User reviews

This may look very much like a redundant and unpleasant horror comedy about the umpteenth serial killer wasting a group of film students but, if you give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The premise is quite creative, the film pays homage to legendary titles and directors and – believe it or not – there even is tension to detect in the script. Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather, Phantom of the Opera) is the ambitious student Maggie who wants to turn her always-returning nightmares into a screenplay. When she's preparing a horror marathon event with some fellow students, she stumbles upon footage that proves her nightmares are real and that she might even be a completely different person. During the movie shows at the remote theater, an actual murderer shows up and goes after Maggie. Granted, Popcorn is an 80's slasher in disguise but at least it tries to be ingenious on several levels. The invented titles that are shown during the "horrorthon" also have potential if you ask me! Who wouldn't pay money to see flicks called "The Amazing Electrified Man"," Mosquito" or "The Stench"? I sure would… As said before, some sequences are quite suspenseful (like the eerie "possessor" film) and the murders aren't too gross. I had some prejudices as well before watching it but I'm glad to admit I was wrong. Too bad the last twenty minutes (and the climax in particular) are a bit of a letdown. Logic wasn't Popcorn biggest trump to begin with but, near the end, director Mark Harrier completely loses his grip on the messy screenplay. Also, the humor most of the time is painfully unfunny (for example on of the male leads constantly bumps his head or falls down) and irritating. Best aspects truly are the light-headed atmosphere, creative plot-twists and very good costumes and scenery. Surely this underrated gem beats the overload of 80's and 90's no-brain horror productions. Check it out!

Although it takes a while to get going, POPCORN proves to be a warm and affectionate little slasher movie made along the same lines as Joe Dante's Matinée – i.e. a celebration of the world of the B-movie in its cinematic form. Indeed, the ghost of William Castle seems to be watching over this movies, both in the presence of the cheesy films shown by the fictional cinema and in the bizarre antics of the film students, determined to give their audience an interactive experience!

It's all about the gimmicks and the celebration of the weird, so much so that the actual slasher plot comes second. It's a slight shame, because the story isn't bad, even if it is remarkably familiar: there's an evil killer from the past returning to affect the heroine in the present, and his calling card is that he uses prosthetic masks to disguise himself as anyone and anything. The subsequent kills aren't particularly gory, but they are well staged with an element of Grand Guignol that becomes especially apparent during the over-the-top climax.

POPCORN was made in Jamaica doubling for small-town America, which gives it even more of an offbeat vibe – and the reggae soundtrack is great. The acting is nothing to write home about (THE HOWLING's Dee Wallace-Stone is the only actress of note in a minor part), but when the story and screenplay are so obviously written by genuine fans of old-time horror shows – well, this becomes a film impossible to dislike.

"Popcorn" from 1991 has to be one of the better feel good horror flicks that's a blend of old style horror meeting the present day and being a film within a film of the 80's slasher style. It's also a twist and tease of drama, suspense, fun comedy, and murder in a bloody slasher type of a way. Set in California at a college some film students decide to run an night horror marathon at an old run down cinema house. The students will do crazy special effects while the crowd watches the old vintage 50's and 60's films. Thru it during the night a crazy sadistic killer is on the loose causing an 80's slasher type stalker feel, from behind the curtain and thru the audience. As this creep has a connection to an old film called "The Possessor" plus this monster knows one of the film students from his past. Also horror queen legend Dee Wallace Stone has a part that's memorable as a damsel in distress who's kidnapped and has her mouth taped with white duct tape! Overall "Popcorn" provides thrills and chills to any horror film buff as it's a little independent horror gem to belong in any fan's chest!

This is a really well-done, early nineties horror flick that actually made it to the theaters. At the time this was a very original movie. It was back in the day before Scream (hate what that movie did to horror) and all the clones dominated the horror box office.

