User reviews

Very rarely does a film come along that's so bad it's good. Most bad (big budget) films simply are tedious, lame and boring, and no matter how hard you try, they simply can't be enjoyed. I'm not going to name names here, but I'm sure we've all seen our share of big budget crap. The strange thing about (bad) low budget films is, that the film-makers put a lot more enthusiasm into their films and try to make up for the lack of budget. So no matter if the film turns out to be garbage, the audience can still laugh at the enormous amount of bad dialogue, continuity errors and campy performances.

"Engine Trouble" fits right into that mold. It was produced in Belgium for about 25 dollars, and it really shows. But besides from simply being crap, "Engine Trouble" actually manages to be quite entertaining. Not entertaining in a "Back to the Future" kind of way, but more in a "Plan 9 From Outer Space" kind of way. Obviously, dialogue and acting are extremely over the top, the production values are depressingly cheap and the plot has been done a million times before. But somehow this didn't really matter. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film. As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard during a movie, even though the humor was entirely unintentional. I guess it was sheer disbelief that cracked me up. I mean, can a film really be this bad?

So, if like me you are a fan of trash-cinema, Ed Wood and Troma, you certainly are going to enjoy this puppy. Just make sure you don't watch it alone! Ask your buddies to come over, have a few drinks and enjoy. However, if bad movies are not your bag, you might want to stay away. After all, no matter which way you turn it, "Engine Trouble" still is unadulterated crap!

Unimaginative and flat characters and concept, terrible acting but not so much as to be good, no plot (but it's a slasher flick right, so oh well), but worst of all, one of the most terribly done killers in the history of horror films. I mean really, the hunchback of Notre Dame who sways side to side like a drunken monkey, and who occasionally does a flip for no other reason apparently that that he can. Plus he has a cheesy sickle that was intended to be cool but looks like some kid threw it together in an afternoon metal shop class. There are also the most ridiculous scenes where the villain taunts the victim... you know, those sorts of scenes where you have to ask "how did no one see him". And the acting... let's get back to the acting... accents that are all over the place, cheesy monologues, utter emotional/moral inconsistency, the list goes on. Still, will I say it is the worst movie ever? No. The first few minutes I thought it might be a decent 80s flick tribute, and in a way it still is. It has a bit of a campy retro feel. It has an okay setting and bad, but not the worst, effects (for the few there are). I would never recommend it, but I would buy it for $1... not more... just $1.

JUNIOR, aka ENGINE TROUBLE, is one bad movie. It looks like members of a film crew pulled their tiny resources together and made this micro movie during a break of the other bigger budgeted film and shot this one in a few days. There's no story and there's almost no semblance of any pre-production: everything was shot in one area and the cast is populated by 5 or 6 actors, all of whom are awful and show very little experience in acting or anything else.

A lot of people say that horror is better imagined than showed. Well, they haven't seen the moment when the unseen killer is on top of the roof of the car and torments the woman inside. In this case, even though the "filmmakers" might say they wanted to create horror in people's mind with this tedious scene, I 'm more inclined to believe that they shot it this way because it was cheap. It's a fine line between astute direction and penny-pinching film-making.

The really funny thing about it is that it's an exploitation film wannabe that doesn't really exploit anything.

But as bad as JUNIOR is, and it is bad, I've seen much worse than this. Like SHREDDER.

The cover art for 'Junior' is everything enticing about the slasher genre these days: what will this particular slasher look like? The look is everything; the gimmick that completes the vision driving the illogical hack and slash of teenage fodder. 'Junior' seems to have spent everything in pursuit of a great looking outfit, equal parts Road Warrior and Leia's bounty hunter outfit in Revenge of the Jedi. The plot reads like tissue paper and, if you too happen to make the mistake of putting this movie on your television, you'll see that that's really a generous criticism. When the first shot comes up, scored by the kind of music usually found in Puppet Master movies, you know you're in trouble. When the first scene has ostensibly nothing to do with the actual film, you'll be hoping it's a film within a film or a dream. Sadly, this film wanders around, thinks gibbering psychos pounding on cars on a sunny 2 in the afternoon constitutes horror and is shot on the same stock as a 1980's porno. I couldn't even live with myself 45 minutes into the movie, the first time you see Junior and he cartwheels off the top of a car. I had to turn it off. Sometimes it's better to leave the video store with nothing at all.

