Highly Overrated But Still Good

Am I Missing Something?

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

As in *hack* up a hairball. As in, this movie is about as thrilling as a cat hacking up a hairball. And I don't like cats. "Cats are for jerks and lesbians." - Homer J. Simpson.Drunken idiot teenagers disturb a grave in a local cemetery and resurrect a demon, dead for several hundreds of years, who then seeks vengeance on the distant relation of those responsible for his burial, and revenge against the teenagers who disturbed his grave. He should be happy they disturbed his grave, as it brought him back to life to avenge his own death. There's nothing wrong with this film, technically speaking, it is well-made, and sporting a very creepy atmosphere, with a kind of creepy looking villain and decent enough gore, but this B-movie is sunk by largely abysmal acting and painful dialogue. The little boy plays a major role in this film, despite the fact that he looks bored, like he's not sure what is going on or why he is even there. Top-billed Linnea Quigley is only there for her name value, she has about fifteen minutes of screen time, playing a minor character. Marginal so-bad-it's-good movie, but it could have (and should have) been a LOT better.

I've always loved horror flicks. From some of the usual well-known like "The Exorcist" to some of the more underrated like "Black Christmas" or "Just Before Dawn". But who are people kidding,even calling this trash a b-movie. It's straight up bottom-of-the-barrel Z-grade. The acting is the worst ever on film. Really,I've seen better on an episode of the "Young and the Restless"...SPOILER...Lookout for when the woman comes to tell them about the legend of Jack-o. She pauses sometimes for a matter of seconds as if someone is flashing her cue cards and she's struggling to read her lines. A RIOT! Oh,and besides the bad acting,absolutely no gore or F/X. And Jack-o looked like a plastic lit pumpkin. Watch Linnea Quigley in "Night of the Demons",or "Silent Night,Deadly Night",far superior flicks.

Am I being sacrilegious for watching such an awful movie on Easter weekend? This weekend is used to reflect and celebrate the joys of our lives with the spirit of rebirth. And believe me, this movie couldn't have killed that spirit more. To save you from being bored silly with the plot, let's just go straight to the check list:-Awful plot. Check! The story layout appeals to a Friday night flick fan but has about as much emotional depth as dinner theatre. The film is disastrously long and dull. About 30% of the film is designated to Sean Kelly's dream sequences (don't ask), 25% to introducing people who have no effect on the plot, 15% to Sean's dad's haunted mansion, 10% to trick-or-treating with kids no one knows who the heck they are, another 10% to some moron, his girlfriend, and his Harley, and a remaining grand total of 5% to Jack-o. The remaining 5% is reserved for shots of nudity, storm clouds, and people talking about food. -Totally non-frightening antagonist. Check! I've screamed more in an episode of Murphy Brown than this. Jack-o himself is about as lame as a duck with one leg in front of a pack of hungry wolves. He kills a few but there are absolutely no tense and heart racing chase sequences, no real climax. His overall presence lacks fright and bite, something that Freddy Krueger in "Elm Street", Jason Vorhees in "Friday the 13th", and Ben Affleck in "Gigli" all achieved. -Awful F/X. Check! Normally in a standard slasher flick, a victim to the creature's blade will be shown being gutted in all it's bloody, disgusting glory. But of course we don't see this happen. That would require effort, something the crew of this film wern't ready to commit. However, they were generous enough to buy fire crackers and glue them to a crucifix and set it alight. Somebody call the KKK. This self-lighting cross idea could really takeoff.-Awful acting. Check! The boy who plays Sean Kelly is horrendous. At times, it seems like the director slipped him a sleeping pill just before shooting. This kid just mumbles out his lines with no care in the world. The director obviously could not give a damn whether the boy's acting was up to any kind of par. Ironically, the young actor is the directors son! That's nepotism is it's purest form, folks!-Obligatory shower girl. Check! I think no further comment is necessary.-Various other scenes of obligatory nudity. Check! (see above)All in all, Jack-o deserves a few points for making such a disaster and fooling some poor film company into distributing it. Other than that, this film deserves to be dead and buried, much like Jack-o himself.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* I bought this video for three bucks. My brother had told me about this one because he had actually met Jack-O. Yes, the dude in the pumpkin mask. B-movie giants walk amongst us. I had to behold the cinematic genius that was "Jack-O" so I could live vicariously through my brother.I can honestly say that "Jack-O" went exactly like I thought it would. There was not one thing that surprised me about this flick. Well, that's not completely true. I was surprised to see Linnea Quigley in this one. And everybody can relax, she does take a shower. Quigley and showers. Peanut butter and Jelly. So Jack-O comes back from the dead to kill a stoic boy for some reason or another. You'd think that the kid would get a little emotional about a pumpkin man trying to carve him up. Would a scream kill him now and then? Anyway, Quigley babysits him and Pumpkinhead trashes the party. "Jack-O" follows the B-movie playbook step by step. Blood, breasts, bad acting, repeat. If you're a B-movie fan, you'll find something to like.