User reviews

Eccentric but interesting thriller. Brad Dourif puts a lot into his portrayal of the lead character, a school teacher who discovers he can start fires, and the performance is one of the main things thats lifts the film out of the rut.

With its evocation of a strange little town dominated a large nuclear plant the film recalled for me "Strange Behavior" (1981) (AKA "Dead Kids"). The films show an odd mix of architecture, clothing fashion and interior decoration from different eras that makes placing and dating the film difficult. Overall its look and generally offbeat characters gives the film an effective unreal sort of quality. Also similar to "Strange Behavior" is the murky, complex, slowly unfolding story and the sinister scientist who is controlling everything. Also Dey Young is a cast member of both films, sadly underused here.

I really wanted to love Spontaneous Combustion: I like the basic idea, Brad Dourif is a cool actor, Tobe Hooper is the legendary director responsible for my favourite horror film, and some of the flame effects are pretty intense (I repeat: 'some'). Hell, there's even a fun cameo from John Landis. The problem is that the film just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Dourif plays Sam, a young man who discovers that the anti-radiation experiment which caused his parents to spontaneously combust in the 1950s is now responsible for some equally strange side effects in his own body. As Sam tries to prevent himself turning into a small pile of smouldering ash, he realises that his whole life has been a lie perpetrated by sinister industrialist Lew Orlander (William Prince).

With some incomprehensible cobblers about an evangelist who preaches to Sam over the radio, a puzzling sub-plot involving a nuclear power station, a killer who inexplicably uses glowing green goop in a syringe to bump people off, and the never-adequately explained presence of a continually growing birthmark on Sam's hand, I lost the plot about half-way through and had to content myself with the occasionally impressive body burn stunts and a modicum of manky make-up effects.

The first movie made by Hooper after his unsuccessful three film deal with Cannon, Spontaneous Combustion unsurprisingly didn't set the box-office on fire either, and the director's career has failed to reignite ever since.

Not as bad, as it's credited to being (Hooper's done far worse)… more so disappointing for me. Such an imaginative concept, which is never really tapped in to by Hooper with his economical direction and even less so in the smoky (excuse the pun) writing. It goes so sinister and over-the-top in a dead serious tone, becoming ridiculous and unfocused letting the whole pessimistic mystery / conspiracy-laced narrative being easily telegraphed to end on something completely abrupt. Because of that, the pacing goes on to be rather sluggish and Brad Dourif (cool to see him in a leading role) seems to struggle with an off-balanced performance, despite etching out a bemusedly quirky intensity to his off-colour character. Even though it's cheaply done, there's a competent technical attitude to it. However it doesn't seem to go anywhere out of the ordinary with its idea and wants to plaster in nasty jolts (which some do work) and strikingly steaming special effects (flames, flames everywhere) instead. Hooper does display some stylishly frenetic imagery (more so towards the latter end), and the camera-work is swiftly manoeuvred and the beaming score is titillating. The performances are bit all over the shop with the appearances of William Prince, Cynthia Bain, Dey Young, Jon Cypher and Melinda Dillon. Also Geroge Buck Flower and John Landis have small, but amusing cameos… especially Landis. Nothing surprises, but it's passably engaging.

I really don't understand why so many people hate this movie! I mean, I cry every time I see the end of it, I love the music that gets played over the end credits (the one I like to call the 'Sam & Lisa love theme',) I love the acting, and I love the *tragic* relationship between the two main characters.

Brad Dourif's always been one of my favourite actors, and I think it's really cool that he puts so much into his acting in 'Spontaneous Combustion' that he is actually sweating. (Remember that scene in the phone box when he's talking to Lisa and asking her 'what was in those pills you gave me?'

I think Tobe Hooper did really well making this one. (I'm looking forward to seeing his new film; 'Brew', which also stars Brad Dourif and Bill Moseley from 'House of 1000 Corpses.')

