Satan's Little Helper (2004) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

Although this movie was lensed in 2003 and made its debut at the toney Tribeca Festival in NYC, it is not a high-minded parable about guilt and religion, but a retro-classic horror film about a homicidal maniac, ala Halloween and Friday XIII, complete with macabre humor, gratuitous T&A, and a high body count. Part of the explanation for that apparent incongruity resides in the fact that the director is Jay Lieberman, whose other films were all made in the period 1976-1987. You read that right - it's been nearly 20 years since he made a film, but he picked up right where he left off, by making an 80s film. Do you suppose he was in a coma?

The movie's equivalent of Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees is "Satan Man," who possesses all the characteristics of the 80s-style homicidal maniacs except the back story. Since he is the silent type, and nobody seems to know who he really is, the only thing we really learn about him is that he showed up on an island community on Halloween wearing a Satan mask. The very concept of Halloween allows him to wander around in his grotesque costume without attracting any attention, and the convivial spirit of the holiday causes people to invite him into their homes and parties, often mistaking him for one of their friends or family members. When people get too close to his trail, he simply places the Satan disguise on one of his victims, thus making his pursuers think he is dead, then continues his murderous adventures disguised as Jesus!

The "little helper" portion of the title refers to a lil' "trick or treater," a naive boy about ten years old, who is dressed up for Halloween as the title character in his favorite video game, "Satan's Little Helper." Imagine his joy when he finds a new friend disguised as his master. He turns out to be a perfect apprentice for Satan, all the while thinking that he's playing an adventure game. The kid and his family get milked for the maximum value in irony and grotesque humor. Late in the film, when the boy prays to God to forgive him for helping Satan, the doorbell rings immediately, and who should be there but Jesus himself! It's obviously a miracle, so the boy willingly rejoins the maniac for another grotesque round of nocturnal games. One of the film's funnier concepts involves Satan Man's decision to take the boy's mom (Amanda Plummer) to a party as his date. He uses plastic wrap to gag her mouth so she can't communicate, and to bind her arms and legs to prevent escape. The drunken revelers think her wacky post-modern mummy costume (she's Carmen Miranda underneath the cling-wrap) is the life of the party, so they are amused and distracted by her spastic attempts to communicate, while Satan Man is filling their punch with toxic chemicals.

If anyone ever gets to see this flick, it could become a cult classic, even a franchise. It is filmed in glorious, bright, saturated colors to give it an ironically cheerful look like the beginning of Blue Velvet, and it looks just about as good as a B-movie is ever going to look. It has its scary moments, some mild gore, some bare breasts, and a lot of humor. Although Halloween clones are not normally among my favorite types of movies, I enjoyed the film because it is very heavy on the morbid humor, allowing to it exist simultaneously as 80s slasher fare and a parody of same. It isn't as serious as Halloween or as silly as Scary Movie, but strikes a workable balance between them.