Strangeland (1998)

Very disappointing...

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Great Film overall

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I absolutely LOVED this movie after watching it the first time I had to go buy it, I don't see why it doesn't have a better rating. The cast in this movie played their rolls to the fullest extent of spectacular especially Dee Snider, thought the movie plot was very realistic, makes you think twice about ever meeting anyone from online again because you never know who you're really talking to and the fact that he was completely "normal" after being put on medication then people went to get their revenge and crushed his meds in the process then he goes crazy again, goes to show how messed up in the head people can really be. Definitely worth more than a 4.9 rating. This is one of my top favorites! I always introduce this movie to someone I knew who has never saw it because I think it needs to be acknowledged by more people!! :)

Dee Snider wrote and produced this film, and I don't get why this film did not make a profit, other than perhaps the fact it wasn't in that many theaters. I like the concept, the story, and the music. I think the concept of a psychopathic man involved in body modification killing teens using the net is edgy -- didn't another film kinda water this down? Perhaps it's Fearnet but I could be wrong -- and perhaps a little before it's time. The story has a nice arc and I think Dee Snider did a nice job as it doesn't spend a whole lot of time with pointless nonsense or taking forever to get to it's points. The soundtrack is mostly comprised of interesting and very fitting music. In the end, I'm not sure why it was received so poorly, but perhaps maybe it's not for everyone. That said, I really enjoyed it.

This sounded like it was going to be like Silence of the Lambs or Zodiac or something, but it wasn't. It really was more like one of the Halloween movies without all the jump scenes. It was a little like Plan 9 From Outer Space in the sense that the main bad guy kept making inane speeches that made me want to go get a snack without pushing pause. The idea of a person who is so crazy that he would abduct people and torture them as a form of spiritual enlightenment is actually an interesting idea, but the execution was too made-for-TV feeling. I have to say it was better than I expected for a movie written and starring Dee Snider. A good first effort. Maybe he'll learn some lessons and his next effort will be less clumsy.

I happened upon this movie on IFC at about 1 AM last night. And even though I had to get up at 4:30 the next day, I was somehow driven towards watching this movie, but not in a good way. I respect Dee Snider for writing it, and I assume from the movie that he wanted to bring body modification to the public eye while making a horror movie, but there are so many plot holes and unreasonable choices made by the characters that it ruins the movie. It's also not that gross or disturbing, but I can handle a lot of gore, personally. If your bored on a weekend night, you could rent this movie and watch it, but don't expect to put it on your "favorite movies" list.