The picture based allegedly in a reality, concerns about a young man(Brad Dourif) aware his parents(Stacy Edwards and Brian Bremer)had been used in a nuclear experiment. Them, he inherits the power to inflict the title phenomenon on other people . He's recently separated his spouse(Blain)and again appear his ability -called pyrokinesis, though sometimes is incontrollable- to ignite objects and people around him. Then, blazing deaths occur, the result of another evil government experiment.

This is a suspenseful and frightening movie , though regularly paced. The movie contains some flaws and sometimes is silly and ludicrous, furthermore wasting the acting talent. Casting is quite well, Brad Dourif is nice, as usual, in one of his habitual roles as hapless. Magnificent plethora secondaries as Melinda Dillon, John Cypher , William Prince and Dale Dye. Special appearance of Hollywood directors as John Landis and Andre De Toth . The film is in the ink of¨ Firestarter¨(directed by Mark L Lester with Drew Barrymore and George C Scott) and ¨Firestarter 2¨(Robert Iscove with Marguerite Moreau and Malcolm McDowell). The motion picture is regularly directed by Tobe Hooper, who previously acquired success with ¨Texas chainsaw massacre, Salem's Lot,Funhouse,Invaders from Mars and Poltergeist¨, however with 'Spontaneous Combustion' got a failure. Rating : Mediocre though some moments is entertaining.

I am not 100% sure if this movie have just aged badly, or if the movie have been bad the whole time. I believe the latter... The script is somewhere between bad and really bad, the acting is more or less the same. The special effects are somewhere between OK to horrible/really bad...

It says a lot when even the main actor trashes the movie!!! Actors usually brags about how great the movies they are in are to receive cashback from the movie later on regardless of how bad the movies ACTUALY are...!

The over the top suspenseful music and A LOT of loud screaming in the movie did not help either...

First off, the lead, Brad Dourif is a KOOK. If you're trying to take this movie seriously, then, I guarantee he's going to ruin it for you. If you don't take him too seriously, then he's actually kind of fun to watch. As with another reviewer, I loved the scene where Lisa (Cynthia Bain) and Dourif are declaring their love for each other - in between dodging the jets of flame shooting out of his arm in the car. Another great campy scene was watching John Landis as a snotty radio show producer getting toasted and flailing around the room. In fact, I found the last 15 minutes of the movie to be a non-stop laugh-riot - I'm just not sure if Tobe Hooper meant it to be that way.

God i love those transparent, glowing phones and radios that chick has.

Anyway, not as bad as many people say it is. I'm actually a fan of Tobe Hooper's later work (well, some of it). I think people expect far too much of him based on the cultural impact of TCM and its just not fair. Tobe Hooper's films have always been rather fun and campy, while simultaneously making (sometimes rather heavy handed) sociocultural critiques. As others have noted, Spontaneous Combustion has underlying themes relating to the way that the 50's atomic bomb influenced and informed the culture of the 80's. A lot of biting references to the 'nuclear family' and its place in society as well as how both the presence and absence can affect us as we grow up and become adults. I honestly have no idea why most people say this started his downward slide cause its actually pretty good- a lot better than his remake of Invaders, that's for sure.

Pretty poor Firestarter clone that seems more like a bad TV movie than a bad feature film. How disappointing for this to come from Hooper and Dourif!

Government contractors do a human experiment with a Hydrogen bomb. The boy born to the couple from the experiment constantly runs a fever of 100 degrees, and when he's an adult, people in his life start spontaneously combusting. He tries to find out why.

The people completely on fire are well done, but when they get to the point that they are well done in another sense, they're obviously changed to dummies. When jets of fire shoot out of characters' arms, it looks silly rather than alarming the way it should. Also ridiculous is fire that evidently travels through phone lines and erupts in huge jets from the receiver's earpiece. How is that supposed to happen, exactly?

Something else that struck me as silly about the movie is when a character has visions of his late parents. We later see the exact same shots from those visions in home movies.

