Remote Control

God I love Jeff Lieberman's work and it never seems to amaze me. 'Remote Control' is no different, and it's probably his most obscure feature. All this guy needs is quite a healthy budget to let those innovative ideas and visions truly evolve. What's lined up in the VCR (yep it's the glorious video era) is a B-grade Sci-fi retro spoof on 1950's Sci-fi set in modern times and the late 80s video boom that's mainly spot on with its send up, even with such limited resources and slight material. It's quite well done (in typical 80s spirit) and ejects rather an inventive premise that have aliens using an mind-controlling video which features an hilarious shoddy old-fashion Sci-fi film called "Remote Control' that sees the viewer becoming apart of the screen action and virtually losing control, killing anybody near. So it's up to a video clerk who discovers the secret to put a stop to it all. Something only the 80s could spit out.

From the get-go everything falls on the quirky and low-key side. It's daft, but it knows it and plays it accordingly with its often witty, but undemanding script. Where it builds upon paranoia and conspiracy laced inclusions, but despite its small groundwork Lieberman's able direction makes it work and the self-parody is hard to dislike. Even Peter Bernstein's music, expertly harked back to those eerie 50's sci-fi scores. The vibe that was created was perfectly pitched. Tim Suhrstedt's camera-work sparsely moves around and effectively judged which it's at its best during the attack scenes.

Little to no FX is used (which would be due to the considerably low-budget), but an attempt at story-telling and heighten suspense comes to the forefront. It works to its strengths and this is what makes it more so successful. Some passages can get slack or repetitive, but the pace manages to be snappy and the fashionable décor holds your attention. Not letting you forget what era this was from. There's convincing performances (done in mock-seriousness approach) from a reliable Kevin Dillon, a wonderful Deborah Goodrich and an all too short, but a perky Jennifer Tilly. No matter how small her part is, Tilly always does her best to leave an imprint on proceedings. I didn't think that Dillon would be strong enough to carry the lead role, but surprisingly he looks and acts the part.

A cheesy yet very fun horror/sci-fi flick with a great deal of nostalgia permeating every frame. The movie itself is an 80's look back on a warped sci-fi version of the 50's, which sounds strange but works well. It must be remembered that around the time this movie was made, there was a fad for all things 50's and retro, and "Remote Control" makes nostalgic fun of that trend, while also being part of it. Video stores were still mostly independently owned in those days and were sweeping the country, so the writers here took the old "aliens invade earth" scenario and use the VCR growth as a means in which the aliens can infiltrate and infect the human population. How so? Well, whoever watches the video will become hypnotized/entranced/controlled by the secret message, and will turn into a crazed murderous freak! You all of the sudden have this sudden urge to kill anyone around you! Still, it's not as gruesome or bad as it sounds, and is instead a great deal of fun. Kevin Dillon (who starred later in the '88 version of "The Blob") isn't the best actor, and neither is anyone else in this flick, but that strangely adds to the charm. It's cheesy, it's meant to be cheesy, and all these years later it's even better - because now it's nostalgic 80's cheese. Love it!

great concept plus great imagery: takes every-day 80's concepts that slowly meld into futuristic looking situations. E.g. girl in work-out clothes later looks futuristic... The idea that watching a video makes you crazy enough to kill is great...plus the fact that the video story is recursive...the story on the video is about people who watch a video...

A cold-war-era style tale of alien invaders brainwashing the masses via VHS, Remote Control stars Kevin Dillon (younger brother of Matt) as video store clerk Cosmo, who discovers a plot by extraterrestrials to destroy mankind by altering an old sci-fi movie so that it causes uncontrollable violence when viewed. With the help of his best pal Georgie (Christopher Wynne) and babe Belinda Watson (Deborah Goodrich), Cosmo sets out to destroy all the copies of the film on video before they can be shipped nationwide, but can they succeed without being exposed to the deadly movie themselves?

How '80s do you like your films? I only ask because this quirky little sci-fi flick from director Jeff Lieberman (Just Before Dawn/Satan's Little Helper) takes everything already tacky about the decade of day-glo and back-combing and pushes them to the limits, with exaggerated fashion disasters and bizarre hairstyles that make Cyndi Lauper and A Flock of Seagulls look positively reserved by comparison. If you find the idea of metallic lame blouson jackets at all upsetting, then you would probably be better off giving this one a miss. If, however, you appreciate absurd low budget obscurities and revel in the colourful and kitsch, then dive on in.

In addition to its clever plot device (whereby the '50s film that the aliens use to control their victims has the same narrative as the film we are watching) and all of the gaudy 80s style, Remote Control delivers lots of nostalgia for those who grew up in the video era (check out all of the cool titles and posters in the video stores!), some cheesy fight action, Jennifer Tilly sporting a truly awful hairdo, a surprisingly good explosion, and an impressive full body burn stunt. While not quite as accomplished as Jeff Lieberman's horror movies—a bigger budget would certainly have helped to fully realise its potential—Remote Control is still a unique experience from a true auteur, and should provide a fun time for those curious enough to seek it out.

I'd never heard of Remote Control, weirdly enough it got added to my watchlist out of curiosity when it was mentioned during the independent horror film The Bible Belt Slasher (2010)

Starring Matt Dillon it tells the story of a video tape doing the rounds at all the video stores that is making people lose control and kill those around them. Basically The Ring (2002) but really terrible, cheesy and not even remotely scary.

Remote Control is also the most 80's film I've ever seen, like they were intentionally going overboard with the decades style but not exactly explaining why.

The movie starts competently enough and even had a small role for the excellent Jennifer Tilly, but by the half way mark it's lost it's way.

Remote Control wasn't a very good concept to begin with, so combine that with some poor writing and you've got a mediocre film at best.

The Good:

Jennifer Tilly

The Bad:

Trails off really quite badly

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Part of me really badly misses video stores

80's BDSM gear was awesome

Gunfire in the middle of a mall will get no reaction from shoppers

Guns are invisible to all those who aren't involved in the confrontation

Firemen will happily allow civilians to walk into a building they're currently working on