
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991                   TAG: 9102020430
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`POPCORN': WACKY CUTUPS AT THE MOVIES

"Popcorn" is about the screwiest horror/comedy anyone has made in a long time. The most dedicated fans of really bad, campy B-horror movies will find a lot to like here. Other viewers who can't cruise on the same wavelength probably will not be amused.

Mitchell Smith's plot is too ridiculous to dignify with a synopsis. It involves an old movie palace that's about to be torn down, parodies of black-and-white horror/S-F movies from the 1950s, an all-night "horrorthon," your basic mad slasher and a group of student filmmakers. At first, you may think that it really is "cinema verite."

If a group of enthusiastic, reasonably talented and inexperienced college kids got their hands on cameras and enough special effects equipment, and made up the story as they went along, they might come up with something a lot like "Popcorn."

Actually, the best parts of the movie are the three black-and-white parodies that are shown as a series of clips.

"Mosquito" is a 3-D big-bug monster movie, complete with stock footage of old Air Force fighters firing missiles. "Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man" uses the gimmick of selected theater seats rigged to shock viewers at key moments, and "The Stench" is shown in "Aroma-rama." (These effects, of course, are in the theater on the screen, not in real theaters.)

Whenever the focus shifts to the story at hand, "Popcorn" is little more than a slice-and-dice horror flick, but with a sense of humor. That's to be expected. First-time director Mark Herrier began his Hollywood career as an actor. He appeared in all three "Porky's" movies and he brings that same kind of unsophisticated approach to this one.

The acting isn't as bad as the script, but it's close. Jill Schoelen, who was so good in "The Stepfather," manages not to burst out laughing while she delivers her preposterous lines, and that's about the best anyone could ask.

Popcorn A Studio Three Film Corp. release playing at the Valley View Mall 6 theaters (362-8219) and Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). Rated R for violence, bloody effects, strong language. 86 min.

by CNB