With fleetingly fare exception, the best computer-generated imagery that anyone could ever offer will age rapidly, and will look worse the more we see of it. Older post-production visuals seen in science fiction, fantasy, and horror fare of the 70s, 80s, and 90s continues to hold up superbly not despite but precisely because it's less than seamless, and no one is pretending otherwise. The most modest practical effects and tangible creations will always, always be preferred over digital falsehood, and gratifyingly, celebrated director Tobe Hooper fills 'Spontaneous combustion' with the physical. Sure, we get touches of those additions made in post - some tasteful embellishments, and the electricity that also plays a part here is much harder to safely represent on-screen using props and effects on-set - but the bulk of the sights to greet us are the delightful result of chemical processes executed in real life and captured on film. From fire and explosions, to blood and special makeup, to set pieces and environmental effects, the visuals in these ninety-seven minutes are very predominantly real and dangerous, achieved through stunts and expertise, and I could hardly be happier with how good they all look.

This flick is surely worth watching for those effects alone, and that it happens to also star a young Brad Dourif is a swell bonus. The story of pyrokinesis, of a man learning of his unique capabilities and his family history, and of the impact all this has on himself and those around him, is rich with potential for cinematic storytelling. The specifics of what Hooper put together with co-writer Howard Goldberg, well, those are more variable. All the ideas are there, and they are worthy: a tableau of experimentation, secrets, conspiracy, and burgeoning, incomprehensible power. It comes across, however, that Hooper and Goldberg had difficulty shaping these notions into a cogent, cohesive form, as the plot and its development feel clunky and forced the more that it delves into those behind the scenes who have molded or monitored the protagonist's life. Some odds and ends are nearly incoherent as they are woven in. That difficulty is further echoed in Hooper's direction, and David Kern's sequencing, leading to some scenes of acting, character interactions, and/or plot development that are either limp or overwrought, or otherwise unconvincing, at least as often as all the pieces fit and work together. 'Spontaneous combustion' is enjoyable, but it is unmistakably troubled.

Still, while the conjuration and execution are distinctly flawed - affecting even Dourif's performance, let alone those of his co-stars - the story is compelling and engaging, and in fits and starts the acting is quite fine. In my mind there's no questioning that the feature is at its best in all ways where it is directly dealing with the effects and the protagonist's abilities, but in other regards, too, this is splendidly well made, including excellent, detailed, often creative production design and art direction. Composer extraordinaire Graeme Revell provides a terrific, moody score that lends to the increasingly dark mood, lending in the last act especially to stunning, grim fancifulness as Hooper's imagination is allowed to run amok without worrying so much about the nuts and bolts. And that's rather the key, as the vision is simply grand, and it's the framework that's devised to support that vision that is the problem. When all is said and done the movie is a good time, and it is worth watching on its own merits. It's just unfortunate that the grisly whimsy is restrained, and diminished, as Hooper and Goldberg struggled to weave it into a screenplay that's far less vibrant. Be well aware of these issues, and that might be the best way to get the most out of 'Spontaneous combustion.'

It's not so much that SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION had little potential. Indeed the under-explored title phenomenon is quite intriguing and, for at least the opening half, this Tobe Hooper effort promises to entertain in a way only cheesy '90s horror can. But somewhere between Brad Dourif's on-again-off-again performance and the overly intricate plot, this would-be thriller loses its way.

Dourif, featured here before his built-in horror fan base had accumulated, is average guy Sam. Of course average guys don't stay average for long in horror movies, so after a well-done origin outline, we see Sam's various body parts start to ignite. Soon he's igniting other people, too, much to the consternation of gal pal Lisa, played unmemorably by Cynthia Bain.

While the title of the film implies a fire-happy monster on the loose, director Hooper opted to make Sam an unwilling killer. This approach gives the film an added human depth it would otherwise lack, but it also prevents us from truly fearing the human flamethrower. We're left wondering whether this would have worked better as a straight-up villain-versus-everyone effort ala NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION is a pretty nominal effort when all is said and done. It will carry added appeal for Dourif's fans and those who can't get enough 1990s horror, be it good, bad or in between, but only on a slow night.

