WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS BODYCOUNT. HIGH RISK OF SPOILERS. ENTER IF YOU DARE.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Master, what do we do now?: Satan's Little helper (2004)

Halloween's just around the corner and for me, it's gonna be a big deal. Since no one in my country (Philippines) takes Halloween seriously ('cept the little kiddies) all I could do is watch horror flicks, but I kinda do that everyday. So I might as just know a thing or two that's "Halloween" Appropriate. And not to mention that I do have this blog now means I can share some random useless stuff that you guys probably already know.

With days away, I guess I could review some very essential "Halloween" Slashers out there. So let's see today's meat!

Satan's Little Helper (2004)
Rating:***1/2
starring: Alexander Brickel, Katheryn Winnick and Stephen Graham

I imagine the Angry Videogame Nerd
pissing on this game...
All young boy named Dougie wanted was to spend Halloween with his mum, his big sister, and "Satan". ore precisely, a video game version of Satan which he grew fond of. But when neighborhood bullies start picking on him and his sister brought home a boyfriend, Dougie's would be best-Halloween is starting to fall into ruins.

Or so until "Satan" came along; a serial killer in disguise, Dougie mistook the man as his idol and together, they start a mischievous (and murderous) journey as Halloween night becomes their oyster. But how long will the charade run before things go out of hand and by then, will it be too late to stop "Satan"?

I guess every religious figure needs a holiday.
Perhaps a better effort of merging dark comedy and slasher theatrics altogether, Satan's Little Helper makes fun of us by giving us a barrage of dumb-butt characters who have zero IQs and a gullibility that's beyond believable, and pokes fun on political correctness and tackled a lot of taboos, such as poisoning children, endangering pregnant women, some home invasion (though, in here, he was more "invited" than invading), some death to elderly folks and even religious imagery.

At times, the funny works and the mayhem is shocking as ever despite it's low budget. They even provide us a cleverly devilish and simple psycho who's as mysterious and silent as Micheal Myers and as playful as Chucky. For short, Satan's Little Helper deserved it's Cult status, but not without it's own set of faults.

No, kid, when you grow up, you'll
understand the complexities of  incest...
While the first half concentrates on the "adventures" Dougie had with "Satan", the second half starts when "Satan" over do his murdering spree and killed Dougie's dad, right in front of the whole family; it was then they knew he's a maniac on the loose and they try everything to corner him and stop him. While it does feature some funny moments, the second part's not as lively as the first when the jokes rarely work and the whole mood kinda changed. Still, Satan's little helper's not a bad film, just a little guilty of script issues, one-sided characters (especially the kid, whose constant dumb glee irritates me to the very day), some plot holes (Like the unusual feat that one ordinary man managed to kill off every law enforcers in town), and the budget blocks it from being any better. Plus the ending felt like a cheat, but somewhat acceptable in the sense that you'll take anything just to end it. (but honestly, they could had done better...)

Who want's the side of dad's gut?!
As a black comedy, Satan's Little Helper has the heart and joy of Halloween, making it a good impression as a holiday movie. It starts to lose this black comic touch slightly by the end but the overall results? One worthy Halloween flick

bodycount:
1 female seen with throat slit
1 male seen with a knife stabbed to his chest
1 cat crushed to a wooden board
1 male knifed on the gut
1 elderly female hanged
1 female had her head bashed repeatedly to the wall
1 male disemboweled with knife
1 male seen bagged on the head and strangled with phone cord
1 male seen bagged on the head
2 male found with bagged heads
2 males and 1 female poisoned
1 male shot repeatedly
1 male stabbed to death
total: 16

Oh, hey J.C.! Listen, it's not like I don't like Christmas anymore,
it's just that I prefer something less commercial...

2 comments:

  1. Terrific review! I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this one when I sat down with it - but I really enjoyed it! And that last caption on that last picture is hilarious! Cheers!

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    Replies
    1. Haha! it's funny cuz it's true! haha...really. =_=

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