a duck with one leg in front of a pack of hungry wolves. He kills a few but there are absolutely no tense and heart racing chase sequences, no real climax. His overall presence lacks fright and bite, something that Freddy Krueger in "Elm Street", Jason Vorhees in "Friday the 13th", and Ben Affleck in "Gigli" all achieved. -Awful F/X. Check! Normally in a standard slasher flick, a victim to the creature's blade will be shown being gutted in all it's bloody, disgusting glory. But of course we don't see this happen. That would require effort, something the crew of this film wern't ready to commit. However, they were generous enough to buy fire crackers and glue them to a crucifix and set it alight. Somebody call the KKK. This self-lighting cross idea could really takeoff.-Awful acting. Check! The boy who plays Sean Kelly is horrendous. At times, it seems like the director slipped him a sleeping pill just before shooting. This kid just mumbles out his lines with no care in the world. The director obviously could not give a damn whether the boy's acting was up to any kind of par. Ironically, the young actor is the directors son! That's nepotism is it's purest form, folks!-Obligatory shower girl. Check! I think no further comment is necessary.-Various other scenes of obligatory nudity. Check! (see above)All in all, Jack-o deserves a few points for making such a disaster and fooling some poor film company into distributing it. Other than that, this film deserves to be dead and buried, much like Jack-o himself.