Righty right. Here's a bit about SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION: the government is trying to engineer the perfect weapon for war. It fails, and the project is supposedly buried. Years later, however, a young college student by the name of David (Sam), is finding out slowly that he is something more than human. So, he intends to find out just what he is, and a path of destruction and fire is left in his wake. Now, I can see why this has been called Tobe Hooper's only failure at a movie, but it is a gem. But, the only reason why this is a good flick is because of the presence of Brad Dourif. As always, he's excellent. Rent this flick, that is if you can find it. The beginning is slow, but it is very entertaining.

Now, i hired this movie because Brad Dourif was in it. He is an excellent actor, BRILLIANT in everything...except this movie. And i think that was only because he realized how stupid this movie was, and didn't bother with a good performance. This movie is a unintentional-comedy. Some of the lines just crack me up. And them there are some lines that make no sense, and it seems like Tobe Hooper just throw lines in without thinking about the plot. Oh! BTW the plot is BAD! But it one of those films that is TAHT BAD that its actually PAINFUL to watch. I recommend this only for BIG Brad Dourif fans, or fans of any of the other actors, because the plot is pathetic.

Spontaneous Combustion is a very sad horror effort from legendary director Tobe Hooper. I was hoping this was before Hooper's downward spiral of Night Terrors, The Mangler, and Crocodile, but I think this is the film that started that spiral. I'm still finding it hard to believe it was as bad as it was. Tobe Hooper directing, Brad Dourif starring...that's horror royalty right there. I found Dourif to be disappointing in this one as well. That was hard to type because he's so good in everything else he does (if you want to challenge that statement check out One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). I think he should have just said no to this role. I was expecting a very dark film with a brooding anti-hero. What I got was a comical bore, and you can bet that's not on purpose. You reach a point in the film where you ask yourself "What in the f*ck is going on?" And the ending is pathetic at best. Not even a fiery John Landis cameo nor a radio voice-over by Buck Flower could save this one. Go watch Firestarter instead.

Remember Tobe Hooper of Poltergeist fame? Well, he is back with a hot new story.

1995, Nevada Desert, a Hydrogen bomb. Put a man and a woman underground in a bunker and no TV so what is there to do? Something spontaneous.

You will be in for some spontaneous laughter. Sam (Brad Dourif) does not know his history. As an adult, Sam finds out who and what he is. There are plenty of opportunities to say "Stay in the car."

This movie would have been a perfect vehicle to play "Light My Fire" by The Doors. Or "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."

If you do not learn anything else from this film, smoking will kill you.

I tried as hard as I could to sit all the way through this irritating mess, but I just couldn't do it. Brad Dourif absolutely sucked as the lead and all the supporting cast were only marginally worse.

The whole thing is just ludicrous, from the awful acting to the laughable FX to the stupid plot.

Complete waste of time; don't bother. Root Canal therapy would be more enjoyable. Bamboo slivers under the fingernails would be a lot more pleasant.

Watching a Uwe Boll movie would be only a little worse than this. Get the idea?

It's often said that Tobe Hooper just struck lucky with his grisly 1974 horror film 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and every time I see another Hooper film - that view is only reinforced. It would seem that Hooper wanted to make his own version of films such as Scanners and Firestarter in 1990 and so we end up with Spontaneous Combustion; a film with a couple of good ideas and a whole load more that are borrowed from other films. Put it all together and you get a messy, boring film that most people would do well to miss! The film leads the audience to believe that it might be half decent initially with an intriguing back story that focuses on some experiments carried out on two young people in the fifties. The couple have a child and shortly thereafter burn to death as a result of the experiments done on them. Fast forward some years and the baby is now an adult named Sam; but naturally he's not a normal person and soon finds when it's discovered that he has the ability to set things on fire at will.

