User reviews

It was hard to expect a lot from Strangeland. Its star and writer is Dee Snider, formerly the frontman for the metal band Twisted Sister and not known for his acting. It's also a bloody horror movie, which can be hit or miss for even the most fervent of fans. Oddly enough, though, the result is a passable representative of the genre, with Snider's Captain Howdy a memorable, if underexplored, villain.

Two teenage girls, in the early years of the Internet, encounter someone calling themselves Captain Howdy in an online chat room. He invites them to a party, and naturally they accept. Seems legit! I mean, his profile information makes him look like a cool dude! What could possibly go wrong? A lot, turns out. The girls go missing, and soon teen Tiana (Amal Roe) is found in the trunk of her own submerged car, hands and feet bound and mouth sewn shut. Her friend Genevieve (Linda Cardellini) is nowhere to be found.

Genevieve's dad happens to be a cop named Mike Gage (Kevin Gage), and he and his rambunctious young partner try desperately to find Genevieve. It doesn't take them long, because all they have to do is visit the same chat room, and using the leet hacker skillz of cousin Angela (Amy Smart), find the name of the last person to whom Genevieve chatted, strike up a conversation, and away they go. Very little cat and mouse follows, and it isn't long before Mike finds the good Captain, who's as wacked as you'd expect him to be, what with the sadistic attitude (setting aside the facial tattoos and multiple piercings). Turns out the guy's really into S&M, such as putting pins through people's skin and suspending them from a ceiling or in a really small stand-up cage.

From there on out, it's a cat-but-mostly-mouse game. Captain Howdy is much more interesting than anyone else in the movie, even redneck Jackson Roth, played by Robert Englund. Mike Gage makes for a boring lead. Snider appears to be having a lot of fun, pontificating like a megalomaniacal Batman villain, and is a good fit for the movie. Kind of a shame that more Strangeland movies weren't made. They weren't made, by the way, partly because of the film's sluggish second half, in which Howdy appears to be running a race in which everyone else is crawling on their backs. Yes, their backs. And it's kind of a shame, because the character is so strikingly charismatic. Was Captain Howdy always insane? We'll never know

As a simple but interesting story, Strangeland is in the middle of good and bad. It borrows too much from other flicks, like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Some lines ("What a rush?") are kind of terrible. And the Twisted Sister references that no one picks up on are laughable: the "we're not gonna take it" sign that the angry mob is holding and Dee's character "Capt. Howdy". Yes, it's in the Exorcist, but it is also a Sister song. On a good note, Dee Snider is a creepy looking character. The first time you really get a good look at him he's intense. And there are a few gross sadist scenes, one involving piercing an unwilling man in the most dreaded of all places. That part made me wince. And that's fairly hard to do. Also, I loved the fact that Robert Englund plays a character that is the exact opposite of his role in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Instead of playing the killer, he is the leader of the mob going to find the killer. Krueger fans will know what I'm talking about. It's a brilliant and appropriate piece of casting that genre fans should appreciate. Overall, the good outweighs the bad, and I would recommend watching it (at least once). You have to give Dee some credit, there are a lot worse movies out there.

There are about ten minutes about half way through Strangeland when one suddenly sees the glimmer of an interesting idea. Themes of revenge and rehabilitation come into focus during Robert Englund's brief screen time. Sadly Strangeland then resumes its course as a thoroughly predictable and boring slasher film.

I kinda had high hopes for Dee's new horror film. Then when the film came out and wasn't screened for the critics, I had a feeling it'd be junk, but after sitting through garbage like HOLY MAN and URBAN LEGEND, I figured I could take STRANGELAND, too bad I was wrong. This is on my top ten worst films, it's awful, not even fun on a campy level. The audience I saw it, two other teens, hated it obviously worse than my friend and I did, and they wisely walked out of it. I have no idea why we didn't. From the acting to the gore, everything about this movie was terrible, the pacing being the worst. Avoid this movie like the plague!

Films like this make me wish we could declare a moratorium on Hitchcock imitations! This a wretchedly boring, poorly made and insultingly stupid film in which Dee Snider stars as a "serial sadist" who picks up teens on the internet (though one of the teens looked to be in his 40s) and tortures them with forced piercings. For all the modern topics, it's really just a sixties psycho rip-off, so boringly shot it seems to be made by the "squares" Snider's Captain Howdy derides. Add to this some amazingly sloppy plotting-or has due process been suspended in Colorado, do they have a more lenient insanity plea than any other state, and is it customary for a police detective to investigate his own daughter's kidnapping there?