It all starts when a group of film-students looking to raise money, fix up an old movie theater for a one-night-only horror festival. They plan to show 50s horror flicks using old gimmicks (aroma-rama, 3-D glasses, and shock seats). In a box of old junk they find an ancient film reel containing some really graphic and disgusting footage of an insane, demonic looking hippy chanting "posessor" in a reallly sick voice. One of the students is shocked to discover that the man in the film is the man who has been plaguing her dreams lately. The festival rolls around and all is fine until someone starts offing the students one-by-one. It then turns into a whodunnit and things never get boring

I enjoyed "Popcorn" because it was a highly original take on the slasher genre and it was before there was any other films like it too rip-off. There are a few cliches but the acting is top-notch from a great cast. Ray Walston had an amusing cameo and Tom Villard was never better. It's a shame that he's not around any more. The guy had a lot of potential and was very underrated.

I was lucky enough to find this film for sale in a video store that was going out of business. It may be kind of hard to find (don't know if it's available through Amazon) but if you can find it, it's definitely worth seeing.

This has got to be one of my old favorite horror flicks, I remember renting this when it first came out, and I loved it since then!

The storyline of this movie is so classic and original, but thats what it made it so great!

I was a little shocked to read that Toby (Tom Villard) had passed away, I had no idea, he was one of my favorite movie psychos, and I was wondering if he'd be in any other movies...R.I.P Tom Villard.

If you haven't seen this movie, rent it now! Or since its been released on DVD, pick it up! remember, "Buy a bag, go home in a box." !

Maggie, a film student at University, continuously wakes up with one bad dream after another involving some bearded wacko, which she records about on a tape, so to come up with some sort of screenplay. Her film teacher and fellow peers have organised a all-night film festival at an old theatre, which will be featuring old b-horror movies with the use of interactive gimmicks in the hope of raising enough money to support the film department, after the university cut their funds. While setting everything up, they stumble across an old film known as "The Possessor" and learn from their teacher about its macabre past. This startles Maggie, as the images in the film are the same ones in her dreams. When the fun starts, Maggie is sure that the supposedly dead star/director Lanyard Gates of that film is wandering the theatre.

Bad dreams might appear early on, but Mark Herrier / Alan Ormsby's contributions are a far more pleasant experience in this fashionably inspired parody of gimmicky (think of William Castle) 50's b-grade horror films interwoven into a silly slasher formula of a film-within-a-film. Since it knows what it is, it plays itself accordingly to the budget and material.

The enthusiastic concept is freshly staged with plenty of neatly devised novelties, vividly fruitful backdrop and a preposterously far-fetched screenplay streaming with admirable imagination, fruitiness and ingenious twists. However most of the oddball fun is derived from the stylishly correct mocking of the "horrorthon" b-films; "Mosquito", "Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man" and "The Stench" and their cinema gimmicks (like the 3-D flying mosquito in "Project-O-Vision", "Shock-O-Scope." in the audience seats and releasing bad odours in "Aroma-rama" for the proper experience), which is being screened to the boisterous audience with their smart remarks and in-spirit costumes. Ormsby was the mastermind behind this enjoyably down-pat features with their natural fondness to the era, which I believe outdid the slasher element of the picture.

Now that side of the fragmented story starts off strong, compelling and eerie, but it crashes towards the back-end with contrived, illogical and overblown developments working there way in. But hey that's part of the parcel and makes this festivity wildly fun. It's kind of like a melding together of "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and "The Phantom of the Opera" with severely likable 80's camp. There are only few deaths, but they're done with enough macabre creativity to cover-up the lack of blood and the spongy script delivers on the wit and overall weirdness. Although some on going gags turn out to be less funny.

Herrier's panache direction is on cue for most part with snappy pacing, atmospheric lighting and the right sense of mood when drilling those moments of tension with the lurking quirkiness. He makes great use of the flamboyant scenery and vintage theatre settings. Expressive make-up / special effects are strikingly crafted to achieve the right effect and the killer looks menacing with there ingenious hobby involving faces. Ronnie Taylor's understated, polished cinematography works the floor well and Paul J. Zaza's tingly spooky music score suit's the film's light-hearted air. Also the bouncy soundtrack has that reggae/pop touch to it.

