videorama-759-859391 Here's another one of these spoofs, early 80's, done by a director who quite intrigued me, with his other flicks, The Return, and the almost, invisibly known Hi Riders. Like Full Moon High, takes off the werewolf movies kind of, Here, they're sending up Halloween, and the movie is that insane and filled with lunacy, it pays off in it's absurdness. It's a film that had me laughing more on the inside, but you do praise it's cleverness, or inventiveness, where it just falls back into such inanity, featuring a few repeated lines, comedy related, you're aren't annoyed to hear, with some familiar young 80's actors, you don't see now. One young face, I won't mention, who did her share, was sad, in light of how talented she was. A messed up and taunted, Joe Don Baker, who has great screen presence as an actor, is fun and enjoyable to watch as the tortured, cop trying to track down the lawnmower killer, responsible for a murder, lucky 13 years ago (also a locker combination to a jock, obviously a sent up, Travolta type) where the film becomes a comedy thriller too. The movie plays homage to other films, but you have to admire it's ingenuity and praise it's ambitiousness, but it just wanes in it's stupidity, despite being very entertaining, none the less. Jeff Altman was memorably funny, and appealing, putting his hundred percent in as Harry Palms, while again, the great George Kennedy is wasted here, alongside the extra talented Stella Stevens, who like Barbra Eden was also told, she was wasting their time, in the chosen profession, but look who had the last laugh. Julia Duffy was really good as the hot daughter, while you won't forget little brother Damien, especially if happening to ponder in your oven. The other memorable highlight or the biggest one, is seeing the world's biggest Twinkie known to man, being devoured by a quartet, Joe Don Bakers family. Yes it is a bad movie, but it is not without interest, that's for sure.

Andy (film-critic) "Wacko" is one of those films that audiences will either love or hate. It is dated, it is un-PC, it is crass and cruel all at the same time, but in the same sense it is a precursor to the now-popular "Scary Movie" franchise. For a PG rated film it pushes the envelope, it creates a world where one would have to have seen the film that they are spoofing, or be left in the dark. Unlike the "Scary Movie" films, "Wacko" leans away from the bathroom humor (albeit there is plenty there), but actually parodies cult films from Hitchcock, John Carpenter, De Palma, and so forth. Joe Don Baker is phenomenal. I am surprised that he didn't redefine this genre. His mannerisms, his insanity, and his surprisingly fresh take on his determined detective out to discover the truth is laugh-out-loud funny. Couple this with a fresh-faced Andrew Dice Clay jumping excitedly into the shoes of the local hipster/jock, be prepared for a wild ride. "Wacko" is fast past, absurd, and confusing all at the same time (i.e. see the talking elephant), but it isn't perfect. While two viewings continued to bring a chuckle to the room, any further viewing may be disastrous. There are some great repeatable lines, some great references, but these are coupled with some slow scenes and staged dialogue. There are moments where "Wacko" has no direction, and director Greydon Clark obviously has no idea where he is headed either. While this adds to the enjoyment of "Wacko", there was a moment where a secure storyline would have been a powerful alley to this laserdisc. Anything to keep us grounded while Clark took us around the corner, under the bridge, and into that darkened alleyway known as horror parodies.Overall, "Wacko" needs a DVD release. This is a film that could be watched on college campus', midnight Halloween night at your local independent theater, or with a group of friends with drinks. It is one of those 80s campy horror comedies that were afraid to take chances, and I respect "Wacko" for that. Obviously, it will not win awards, but I see that it make it into the "cult cannon" any day of the week. I would not suggest repeat viewings, but at least two for the detailed humor of Joe Don Baker and Andrew Dice Clay (in this film, merely known as Andrew Clay). The humor is sharp, the dialogue less friendly, and the in today's modern world, it would not be PG rated, but thanks to the 80s – it is mediocrity to its perfection.Grade: *** out of *****

merklekranz Innocent fun is how I describe "Wacko". The frantic pace involves a lot of misses, but the occasional hits are quite funny. George Kennedy steals the movie with his deadpan humor as an incompetent doctor. "I'm performing a hysterectomy on Mr. Cooper". Taking shots at several stereotyped horror movies, "Wacko" perhaps tries to cover too much ground, with too many characters. All this is quite forgivable when in the context of the spoof that it is. Andrew "Dice" Clay fans will most likely be disappointed in his muted performance. Other "B" movie faces pop up as wacky characters (pun intended). Everyone tries hard, and a rating of 6.0 is probably close to correct. - MERK

MisterWhiplash Greydon Clark's Wacko is a clever horror film (if not a little cheesy) with some veteran stars and some new ones. The veterans help bring the film to big potential and the rookie boost their careers. The veterans include George Kennedy, Stella Stevens and Joe Don Baker (the famous Don Baker). The rookies include Elizabeth Davis (later voice of Tommy on Rugrats), Anthony James, and the world famous Andrew Dice Clay, who appears as Tony Schlongini (first roll). This plus a creative story (that probably inspired the Lawnmower Man) make this a OK horror film (for It's time). B+