"Strangeland" isn't that bad if it features fears of yours.

**SPOILERS**

Genevieve Gage, (Linda Cardellini) is just the latest in a series of disappearances plaguing a small town. Her father Mike (Kevin Gage) just happens to be the detective on the case, and his partner Steve Christian, (Brett Harrelson) convinces him to check out a club that specializes in piercing and scarification, which is also the secret hideout for Captain Howdy, (Dee Snider) also known as Carleton Hendricks, who is the suspected cause of the disappearances. With the help of his cousin Angela Stravelli, (Amy Smart) Captain Howdy is caught and brought to justice. After a couple years in an insane asylum, he gets released back into the community, and a local militia group led by Jackson Roth, (Robert Englund) kidnap him and leave him for dead. When new evidence confirms that he may not be dead, Detective Gage tries harder than before to stop him.

The Good News: As it gets more and more commonplace for people to chat online and in instant messaging, the fact that this one was the first out of the gate to show the potential evils and dangers of the situation is a nice and original approach. Even though it deviates from it towards the end, the original set-up is pretty great. The ending is also pretty great and pretty exciting, with a great bit of action in there as well. Most of the focus on this film is the discomfort one gets when exposed to extreme forms of scaring and skin piercing, and it is a subject most get uncomfortable viewing. This is mostly played out in the psychical form of Captain Howdy, who does look pretty creepy. His look, though, drives the film, so I won't spoil it, but it is a really disturbing and shocking look that will definitely get you a little crept out the first time his full appearance is shown.

The Bad News: This film basically relies on the belief that extreme piercing, full-body tattoos and scaring are scary images for the average person. If none of them are scary or frightening, then most of the film's power will be lost. Besides that, there really isn't a whole else in the film. It's not a traditional horror film in the slasher sense, so for some it can be quite boring, as there's no real jumps, suspense or anything similar.

The Final Verdict: If any of the acts or ideas featured in this one are fears of yours, this could be a pretty scary film. If not, this can be a pretty dull experience. Otherwise, it's pretty middle of he road and pretty forgettable. Use your own judgment to determine if you will like this one or not.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, some Language, a brief sex scene, scenes of torture and extreme images of body modification

I don't recommend you watching this movie if you are easily offended. I'm not even easily offended and this movie made me frustrated. It's so disgusting. And it doesn't make sense. All the internet thing is so cliché, and the producer obviously didn't understand all the "internet rules". When you chat with someone you CAN track their IP address. Really? (see the sarcasm here). It was dumb. Pointless. And I didn't even watch the end. I could always say "this doesn't make sense, this neither..." This movie is pure crap at his best. Nice comment right?

Anybody who first claims here he/she is 'a true horror fan' and than starts a story about this being a good film, should be taken out of their misery. People, this must definately be one of the most boring films ever made. I think I saw the r-rated version, since I can't remember seeing any of the "stomic turning torture" some folks mention here, but even if it had been there, this movie would suck harder than a Swedish pornstar. bad acting, no story, bad acting. Did I mention the terrible story? Listening to Dee Snider babbling a lot of semi-philisofical mumbujumbu about piercing and old rituals is the only real torture in this film...

Only thing good about this film is the remotely cool rock-soundtrack. Another 90 minutes scaringly well wasted. Avoid at all cost...

A lot of people give this movie a lot of crap, and all of it's really undeserved. People give this movie a hard time either because it's such a sick subject or they harp on some technical aspect of the movie no one else observes when they watch it. If, just by looking at the cover, you think this movie will make you uncomfortable...DON'T WATCH IT! However, you'd be missing out on one of the better cinematic experiences of the late 1990's, despite what anyone else says.

Dee Snider is wonderful here as Captain Howdy, the depths of insanity he plumbs to play this character has to be beyond words, and is much farther than any one of us would have to be willing to go. The acting here is wonderful. The film itself beautifully shot. The subject may be a bit too much for many to swallow, but it's still well worth your time. If you haven't seen this movie, check it out.

Horror fans who also wanna rock will have a blast with Dee Snider's Strangeland, which sees the Twisted Sister frontman playing Captain Howdy, a metal-loving psycho with a penchant for body modification who uses internet chatrooms to lure unsuspecting victims to his torture chamber.