Largely shaping up is a likable cast with agreeable performances. The always sweet Jill Schoelen is typically fine in a valiantly airy turn as Maggie and Derek Rydall measures up as the heroine who can't take a break Mark. But it's the support roles where the most interest arises with the likes of Tom Villard's superb performance as an obsessively nutty film student, Tony Roberts' amusing turn as the film teacher, Dee Wallace Stone plays it sincerely as Maggie's mother and Ray Walston's avidly effortless cameo as the gimmick man.

This winsome little low-budget item is a rather solid cheesy comedy/horror/parody effort even with so many uneven distractions inbound. Don't wait around, get your tickets now if this sounds like your kind of entertainment

When I saw the commercial for this, I was all about seeing it. Now, forgive me, but it's been so long since I've seen it that I don't recall how it went. Suffice it to say, the movie I saw bore no resemblance to the "movie" they sold me on.

I was bored, annoyed, and incredibly disappointed by this movie. And if it wasn't bad enough, they had to sink it even further with that awful reggae music. Not exactly mood-setting music for a horror movie, eh mon? I guess if you never saw the commercial (or trailer, I suppose) you may think this is some hot stuff. For my money, the commercial was way better.

This film combines the nostalgia of drive-in cheesefests with the tried and true slasher formula. Flawed but certainly holds up against more popular entries of the time.

This movie isn't really all that bad, I mean it has a pretty good story and the acting is good, nice touch throwing Dee Wallace-Stone in. But for some reason this isn't a movie a want to own or watch again for that matter. If your bored and have nothing to do, and have never seen it before pop it in, it's worth watching once or twice.

I've seen worse horror films, (every sequel of Friday 13th & Halloween.)

Paid a lot of respect to the pioneers of the 50's horror.

I think Wlliam Castle would have loved it.

I think the fake movie (Mosquito, Stench) titles that were mentioned in

Popcorn could have been made, sounds like some of the movies made in the 50's.

Think about the movies made in the 50's: "The Blob, Deadly Mantis, Earth vs. the Spider, The H-Man".

William Castle or American International would had done them.

I think the movie is under rated.

To raise funds, several film students & their teacher in SoCal hold a one-night horror marathon at an old theater set to be demolished. Unfortunately for them, a supposedly dead filmmaker who doesn't like criticism is apparently in attendance.

"Popcorn" (1991) has everything going for it, highlighted by the old downtown theater, a plot that meshes "Phantom of the Opera" with "The Abominable Dr. Phibes," a colorful tone and an homage to William Castle. The latter was known for creating gimmicks to draw people to his low-budget B movies (e.g. "The Tingler") at a time when television tempted people to stay home. I particularly enjoyed the setting of the aged theater since I used to work at one in downtown for seven years.

Alan Ormsby directed the fake old movies in B&W, such as "Mosquito" and "The Amazing electrified Man," and did a convincing job, not to mention amusing, but he was so detail-oriented that he was replaced by Mark Herrier for the main story.

The female cast is quite good with Jill Schoelen (Maggie), Ivette Soler (Joanie), Suzanne Hunt (Dr. Latimer), Kelly Jo Minter (Cheryl), Freddie Marie Simpson (Tina), Karen Witter (Joy) and Dee Wallace (Suzanne). Regrettably, Herrier & team didn't seem to know how to shoot women (not talkin' 'bout nudity or sleaze).

Amy O'Neill originally played the character played by Jill Schoelen, but was replaced after three weeks of shooting. As a result, Jill didn't have much interaction with the rest of the cast since many of her scenes were simple reshoots.

Surprisingly, the flick started to put me to sleep after the first hour when the story became unnecessarily convoluted, which might explain why "Popcorn" flopped at the box office. Still, there's enough good here for those interested and explains why it eventually become a cult thang.

For a superior movie of this ilk, check out "StageFright" (1987) or even "Curtains" (1983). Going back to an earlier era, there's Christopher Lee's well-done (and unjustly obscure) "Theatre of Death" (1967).

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was mostly shot at The Ward Theatre in Kingston, Jamaica (of all places), with pick-up shots done in Toronto.

