Wacko (1981)

‘At last! A motion picture made by, for, and about people… just like you!’

Wacko is a 1981 (released 1982) American horror-parody film produced and directed by Greydon Clark (Uninvited; Without Warning; Satan’s Cheerleaders) from a screenplay by Jim Kouf (Grimm; The Hidden; The Boogens), Dana Olsen and Michael Spound.

The film stars Joe Don Baker (Cape Fear; The Pack; The Shadow of Chikara), Stella Stevens (Megaconda; The Granny; Little Devils: The Birth; et al) and George Kennedy (Demonwarp; Just Before Dawn; Death Ship).

It all began exactly thirteen years ago, when Mary Graves’ older sister was murdered on Halloween prom night by a power-mower maniac.

Since then she has experienced horror, sexual frustration, even psychoanalysis, but she still sees little lawnmowers everywhere.

However, tonight, at the new Halloween Prom, all the questions of the past thirteen years will be answered as the pumpkin-headed killer has returned. But hot on their trail is an obsessed cop (Joe Don Baker) who won’t allow history to repeat itself…

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Although Wacko isn’t as clever as Student Bodies, as star-filled as Pandemonium, or as lovable as Zapped!, it does have its moments. Set at Alfred Hitchcock High School, the comedy’s a mixed bag (most of the best gags are in the last half hour of the film), with countless references to Halloween, Psycho, The Omen, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and lesser references to everything from Welcome Back Kotter to West Side Story.” Vinnie Rattolle, Cult Oddities

“…Wacko is one of the most criminally underrated and overlooked movies in this book. It’s hysterically funny (something that many modern parodies are lacking) and one of the best parodies out there. It does tend to lose momentum towards the end of the film, but still manages to be funny, even with repeat viewings.” Ronnie Angel, Slashed Dreams: The Ultimate Guide to Slasher Films

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca

“For its hundreds of gags and zingers, there are actually very few laughs in a seemingly endless 84-minute running time. Whether it’s Joe Don Baker’s embarrassing monologues or Andrew Dice Clay’s cheesy rock number, Wacko never fails to fumble, fall, and eventually drown in its own comic ineptitude.” AllMovie.com

“It’s all played strictly for laughs but most of the gags fall flatter than pancakes […] References (visual and verbal) to horror/science fiction cinema might help buffs to enjoy this in a small way. Everyone else will wince…”John Stanley, Creature Features

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“With characters as ‘The Looney’ and ‘The Weirdo’, the film is anything but subtle.” J. A. Kerswell, Teenage Wasteland: The Slasher Movie Uncut

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

“Wacko is one of those films that tries to be a non-stop barrage of jokes but whereas that worked with Airplane (to which the video sleeve tries to compare this crap), it doesn’t work here because none of the jokes are even slightly funny. There are tick-the-box gags spoofing The Exorcist and Alien, neither of which is worth even a smile. The whole thing is just terrible beyond belief. I love it.” MJ Simpson, Cult films and the people who make them

Choice dialogue:

Lawnmower killer: “Death to all teenagers who f*ck.”

[Reading a note from the killer] Mrs. Doctor Graves: “It says, It’s Halloween, it’s prom night, there’s a psycho loose, so don’t open the door, don’t answer the phone, don’t look in the attic, don’t go to the bathroom, don’t go into the ocean, and don’t go into space ’cause no one can hear you scream. Signed, A Friend.”

Mr. Doctor Graves: “One very serious point: lawnmowers do not kill people. People kill people.”