4/5 Taste the pain
  by Matthew King (Toronto, Canada)
The horror genre has introduced us to many memorable icons; Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, Leatherface and countless more. Some of these ghouls are scarier than others and some are really not scary at all, but rather comedic and foolish. If you've never seen "Strangeland" you've probably never heard of "Captain Howdy" which would be a shame because they don't come any scarier than this dude. His methods of torture and reasonings for his attacks had me squirming in my seat the whole time. Somebody give this man a franchise!

"Stangeland" opens up with two young women sitting in front of a computer screen and chatting up guys in an internet room. They become intrigued by a guy with the user name "Captain Howdy" who claims to lead a wild life and know what fun is all about. When Howdy writes the line "Wanna come to a party?" the girls go to his place and soon find themselves trapped in his underground basement of torture. One of the girls is the daughter of a police detective who will do whatever it takes to get her back safely before Howdy gets to sink another one of his patented hooks into her...

I find critiquing Strangeland as a horror movie to be twofold. The positives are the unique style and imagery scenes of things like goth clubs, torture chambers, Captain Howdy's appearance, a man of countless tattoos and piercings, all of it to the boom of a great heavy metal soundtrack. If you're a fan of this culture like I am then you will really enjoy this movie. On the negative side this film can appear downright amateurish at times, especially with its plot and awkward dialogue scenes with none too impressive actors. In other words a film of style over substance all the way. And of course it hasn't exactly aged very well, being a movie where "The Web" and chatrooms are portrayed as being cutting-edge.

But the real reason to watch this film is for Captain Howdy. Imagine a violent and twice as muscular Marilyn Manson with an insane glare in his eyes and you will get a good idea. Howdy's life revolves around the ultimate pursuit of pain as pleasure inflicted both upon himself and onto others. He fears nobody and nothing, not even death, as pain inflicted upon him gives him a rush. This guy is way more deranged than the usual horror movie villain. Sure, it's got its bad moments however if you like horror movies and goth/freak culture I would recommend you give this one a try but caution: it just might make you reconsider that nose piercing you've wanted so much...


4/5 "So much flesh, so little time..."
  by Draconis Blackthorne (The Haunted Noctuary)
Cyber-predator and sadistic modern primitive Carleton Hendricks, A.K.A "Captain Howdy" {Dee Snider} captures a detective's teenage daughter 'Toni' and keeps her locked up in his candle-lit dungeon for S/M sensual pleasure. Enclosed in a body cage, her mouth is sewn shut as she witnesses the torture of others with various bloodily forced body-modification torments. A partially bright-red-headed and shaved Captain Howdy is tattooed from head to toe, reminiscent of Bali body art, and sports several piercings, seemingly everywhere that can be.

With the help of his partner and an internet savvy cohort, Detective Gage finds him 'chatting' in a teenage forum, as the trail keeps on getting hotter, leading him to an amusing club populated by the underground subculture. Like a cat batting around a mouse, Capt. Howdy teases Detective 'Kevin Gage' {Mike Gage}, until his dwelling is deciphered, daughter rescued, and Hendricks is apprehended.

In keeping with the musical story from Twisted Sister's "Stay Hungry", Hendricks is sentenced to a mental institution for the criminally insane, until "recuperated" and set free. Heavily-medicated and seemingly docile, he resembles more of a Forrest Gump now with facial markings covered in make-up, all in an effort to 'fit in' to 'vanilla' society. And all was going along just fine until a group of vigilantes headed by a 'Jackson Roth' {Robert Englund} subject him to some street justice, where he is beaten and hanged. But like a previous scene where he returned from the brink of death experiencing a hellish Near-death experience, he resurrects and resumes his sado-masochistic persona. And thus, seeking vengeance, manages to capture Roth after a necromantic dance sequence, as well as a boisterous lady who persecuted him. Both are remanded to Howdy's sexual torture devices, driving them insane in the process. He keeps them alive and suffering, rather than killing them, where his influence is felt for the rest of their lives.

To his mortification, Gage finds a live video stream playing through his laptop, wherein Howdy delivers another one of his philosophical rants, holding a sobbing Toni again. Once more they confront eachother for the final battle.

Dee Snider's brainchild comes alive in Strangeland, and is relatively well done, despite the rather bland acting, although the ideas make for a great B-grade cult horror movie. Now if only King Diamond would follow suit...

3/5 Dee Snider? Wha?
  by Hayden (Indianapolis, IN)
I rented this because I had a free rental to use, so needless to say, I wasn't expecting much out of this film. When I seen this movie was written, directed, and starring Dee Snider of the rock band Twisted Sister I was ready for a complete let down of a film. The plot is relevant to our world today, but the acting and lacking script take away from the importance and seriousness that something like this could happen at anytime. Dee Snider's constant "poetic sayings" get old fast and his acting in the first and last parts of the movie are sub-par at best. However, in the middle after he's been "reformed" he has a real quality to that part that makes you feel for him, so hats off to him for that. Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm St.) as a drunk redneck is quite entertaining and without a doubt some of the best acting of the movie, but that's not really saying much. I also wished Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks) would have had a more substantial role in the movie, but she played her small role well. Another thing I liked about the movie was the music it had in it. I love movies with great music, it add another dimension to the film. If you are into metal and hardcore music then you might love this movie. I have to say this movie was much better than I had expected, but I wouldn't say it is a "modern horror classic". I would recommend renting this movie to horror fans, just to check it out, but I wouldn't recommend buying it before you've seen it.

2/5 Dee needs to stick to music
  by Bogey (Scotland)
Although his intentions are there, there is no atmosphere of fright in this movie. I think he should have directed it with someone other than himself in this movie.

The plot is not a dull one and therefor should have been performed by someone like Anthony Hopkins. The scenes are sick and twisted but that is good however, Dee should really stick to making music as I didnt find him a bit scary but rather comical.

If you like gore and sexual exploitation, this movie is for you. If you want to be scared, look elsewhere.

Thank you.

1/5 Very disappointing...
  by
I love Dee Snider and Twisted Sister and I read about this repeatedly in Fangoria. It was to be the end-all of horror movies, yet the editing was ill-paced, some of the acting was terrible and Captain Howdy pontificated HIGHLY too much. Potential was there, but it simply was not unique enough, nor was it as horrific as everyone said it would be...