The film stars Brad Dourif, who must have seemed like a good casting choice given his success with Child's Play two years earlier; but actually was an uninspired decision as the central performance is really terrible; and not helped by the terrible supporting performances. The turgid direction and dull script also don't do the film many favours and the trend of lacking in favours is continued by the special effects, which are very unrealistic and have nothing on the films that this one is ripping off; all of which were made some years earlier. The plot is really slow and it's almost an hour before anything of note happens, and I didn't care for it even then. It soon becomes obvious which direction the film will go in and it all boils down to the sort of tedious ending you would expect. The final confrontation is a big disappointment and nothing is really explained during the film. Not that any revelation would have been interesting anyway. Overall, this is a rubbish film and another reason why Tobe Hooper is a long way from being a great horror director. See Firestarter again instead.

Unlike most reviews of this movie that talk about how bad this movie is and how this was one of Tobe Hoopers worst films, all those reviews I completely disagree with. This is easily Hoopers last great film and a very well executed film at that. The story line is simple, Brad Dourif plays the role of Sam in the movie. He finds out that his parents were part of an experiment that had to do with the atomic bomb and that later would kill them. As an adult, Sam discovers he has a great power to control fire and electricity but with horrible results to his body after using them. This all lead to a very odd and some what anticlimactic ending. This is good because the movie plays very dramatically and at times can be almost depressing. Brad Dourif plays a very good role in this movie (Unlike what other reviewers say) and the rest of the cast does a good job also. The only downside of the movie is the special effects were mediocre and could have been better. But, this does not take away from the movie at all. Also, to set the record straight, the only similarity to this and "Firestarter" is the main character can control fire. Other than that, these are two completely different movies. So, if you have been disappointed in Tobe Hooper's work in the past 10 to 12 years and you have not seen this movie, I say buy it. This truly is a great movie. 9 stars

Nevada desert, 1955. Peggy and Brian Bell, are being experimented on by the US Army to test the effects of exposure to atomic energy whilst testing a nuclear bomb. The test seems to go well, and the Bells are located in a picturesque suburbia. However, after giving birth to their son, the couple suddenly spontaneously combusted, a clear effect of the nuclear fallout. The baby boy survives them, and grows up to be Sam (Brad Dourif).

So we flash forward to the present day, where Sam's freakish ability to combust becomes increasingly dangerous to both himself and others around him. In one scene (with a cameo from John Landis), Sam has called into a radio psychic DJ - who has now gone off the air - and gets through to the Landis' radio technician who refuses to pass him onto the DJ (Dr Persons - played by Joe Mays). This increases Sam's anger (which as we have seen previously, makes Sam burnier), and he projects fire through the phone (in a pseudo-telekinetic flash), which results in fire streaming from the knee-caps of poor Landis. Sam's main goal is to find out about his parents and to determine why these phenomena keep occurring.

Tobe Hooper has not had it easy since the release of exceptionally brilliant debut The Texas Chain-Saw Massacre (1974). All of his subsequent films have either fallen foul of studio intervention (Death Trap (1977), The Funhouse (1981)), executive producer Steven Spielberg's ultimate overbearing on-set presence (Poltergeist (1982), or just poorly conceived ideas (Lifeforce (1985), Invaders from Mars (1986) and Texas Chain-Saw Massacre 2 (1986). He seems only in the latter part of the '80's produce Stephen King-like projects, either directly adapting a King novel (Salem's Lot (1979 -TV mini-series), or lifting pseudo-King story devices, much like Spontaneous Combustion. The use of fire as a telekinetic ability had been previously 'explored' in Kings Firestarter.

This is not a great film. The production values are akin to the TV movies/series' that were being broadcast at the time. this was seen throughout the genre in the early years of the decade. This period is almost a vacuum of popular visual culture, with the exception of one horror, the TV series Twin Peaks (1990-1991). The camera movements and compositions are standard television production. Aside from the lack of visual flare, there is one element that never really fails to please. That is of course Brad Dourif. I find everything that Dourif is in to be thoroughly fun to watch. Even, as in this performance, when he is wildly over-the-top. His eyes intense, and his vociferousness projected directly into you brain, sharp and direct. No one does sweaty anger like Dourif does. So, in conclusion. S**t film, but it is totally be forgiven cause Brad Dourif is in it.

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