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Idle Hands

  • 1999
  • R
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
49K
YOUR RATING
Devon Sawa in Idle Hands (1999)
Trailer for Idle Hands
Play trailer2:25
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Body HorrorDark ComedyStoner ComedyTeen HorrorZombie HorrorComedyFantasyHorrorThriller

A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.

  • Director
    • Rodman Flender
  • Writers
    • Terri Hughes Burton
    • Ron Milbauer
  • Stars
    • Devon Sawa
    • Seth Green
    • Elden Henson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    49K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Rodman Flender
    • Writers
      • Terri Hughes Burton
      • Ron Milbauer
    • Stars
      • Devon Sawa
      • Seth Green
      • Elden Henson
    • 240User reviews
    • 66Critic reviews
    • 31Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos2

    Idle Hands
    Trailer 2:25
    Idle Hands
    Idle Hands
    Trailer 0:31
    Idle Hands
    Idle Hands
    Trailer 0:31
    Idle Hands

    Photos143

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    + 137
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    Top cast39

    Edit
    Devon Sawa
    Devon Sawa
    • Anton Tobias
    Seth Green
    Seth Green
    • Mick
    Elden Henson
    Elden Henson
    • Pnub
    Jessica Alba
    Jessica Alba
    • Molly
    Vivica A. Fox
    Vivica A. Fox
    • Debi LeCure
    Christopher Hart
    Christopher Hart
    • The Hand
    Jack Noseworthy
    Jack Noseworthy
    • Randy
    Katie Wright
    Katie Wright
    • Tanya
    Sean Whalen
    Sean Whalen
    • McMacy
    Nicholas Sadler
    Nicholas Sadler
    • Ruck
    • (as Nick Sadler)
    Fred Willard
    Fred Willard
    • Dad Tobias
    Connie Ray
    Connie Ray
    • Mom Tobias
    Steve Van Wormer
    Steve Van Wormer
    • Curtis
    Kelly Monaco
    Kelly Monaco
    • Tiffany
    Timothy Stack
    Timothy Stack
    • Principal Tidwell
    Joey Slotnick
    Joey Slotnick
    • Burger Jungle Manager
    Tom DeLonge
    Tom DeLonge
    • Window server at Burger Jungle
    Sabrina Lu
    • News Reporter
    • Director
      • Rodman Flender
    • Writers
      • Terri Hughes Burton
      • Ron Milbauer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews240

    6.349.4K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    Tenchi64589

    I love this movie!

    What more can I say about this movie?

    All I knew about it was that it had quite a few elements of teen comedy and that I've only seen the tail end of it a few times.

    Now that I finally saw the whole thing, it's now one of my favorites!

    It's a welcome change from most of the horror movies I've seen.

    Great music, great acting, and gorgeous women (Specifically speaking, Jessica Alba)... what more do you want?

    This is one of those movies that you can watch and understand it perfectly... whether or not you're stoned.

    10 out of 10
    7Bored_Dragon

    "The touching story of a boy and his right hand"

    The teenager wakes up on Halloween and discovers that his right hand is possessed and murderous. After unsuccessful efforts to control it, he decides to cut it off, but the hand continues its killing spree on its own. A premise that is irresistibly reminiscent of "The Evil Dead" and the hand is the same one used for "The Addams Family". The film was shot in the area we remember from "Halloween", and the gym where the school dance is held is the one from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Everything in this film is obviously "secondhand", but it works great. It is classified as a horror-comedy, but I would rather call it a silly horror that is both a homage and a parody of B horrors and teenage comedies from the end of the last century. Plenty of violence, gore, and disgusting scenes, dull stoned teenagers, a few zombies, a bit of nudity, good music and, like icing on the cake, seventeen-year-old Jessica Alba. The film is somewhat in the style of the series "Ash vs. Evil Dead", but it mostly reminded me of "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil". I really enjoyed it.

    7/10
    7Mash-the-stampede

    "Go! Go! Buffalo!"

    "Idle Hands" is a classic 90's comedy/horror flick which although swooped a little under the radar - it is still a must-see film for fans of horrors such as the "Evil Dead" series (especially army of darkness) and/or teen comedies like "American Pie".