Filmed during the 'wild west' days of dial up, when the average Joe wasn't online savvy, Strangeland takes quite a few liberties with the technology of the time (downloading a picture took several minutes, so I'm pretty certain that video calls weren't feasible, and accessing the internet in a car was an impossibility), but the film is still a lot of twisted fun thanks to a solid central turn by Snider, whose tattooed and pierced Jame Gumb-style sicko is a memorable maniac, a great supporting cast which includes Robert Englund*, Linda Cardellini, Elizabeth Peña, and Amy Smart, and quite a few graphic scenes of mutilation. Kevin Gage plays police detective Mike Gage, who tracks down Howdy after his own daughter is abducted by the freak.

Decent horror films starring heavy rock/metal acts are so often crap (Jon Mikl Thor in Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare, Alice Cooper in Monster Dog, and all of Foo Fighters in Studio 666), but this is one of the better examples.

7/10.

*Inspired by Twisted Sister's song Horror-Teria (The Beginning), from their classic 1984 album Stay Hungry, Strangeland mirrors the premise for A Nightmare On Elm Street, which makes Robert Englund's presence a particularly nice touch.

The most worthless film of the decade. The responsible parties should never be allowed to film again. I have no words to describe the lack of entertainment this film provides. You couldn't PAY me to watch this film again. Quite honestly, I think I would be a better person had I not seen it. If I called it offensive, I would fall into a category of emotionally frail extremists. I would say this film goes so far as to damage the industry. There are films that I refuse to watch, now that I feel they might be this tasteless. I feel like an idiot that I didn't have the good sense to walk out during any one of MANY moments I was compelled to do so. Yes, I saw the end and am ashamed for it, as should anyone else, including the writer. I am in awe...

Put this movie out of it's misery and burn the negatives. What am I saying? The whole movie was negative. Fortunately, only a very few would find this movie the least bit appealing. This is what the vast American majority would call too much sex and violence. It will probably show up on some non-premium cable channel someday just for the shock value, but after editing out the nudity (most of the violence will stay) all that will be left is 45 minutes of really bad acting interspersed with 45 minutes of commercials. There are just too many starving actors in Hollywood.

What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said... If anyone suggests seeing it, run as far away as you can as fast as you can. There were some moments that I enjoyed, for example, the various pop culture references. Well, that's really about it. I found myself compelled to count Captain Howdy's piercings, and asked at regular intervals, "Is it over yet? Why isn't it over yet? Do we have to watch the rest?" At the end, I was smiling from ear to ear because, yes, it was FINALLY over, and I knew that (as the body mod aspect of this movie disgusted my boyfriend) that I would never have to sit through it again.

Just how bad is it? It made Campfire Stories look like an Oscar-worthy piece of fine cinema.

This gets my vote for "I'd rather clean the cat box" because it would be scarier and a more productive use of my time. The only redeeming feature is that the nasty- gory -torture bits are glossed over by the camera in comparison to more recent "cat box" worthy outings, which tend to dwell and dwell on the gore (e.g. Hostel).

I gave up at least 1/2 hour before the end since it was on TV and I could not fast forward through the boring bloody bits. The hunt by police detectives in the first half keeps the interest, particularly because the use of the internet is now so dated and yet so current in light of recent news. Finally, however, Strangeland is reminiscent of the most hackneyed and strained elements of old monster movies and appears to rely on solely on gory visuals to keep the viewer's interest. Strictly for those who enjoy human- on- human nastiness without much background.

Everybody I talked to said that this movie would be good and really weird so I figured that I would rent it. Half way through the movie I was thinking to myself what the heck was going on and what is the point to this movie. This movie from start to finish is so bad that even the sick parts of the movie didn't even bother me. I mean what are they going to come up with next Volcano 2 The return of the lava. I mean come on this movie is so stupid the characters are so poorly developed,and eve Robert Englund makes the movie worse I mean he might as well be transformed into Freddy Kruegur and Spook people. I was actually rooting for the bad guy to win that's how bad it was. I mean look the father is a cop he didn't seem to care real much about the fact that his daughter is going through one of the most moments in her life. I mean if my daughter was treated like that I would do everything in my power to keep the guy behind jail. Also it seems kind of obvious that Dee Snyders character would turn bad again. This is one of the worst films of all time right there with Volcano and 8mm. Do not waist your time you will not enjoy it....!

Grade If there were a no grade on this site I would pick that ,thats how bad this movie is!

Dee Snider's "Strangeland" had a long, strange trip. It really started with Twisted Sister songs, then Dee tried writing about a psycho clown, but "IT" had that idea, so Dee set about writing a horror film like "Seven". Hey, Dee! I liked this better than "Seven.