GRADE: C+

When a group of film students need to raise some cash, they organise a horror movie festival at a run-down theatre, offering fright-fans a selection of old monster movies—complete with their original promotional gimmicks! As a packed house enjoys a triple bill of hokey trash (fictional B-movies 'Mosquito', 'The Amazing Electrified Man' and 'The Stench'), a disfigured killer proceeds to use the movies' gimmicks to bump off the students, whilst wearing a variety of latex masks to deceive his victims.

Popcorn is exactly like its title suggests: a light-hearted, teen-centric, and not-to-be-taken-too-seriously popcorn movie. Although this means it is fairly light on the gore (and features absolutely no nudity), with its pretty nifty horror-film-themed script (that any fan of the genre should get a kick out of), some fine make-up effects, and a genuine sense of fun, this early 90s offering proves to be great escapism for its duration (plus, I'm a sucker for a gorgeous brunette in peril, so the film automatically scores points with me for starring the lovely Jill Schoelen as its helpless female in distress).

The screenplay, by talented genre scribe Alan Ormsby definitely shows that the man knows his stuff when it comes to schlock horror, with the three films-within-the-film taking plenty of good natured swipes at the clichés and conventions of the genre. The cast all give spirited performances, with Dee Wallace-Stone racking up another solid horror film credit, Tom Villard giving a particularly memorable performance as goofy film fan Toby, and the always impressive Ray Walston appearing in a short but welcome cameo.

Occasionally the film gets a little too daft for its own good (the running gag where the hero continually gets hurt soon becomes tiresome), and the ending seems to rattle on forever, but there's easily enough fun stuff in this one to make it worth checking out.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

To help raise money, a film class decides to throw a horror movie marathon featuring old films. But one they stumble on, "Possesor" is connected to a cultist from the 1960s, and it soon seems he has returned to kill off theater patrons.

I stumbled across this film when video stores began switching to DVD and were selling their VHS for cheap. I had not heard of it at that point, but soon loved it, and its star, Jill Schoelen (who was great in this, as well as everything she has ever done). Perhaps as DVDs are replaced by Blu-Ray, I will again have the luck to acquire this title cheaply.

The film is well-scripted, really plays up classic films and film nerd knowledge, but what really sells it are the films featured in the film. Both "Mosquito" and "The Stench" call to mind the gimmicks of William Castle, and the film "Possessor" is a scary film all its own (and should be included as a bonus feature on the DVD).

I think the film is relatively unknown and not highly praised, as many may consider it "just another slasher", but it's really more deep and well thought out than that. This is not the basic teenagers dying flick, there is a real mystery and some odd back story -- how is the lead character's mother involved, for example? I would urge people to seek this one out, and if a decent DVD does not yet exist, I hope some company comes along and gives us a fully loaded one like this film deserves.

I couldn't even finish this I don't understand the constant reggae music there must have been some kind of friendship or working contract between the director and this band because it's weird for a horror movie and isn't appealing. Maybe it seemed cooler in 1991? A bunch of people joyfully rocking out doesn't exactly inspire spooky atmosphere or terror. It doesn't even have the disturbing effect of a children's song or old cartoon in the background. It's just dumb, it's not scary.

Popcorn started out as fun, cheesy goodness but a little over halfway through I completely lost interest. The story is weak and the characters are annoying.

I know this is a cult classic but it's definitely not a cult I want to belong to.

This actually was kind of a fun horror flick, as the Scream movies were. The best part in my opinion is the movies-within-a-movie the characters show at their sci-fi festival ... cheesy 50s stuff similar to what was done in Matinee.

This is a fun ride, for sure, but i expected it to be better, after reading so many good reviews. It's entertaining and interesting, maybe it influenced Wes Craven and SCREAM franchise, i can see some similar themes. This is also a horror movie for horror movies.

Of course it is not scary because the comedic element is strong. But it is not hilarious either, i didn't laugh for a second. Hence my rating.

But it's enjoyable, it makes sense, these were kinda likeable characters, and if you lower your expectations, you will probably like it. Any 80's horror fan will probably like it, i have watched much worse movies of this era and genre.