    "Idle Hands" works well by striking the perfect balance between comedy and horror and this works extremely well. The cast are brilliant especially Seth Green who is always great to watch in comedic roles. Reletavely unknown actor Devon Sawa plays the lead character 'Anton', who's hand gets possessed by an evil entity and goes on a murderous rampage! Though I have never seen Devon Sawa in any films prior or since "Idle Hands" - he is excellent in his role and the way he makes his hand move wildly and mis-behave really makes it look like it is not controlled by himself! In fact, one of the funniest scenes is a make-out scene between 'Anton' and 'Molly' (Alba) in when his hand keeps trying to strangle her! It's hilarious!!!

    American skate-punk band, 'The Offspring' also make an amusing cameo in the film and also play a tune "off with her head" from their debut self-titled album which was a bonus! I won't give away what happens to singer Dexter Holland but it is pretty amusing!

    In conclusion, "Idle hands" is a great late 90's comedy/horror flick which should have been bigger than it was.

    Most definitely worth a watch!
    8ccthemovieman-1

    Comedy & Horror Seem To Work Well Together

    I thought this was going to be just another dumb teen comedy. After watching the first 10 minutes, I was convinced it was, and was ready to try something else. Well, I am glad I stayed with it. It was very funny and a combination comedy and horror film. Yes, it's humor geared more for teens but people far older than 15 should still get a lot of laughs out of this.

    Warning: some of the scenes are pretty gross, at least for a comedy, but that's what made those particularly scenes funny. Comedy and horror mix well together, anyway.

    The film reminded me a bit of "American Werewolf in London" with the "undead" kids. Despite the absurdity of it, there are a couple of good message in here....but, generally, this is purely escapist fun and nothing else.
    8zybch

    A very pleasant surprise

    As mentioned in the other comments, this movie is a awful lot better than it would first seem. Its still a rather brainless teen slasher flick, with the usual array of 2D characters ( the goofy friends, gorgeous love interest, aggressive hunk etc) and situations (school Halloween dance), but the great dialogue and great visual effects elevate it above the majority of other movies in the teen slasher style and doesn't do too much talking down to the audience. Where most other movies of this type give the audience 2 answers before a single question is answered Idle Hands has no fears about leaving things unanswered, where the viewer can make their own mind up (for once). Devon Sawa makes for a convincing and cute Anton, while Jessica Alba is all thats needed to keep the target audience of under 20's males glued to their seats. Don't get me wrong, this isn't up there with the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, but it never sets out to be; it's hilariously funny, satisfyingly gory and one hell of a lot better than you'd ever think. Go rent it, you'l be pleasantly surprised. Also, the soundtrack is great.

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    Related interests

    Jeff Goldblum in The Fly (1986)
    Body Horror
    Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in Fleabag (2016)
    Dark Comedy
    Jim Breuer, Dave Chappelle, and Guillermo Diaz in Half Baked (1998)
    Stoner Comedy
    Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
    Teen Horror
    Pedro Pascal in Long, Long Time (2023)
    Zombie Horror
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jack Noseworthy (Randy) and Katie Wright (Tanya) did not know they were half-siblings until they met on the set of this movie.
    • Goofs
      When Anton pulls away after hitting Debi with the Ford, both hands can be seen on the steering wheel.
    • Quotes

      Anton: Hey, I didn't kill anyone on purpose, okay?

      Mick: Yeah, well, we weren't in hell! I mean, there was this bright white light at the end of a long tunnel, right, and there was these chicks' voices, and that music...

      Anton: Music?

      Pnub: Yeah, kinda uncool music, like, Enya. And these chicks' voices, they were saying, "come to us, come towards the light".

      Anton: So what happened?

      Mick: We figured, fuck it, I mean, it was really far!

    • Alternate versions
      The DVD contains the original ending, set in the school's gym pool. The producers and the director decided to shoot a different ending because the original ending was very different in its style of humour and horror and they thought it didn't fit into the film.
    • Connections
      Edited into Idle Hands: Alternate Ending (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Peppyrock
      Written and Performed by BTK

      Courtesy of Ignition Records/Tommy Boy Music

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 30, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El diablo metió la mano
    • Filming locations
      • Pasadena, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Licht/Mueller Film Corporation
      • Team Todd
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $25,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,152,230
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,807,181
      • May 2, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,152,523
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 32m(92 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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