Wow, not often does such a bad movie find its way to the rental store. Thankfully, we purposely rent this kind of rubbish so that appreciate Hollywood's B-movies even more. This movie however was a king among trash. Honestly, I'm surprised Dean Cain wasn't in it (sorry Dean, but you've been going downhill since Superman).

Regardless we had a great time watching this (its was titled Junior here in Canada). It was hilarious, the terrible dialogue (ex "What do we know about cars? We are both textile manufacturers!) and the miserable special effects coupled with one of the most overused plots imaginable make for a knee-slapping good time. This is the kind of movie that makes me wonder why I am not writing/directing movies because I could surely do a better job or at least couldn't do any worse.

Just rented this fine Belgian film last night from "Blockbuster" and i refuse to return it back to them ;)... I love low budget movies especially masterpieces like this one. so here it goes... 2 " belgian" girls go out for a week of work free with a borrowed Jaguar from the 80's, gossip free vacation,then get stuck up in the middle of nowhere which is apparently two blocks away from their starting point. There they are introduced to the perfect family made of Junior ( also reffered to as "The Beast" or "The creature" ), his loving dad Robert and the maid ( old, always complaing b***h ). One of the girl friends ends with her head being chopped off by Junior's favorite toy, his sickle. Speaking of his "toy", dont let the cover of the DVD ( distributed in U.S. by ever great Artisan---oh thank you guys!!! ) fool you. Junior is NOT using the coal mining showel but the sickle given to him by the only person who ever felt for Creature's condition, his concerning dad. Since Robert is so full of care for his son he wants to make him a special birthday present - his mom, in shape of the surving girl. What follows is a brilliant display of fine acting, led by Bob Dougherty ( Robert ) who has a few memorable lines, especially explaining his son's doomed condition. The one we will surely never forget is when he gets irritated by one of the girls screams in the basement ( Junior's playground) : "Shut your trap"...."Shuuuuut up"...."I said shuuuut up"..."SHUT THE F******* UP". Oh, I can't leave out memorable lines as : "go on boy", "finish her boy", "that's a good boy", "my boy"!!!. Pay extra attention to how much emotion Bob brings into his scenes. Members of the Accademy surely missed on him two years ago, otherwise he would have an Oscar statue on his shelf already. Well let's hope we get to see more of him in the future so the voters won't be able to keep their eyes closed anymore. Another gleaming point is Cecilia Bergqvist whose name is printed on the Blockbuster's cover, right next to the film title ( Junior, Cecilia Bergqvist 2002. ), just like a star she surely is. Too bad the majority of us never heard of her before. Her acting brings that overwhelming feeling of happiness to each scene she is in. When she finally accepts the role of creature's mom her talent shines in all of it's magnificent light. Unfotunately she dies at the end...by Robert's hand who has taken his "boy"'s place after Cecilia tricked him and killed him. Actually I felt kinda bad for him, he just wanted to play. There's nothing wrong with that, right? All boys play, just with diff. toys :). So in short BUY the movie...u wont regret it

My copy of this film is called Junior.

Unrecognizable accents in an unrecognizable location. Not even the stars know where they are. Sandra and Rebecca are friends. Really close ones. I mean, to the point where I think it's a lesbian relationship. Unless they do things differently in Belgium (yes, I had to look it up). Their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and things go south from there.

I can't imagine the first hour of the movie is more than a few script pages. Just agonizingly long, pointless scenes. Until there's a big exposition scene with the father. From there, it gets a tad interesting, hence the extra stars. "Junior" himself, for having brain damage, is really quite agile. Like the guy is a dancer or something.

Well...let's see. A lesbian couple have engine trouble and end up being stalked by a crazy retard named Junior (well...I guess he's got a real name, ah whatever). There's plenty bad and a bit good about this movie.

What sucks:

1) Slow pace. We have a bit too much of this scene where one girl's alone and her car's shaking. It's supposed to be suspenseful, and it does make ya wonder. But then it loses its monentum by going on too long.

2) Apparently, they're supposed to be in Europe since the money is Euros, and they seem to have some kind of accent. But the gas station workers are clearly American. WTF?! And the girls go in and out of their accents. And the car ain't European, the steering wheel's on the right side. WHERE ARE THEY?!?! 3) Junior's daddy's acting wanes in some spots. He goes a bit over the top.

4) Junior doesn't look quite as inhuman as the cover suggests.

5) It's from 2002, but the quality seems aged, like 80s or something. I guess that's not really bad, but it suggests cheap budget.

6) Ending kinda sucks.

What rocks: 1) Cool setting. Plenty of outta the way areas with abandoned buildings in the background. Def. adds to it.

2) Junior's weapon of choice is this cool blade. Some kidna scythe.

3) Once the girl gets taken to Junior's humble abode, things get a little more interesting. It's all crazy and disturbing and crap.

It's alright for some mediocre horror. If ya like slashers, it'll give ya some fun. But it ain't no classic.

This movie is utterly horrible. I cannot think of one good point to write about. The plot sounded like maybe it would be in the style of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "Slauhghterhouse", or maybe even a bad Troma movie like "Mother's Day". Those films and even their worst imitators over the years are vastly superior to "Junior".

The character played by Junior is entirely laughable, he jumps around like a monkey with a black muzzle over his face making him appear to be a deranged Vulture.

The "scary scenes" in the movie are hardly scary, not even remotely creepy. In one scene we have a girl sitting in a car hearing noises pounding on the top of her car. This scene goes on forever and becomes tedious in the worst way. I found myself bored 10 minutes into viewing Junior, and I kept hoping maybe it would get better. But no, it actually got worse up to the very end!

Apparently Junior is a foreign film, and I usually love foreign low-budget horror movies. This is just another garbage title distributed in the states by Artisan, and they are masters of that art form. The cover to the DVD/Video in the video store might sound pleasing, but it's anything but enjoyable.

I certainly would. What is this?? Looks like an old Dark Shadows ripoff at first, then just gets lame. The outdoor settings were intriguing, the little I could stand to watch. The actors were awful, I'm sorry to say. Couldn't watch it for long. Maybe it gets better but I had to find something else.

this movie is full on unadulterated crap. never before have i witnessed such misery lows of a movie. me and my brother saw this movie on the shelf in blockbuster, and checked it out. got out to the car and discovered we had another movie. unfortunately, we took the wrong one back. what we ended up with was this pitiful excuse for anything. movies just don't get any worse. all the way from the beginning it was crap. the acrobatics of the villain didn't help either. too funny. the hysterics of the woman honking on her car horn while the car is shaking was just too much. a definite must see ( if you want to die laughing that is). this thing says i gotta write 10 lines, but this movie cannot fill 10 lines. a true travesty to the film community.

"Engine Trouble" is a low-budget horror-movie, but the results are good, very good ! It's the first movie of producer James Desert that has been filmed for cinema. The movie tells the story of the young and beautiful Rebecca, who goes on vacation with her girlfriend Sandra. On their trip, they got engine trouble with the car and Sandra disappears after searching for some help. From that moment, the nightmare starts for Rebecca because a disgusting creature is following her with bad intentions ... Rebecca is played by Cecilia Bergqvist, an actress discovered by producer James Desert and Marlene Simons plays Sandra. The father of the creature has been played by Bob Dougherty. The story is easy to follow and there are also a few scenes that are hilarious. But watching the movie is not boring and when you know that the director Marc Ickx and the producer James Desert had a very small budget, you even can be very surprised by the excellent result...

Engine Trouble (2002)

1/2 (out of 4)

Typical straight to DVD flick about two females who go out where they shouldn't be an are eventually stalked by a maniac. You can call the film whatever you want but this is without a doubt one of the worst horror films I've ever seen and trust me I've seen a whole lot. The film has the budget of around five bucks but the director doesn't even try to appease horror fans. The one gore effect is so incredibly bad that you'll be rolling your eyes. I understand with a low budget you can have good effects but if memory serves me it doesn't take a special effect for some hot woman to remove her cloths.