Satan's Little Helper Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Obsessed with a video game, a boy unintentionally befriends a serial killer and helps with a Halloween killing spree.

Review: Taking a much different approach to comedy-horror than "Murder Party," this film actually plays it more subtle yet is simultaneously over the top and slapstick; eh, it's hard to explain. Think of this movie as a R-rated, made for Disney channel movie. Yeah...that makes sense, right? This weird approach works for the most part, but the characters make overly stupid decisions, and the film drags needlessly in a way to emphasize that this would have served better as a 30 minute special; there simply was not enough material to warrant a full 90 minute running time. This doesn't necessarily make the story bad, but it sure doesn't make it good when it's overstaying its welcome.

Compared to a lot of the other films I've covered this month, it was a breath of fresh air that Halloween was incorporated and essential to the plot. We are introduced to one of the dumbest kids ever presented in horror history, a moron named Dougie. Dougie is obsessed with the shittiest-looking video game called--you guessed it--Satan's Little Helper. In this pathetic game, you play as a little devil boy wreaking havoc, and Dougie, for some reason, believes this is real. Dressing up as this helper for Halloween, Dougie's sister comes to visit from college as we are led to believe this is a kind of tradition. They creepily mention that Dougie wants to marry his sister, and the oddball reaction from the parents should be telling as to why this kid appears mentally challenged; you can, somewhat, excuse the idiocy of this character, because his parents are imbeciles themselves. As for that sister, Jenna, played by Katheryn Winnick, oh boy, we've got another one on our hands! But she has Callisto syndrome where I didn't really become blown away by her until she put on the "Renaissance whore" outfit; she looks more like a flower child but whatever. I think it's absolutely safe to say Ms. Winnick was the best aspect to the movie, and she never takes the outfit off as well! Wait...that's not necessarily a good thing. Though, her character was almost as stupid as the rest so there's that to consider.

Annoyed that Jenna has a boyfriend, named Alex, Dougie goes outside to pout when he comes across a serial killer dressed like the devil. Observing the kills, Dougie believes the game is coming to life, and he must become the helper to this devil. Since this killer is nuts, he readily accepts Dougie's assistance as the two plot to kill Alex. They never reveal who the killer is, but they imply it was perhaps this guy recently released from prison for arson; not sure why they felt they needed ambiguity. Anyway, through shenanigans, Jenna thinks the killer is Alex in disguise and allows him to grope her a little too much considering her family is right fucking there. This is probably the point where you will realize the film is trying too hard to stretch out the running time. Dougie and the killer go shopping pointlessly, but, to be fair, this does lead to a genuinely funny moment. When rampaging through the parking lot, the killer runs over pretty much every taboo character you're (typically) not allowed to kill in horror movies (disabled people, babies, pregnant ladies, etc.), and I'll give the film credit for this.

Later on, after a few more contrivance kills, Jenna realizes the killer is not really Alex. Shortly after, the dad comes home and is killed by the killer as even Dougie realizes the truth. This feels like it should be the end, but the killer takes the mom hostage in order to go to a party full of idiots. A beat up Alex joins back up with Jenna as the two try to stop the killer. Also, Jenna sure is taking the brutal killing of her father and orgasmic groping at the hands of a killer in stride. The killer pours a little drain cleaner in the punch and this magically insta-kills anyone who takes a sip. Still not wrapping this film up, the killer fakes everyone out by pretending he was really Alex's father who was already killed earlier. The killer then pretends to be Jesus and tricks that fucking idiot Dougie yet again. This leads to the film recreating the gag they just did 5 minutes ago! Now everyone is tricked into killing Alex dressed as the killer. Really?! Finally, we get an abrupt ending as the killer pretends to be a cop and appears to kill this family at long last.

This movie probably sounds dumber than it really is, but it does contain near overwhelming moments of stupidity. If they had downplayed the gullibility of Dougie, or explicitly addressed his apparent retardation, that may have made things more bearable. At the same time, the material could have been condensed and shortened to create a genuinely enjoyable experience. On the other hand, the humor isn't totally bad as it's almost a parody of the genre; we could even attribute the monumental idiocy of the characters to this parody element. There are a lot of kills, which are decent as well, and the true usage of Halloween was satisfying. Last, but not least, Ms. Winnick is extremely easy on the eyes. Overall, it's a mixed bag with slightly more in the negative column than good. Make of it what you will.

Notable Moment: When Jenna realizes that it's not Alex wearing the costume. Simply painful. Hmm, I just found out my boyfriend is god knows where, and I've been molested by someone creeping around with my brother...what should I do? I know! Stand around and do nothing. Oh well, she looked hot doing it.

Final Rating: 5/10

Ms. Winnick making every scene more tolerable: