Les Monstres du Labyrinthe

Laughable early attempt to "show the danger" that playing D&D leads one to lose all contact with reality, this film (from the book) was an obvious attempt to cash-in on the popularity of the most durable RPG ever.

Never rising above the low-level of a "Made-for" that this is, it's the sort of movie which Lance Kerwin, at the peak of his teen stardom, would have turned-down flat.

Utterly ridiculous.

A full-on smear campaign about the evils of Dungeons and Dragons, from the height of the parental outcry against the game. Funny and sad in the same context as Reefer Madness, it's akin to a long after-school special in the blunt, inelegant way it hammers away at its only point. An extremely young Tom Hanks, freshly released from his run on Bosom Buddies, cut his teeth on more serious material in this leading role. As the poor sap who nosedives into deep mental illness as a direct result of the game, his part is madly corny and he clearly had some growing pains to work through before becoming the dramatic juggernaut we'd all come to know a decade later. Badly produced, terribly acted, smug and boring and predictable to the final reveal, it's a living stereotype, the very essence of a bad made-for-TV movie.

I'm a longtime gamer and a lover of trash movies. I had heard of this film before, but not much about it. So, i took the plunge and rented Mazes and Monsters. I laughed 'til i nearly cried. many have commented upon the bad acting and low budget.. yes, it's bad, but i think that in at least the cases of Hanks and Makepeace the problem was not a poor performance (though by no means stellar) but that the actors had so little to work with anyway.

The gaming scenes are absurd even if you know little about gaming. For example, although the most classic gamer paraphernalia, polyhedral dice, are displayed, they don't seem to be used in the game. note also a serious lack of junk food at the table.

anyone who has ever played a tabletop RPG will know that some folks do get awfully wrapped up in their characters, but i doubt anyone has ever been as far removed from reality as Robbie. is this an attempt at propaganda, or simply to cash in on a faddish wave of hostility? i'd say somewhere in between, but leaning toward cash-in.

this mentality may have once been a threat to gaming, but time has borne out the weakness of the arguments against it. walking down the street, or drinking tap water is far more dangerous.

who would enjoy this movie? i'd recommend it to gamers with a sense of humor, camp lovers, and anyone wanting a more complete historical perspective of Hanks and company. if you're looking for exciting action, logical plot, or serious drama, choose something else. for farcical humor, give it a go.. it should be cheap fun.

As a role-player myself I'm in the minority because I actually quite like this movie. Most gamers seem to dislike it as it negatively portrays the hobby, but I say look past that and watch what can be an entertaining drama. Sure it gets a little long winded once the main character goes a little nuts, but stick with it and you haven't wasted your viewing time. The acting is a little ropey but then thats what I expect from a TV movie, and everyone (even Tom Hanks) has to start somewhere. I have never seen the original book, but I'd certainly like to read it and see how it measures up.

This movie is a classic. OK not in the "what a masterpiece" sense or the "what a great undiscovered gem" sense but more along the lines of "Oh my God I am gonna pee my pants laughing at this early 80s fear-mongering flick which happens to feature a young and bewildered Tom Hanks." This is right up there with "Plan 9 from Outer Space" or "Reefer Madness." Not a movie to take seriously AT ALL, just a nice slice of Reagen-era silliness for your Sunday afternoon perusal. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth rooting out, though I fear you won't "get" the beauty of it if you are not a thirtysomething former nerd who lived through the "D&D is a product of Satan and responsible for warping my child's fragile mind" eighties. Then again people are making the same complaints about "Grand Theft Auto" and "Hitman" so perhaps it still holds its charm...