A bunch of kids set up a theatre to have an all-night horror movie marathon. However, as the night goes on, there's somebody among them killing them off one by one. Who is it...and why? I saw this in a theatre way back in 1991. I was looking forward to it--but boy! It did not work at all. The premise is a good one, they have a very appealing young cast and some pros like Dee Wallace Stone on board...but it doesn't work. The story stops making sense halfway through (that could be because of some huge editing before the film was released), the killings are relatively bloodless (how this got an R rating is beyond me) and the unmasking of the killer at the end was boring and stupid.

It's really too bad--this movie had potential. With a better script this could have become a great horror film. As it stands though it's mostly forgotten and the cast itself seems embarrassed by it (I heard Stone won't talk about this one). I give it a 3 and that's just for the cast.

The majority of this movie was filmed on location in Kingston, Jamaica in the Ward Theatre, 10, North Parade, Kingston. The theatre was opened December 16, 1912 with a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance". It is in a poor state of repair after being badly damaged by Hurricane Dean in 2007 and from 2012 funding has been sought for renovation.

I watched this film recently on the Horror Channel in the United Kingdom and found it entertaining, holding my interest until the end. The acting was average for this type of film. As an aficionado of cinema and theatre building, it was its authentic setting which made it most enjoyable for me, and it was great to see the building in such good shape. Let's hope it will be restored in the near future.

This not to bad at all, all got to do enjoy this movie sit down with Popcorn and watch popcorn.

A Group of teens plan an all-night horror film festival from movies that were made in 50's that was made in 3D and all the seats seem to have electrical shockers on them.

Maggie seem to having these nightmare about man who lost in life in fire in the same place few years ago, after he was being casted into a movie made by Maggie.

Now Maggie think that man is back from the dead and then she find out her friends are dying one by one by this man.

This is really good (very) cheesy horror movie, you need to be a really cheesy mood to watch this movie, or you will really hate it!

I had fun watching this movie so i going to give this movie 5 out of 10

It's amazing how a horror film can still entertain without gore, scares, boobs or scares. This here is a fine pseudo parody with plenty of eighties cheese dolloped on top (montages, musical numbers etc).

Sarah has been having strange dreams. Not surprising really, as her mum is Dee Wallace Stone. For reasons I've forgotten, Sarah and her class set up a movie marathon at a local theatre, showing old gimmicky horror films. They also find an old reel of footage from some nutcase that went loopy years ago, whom Sarah thinks has come back to the movie theatre. Things then happen. Yes.

So let's get to what's good about this film, apart from the montage of them re-furbishing the theatre. It's wall to wall fun for starters. Not only do we have our regular plot, there's also three films they show in the theatres that come with their own gimmicks (and also done in a very deliberately cheesy way). The audience themselves are all done up in various horror film ways also, some of it quite inventive.

Not much in the way of seriousness either from the actual plot either, with most of the kills played for laughs. Nice way to start off you own movie marathon I think.

The only reason to see this movie is for a brilliant performance by Thom-Adcox Hernandez who is underused in the movie within the movie. As usual Tom Villard is good, too. Otherwise it's c**p. The possesor doesn't even exist how does he magically change the letters on the theatre marquee to spell out "The Possessor"? Lame.

This is definitely one of my top favorite horror movies. It's just so much fun every time I watch it!

Jill Schoelen (who is not Winona Ryder) is back from her oh-so-captivating performance in "Cutting Class" to bring us more absurdly hilarious "horror" in "Popcorn". This movie best falls under the "teen slasher" category, because lots of people get killed and nobody knows who's doing it and they're all trapped inside a movie theater and who's going out with who and oh my god who's my real father. The body count is relatively low, and most of the characters end up okay in the end, but the few deaths are done with panache and creativity, including a big fake mosquito through the heart and electrocution of a guy in a wheelchair. Nice! The mystery, when revealed at the end, is typical and disposable. Appreciate this movie for what it is: a series of terrible lines, meaningless violence, and just plain hilarity. Go rent this, and "Cutting Class", right now.