"Strangeland" is a really sick film. The protagonist, played by Dee himself, is a sicko named Carleton Hendricks aka Captain Howdy, a deviant with tattoos and piercings galore, he stalks young girls online and does really depraved stuff to them. Poor Geniveve Gage is the 1st victim. Note the actress! It ER"'s Linda Cardellini! What follows is really nasty, and scary, note the cauterization! But the film pulls a shocker early!

Later on, see Dee in Mr. Rogers mode! Perhaps the most frightening shot in the movie! Kevin Gage plays Gage and yeah he sucks. Actually other than Robert Englund, delightfully playing a righteous redneck, the acting stinks. And the director's idea of suspense is cutting to black every three minutes! Still the heavy metal soundtrack, featuring, Marylin Manson, Pantera, Coal Chamber, Megadeth, Twisted Sister and Snot is truly awesome. Buy it.

"Strangeland" offers some great stuff and certainly doesn't stint on the horror, though its not anywhere near as bad as I was led to believe. For you DVD fans, Dee's commentary is every bit as disturbing as the movie! A really good horror flick with some very interesting twits and turns. I really have to agree with Robert Englund, the truly frightening thing about this flick isn't the death, its the suffering.. Cool!

Wow...This movie really really sucks...'Nuff said.

The Story: A psychopathic internet predator stalks and lures young men and women into torturous traps...It goes like this, kidnaps people, they find him, he becomes a changed man and is released on the world yet again, reverts back to his old ways and starts the torture again....The story is stupid, it's implausible. The characters are stupid, they're implausible...Or at the very least way over the top. It's got some very violent imagery, and if you have a week stomach you might just want to stay away...But than again, even if you don't have a week stomach, you might want to stay away...It's that stupid.

The Cast: Dee Snider, Kevin Gage...If you're a die hard fan of Twisted Sister and Dee Snider, you might find this one interesting, since he's the writer and star of this film. His acting is laughably bad, and you can tell that he's the one that wrote the God-awful script. Kevin Gage...Well they say he's been in numerous other movies that I've seen, but I don't remember him from any of them...And you won't remember him from this...These two sadly, make the film...They don't make it good mind you...They just make it...

One to Five Scale: 1 It's bad...It's very very very bad...In fact it's so bad, that this movie should come with a clip loading pistol to play Russian Rullet with...

I like it a lot at the time it came out(8+) I tough;t it was a good story.

Dee Snider good in the role underated.

Overhated.

--------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 : STILL A DECENT MOVIE. I wonder if a director cut is available, one that would show longer scenes of the piercings and other SnM stuff.

The first big half is great. Dee regression to a normal man is interesting . The movie ending is so so. It probably would have beneficiate from a bigger budget for the last third and better developpement to lead to the finale. Still, recommended for all metal heads, industrial gothic lovers, and a decent performance of Snider, a legend of early 80s glam metal rock! Its a shame the movie was not publicize and attended in 1988,.

Cheers.

Reccomended.

A sick man named Carleton Hendricks (Dee Snider), cruises the Teen Chat lines as Captain Howdy. He poses as a teenage boy and invites other teens over his house to party. He instead knocks them out, strips them, sews their mouth closed and tortures them (mostly with needles). He captures the daughter of cop Mike Gage (Kevin Gage). Gage finds him, arrests him and he's institutionalized. Four years later he's released...totally cured. But a lynch mop (led, amusingly, by Robert Englund) attack him and hang him. He doesn't die but he snaps and Captain Howdy is back...

A very sick, disturbing, twisted horror film. Captain Howdy enjoys pain and torture and is trying to show the kids he kidnaps how to enjoy it also. The torture scenes aren't that explicit (you hear more than you see), but what you do see is very very sick. There's no humor and the (muted) screams of his victims sound way too real. I was cringing away from the TV during most of the scenes.

The acting varies. Kevin Gage isn't that good as the cop--he's not terrible but he could have been better. Dee Snider is very scary as Captain Howdy--his attack scenes are not pleasant.

All in all, not your typical horror film. I'll probably never see it again (this film really gets under your skin) but I recommend it to all horror fans--at least those with strong stomaches. I give it a 7.

As a horror movie buff, I am most horrified that this "film" made me feel like Tipper Gore. Strangeland has no redeeming qualities, it is at once dull as dishwater and depraved and nauseating. This movie should never have been made, much less released as legitimate cinema.