I'm Not Wacko About It, But It Was Entertaining

Between 1981 and 1983, four horror movie parody films were released: “Student Bodies,” “Wacko,” “Pandemonium,” and “Saturday the 14th.” I have now seen one of them. The film in question is Greydon Clark’s 1981 film, “Wacko.” Greydon Clark is known mostly for his low-budget horror and sci-fi films such as “Without Warning” (1980) and the fun killer cat movie, “Uninvited” (1988). He also gave us a film I really need to see sometime called “The Forbidden Dance,” (1990) which I hear is an awful movie classic. It’s about the lambada, so how bad can it really be, right? The “Mystery Science Theater 3000” version of his 1985 “Final Justice” is a classic MST episode, however, I have not seen the film without the services of the crew of the Satellite of Love. “Dance Macabre” (1992) starring Robert Englund also sounds wonderfully bad so I will have to check out that one also.

Clark’s two science fiction films from 1980, “Without Warning” and “The Return” were underwhelming so I had low expectations as I began watching “Wacko.” His killer cat movie, “Uninvited” was ok given the subject matter, however, that one was underwhelming also. “Wacko” proves itself to be better than the three Greydon Clark films I have seen. Influenced by “Airplane,” Clark inserts many silly, goofy jokes into this film, many of them being sight gags and clever one-liners. The copyright year of the film is 1981, the same year “Student Bodies” was released, so I do not believe that Clark was influenced to make his film based on any trend of multiple horror parodies being released, as “Pandemonium” was not released until 1982 and “Saturday the 14th” was not released until 1983. “Wacko” tells the tale of a killer who wears a giant pumpkin on his/her head. No spoilers here, hence the “his/her.” There is another killer in the mix as well called The Lawnmower Killer. The Lawnmower Killer struck 13 years prior to the action of the film. Detective Dick Harbinger, played by a more disheveled than ever Joe Don Baker, seeks out the Lawnmower Killer and has done so for 13 years. A young woman named Mary Graves, played by Julia Duffy, who would go on to play Stephanie on the tv series, “Newhart,” from 1983-1990, is in the center of the action, trying to avoid being a target of any kind of killer, whether it be one with a lawn mower or a pumpkin on it’s head. All the while, she is courting a young man named Norman Bates. Yes, that’s right. Some of the jokes in “Wacko” are extremely labored and, as a result, fall mercilessly flat. Fortunately, the majority of the jokes in the film work, making “Wacko” a pleasant experience and not a labor that Hercules would have refused, asking if there was just another stable full of cows he could clean instead. Yes, I think that Hercules and even most of the cows would have enjoyed “Wacko.” Some of the gags are very clever, especially one involving a “door prize.” There are several sight gags to watch out for as well. Luckily, there is a minimum of thuds in the film, such as a brief appearance by Jeff Altman in a terribly written role as a high school principal. This is a terrible character which should have been excised from the film. Another groan-inducing scene involves what typically makes for a groan inducing experience and does not fail to do so in this case—a car chase, cars flying through the air, ala “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and banjo music playing on the soundtrack. None of this has ever been funny and never will be. I was wondering where the fat sheriff was so he could throw his hat on the ground for extra comedic impact. Thankfully for the viewer, this particular scene is pretty short, so it gets over with in short order. It helps that “Wacko” is only 82 minutes. It is compact, it does not linger on any unnecessary or boring scenes that stall out the film. Like “Airplane,” it is a collection of jokes and sight gags that parody a given genre of films. Unlike “Airplane,” it is not a comedy classic. “Wacko” is, though, a pleasant and funny enough way to spend 82 minutes if, by chance, you ever find a copy of it as it was only ever released on vhs and laserdisc. No dvd release of the film exists. If, you should desire to learn any more about the film, and this should be one of your desires, check out the podcast entitled, “The Projection Booth” and look for the episode on which “Wacko” is covered. The episode includes a thorough 30 minute interview with director, Greydon Clark, in which he answers many questions about the making and distribution of the film. I enjoyed “Wacko.” I place the likelihood that I would ever watch it again at a solid 60 percent. That is a high compliment.