User Reviews

This is a movie that in no way takes it self seriously. The plot is farcical, the actors over play there parts and the direction is over done. The result is pure cult. Its a shame that this movie is not available on DVD. Bill Paxton plays a yuppie Graham Krakowski who buys a house and ends up being menaced and framed for murder by a strange and sinister Vagrant played by the always excellent Marshall Bell. Soon people start dieing and all fingers are pointing in Krakowski direction. The movie surfs the fine line between comedy and horror very well. Mainly because the movie doesn't try to fit into any real category, its not exactly horror, its not exactly comedy. it could be called black comedy but I and most people who have seen it would call it, Unique.

I don't know where to start.

Starts as a comedy with over-the-top not-really-that-funny acting, cascades into a slasher still-not-really-that-funny horror comedy, with pointless scene changes and a mega-sized block of Swiss cheese plotholes.

Krakowski is a financial analyst (throw in some jokes about Czechs, that's always funny, right?) who, after buying a house, finds himself stalked by a local homeless vagrant.

Several people get murdered and Krakowski is blamed, especially when body parts are found in his fridge.

The jury finds him innocent after his mother dies of a heart attack on the witness stand. Yes, this is still part of the 'comedy' version.

He then moves away and ends up in a trailer park, where the blind owner's seeing-eye dog is butchered and he has to escape when he's blamed for it. Are you laughing yet?

While escaping, he rolls his car down an embankment to a truck stop where the 2 out-of-state cops who were chasing him (from weeks ago) just happen to be. They chase him into a funhouse where he discovers the vagrant is an ex-psychiatrist who's been trying to make him insane as part of an experiment.

The cops shoot the vagrant, and Krakowski gets a reward for the wanted criminal.

Produced by Mel Brooks, but apart from funding, I doubt he had much to do with it.

Directed by Chris Walas. If you replied "Who?", that's because this was only the second, and last movie he was allowed to direct. The other being another flop, The Fly 2. He was actually a make-up and SFX expert.

It was released in 8 theaters for a single week.

Starring:

Mildred Brion, as heart-attack dying mom. Previously in Back To Back (1989) with Paxton.

Teddy Wilson, as the blind trailer park owner. He co-starred in the short-lived black 70s sitcom "That's My Mama". He died before this movie was released.

Marc McClure, as his best friend Chuck. Marc was Jimmy Olsen in all the Superman movies in the 80s and Marty's brother Dave McFly in the Back To The Future movies.

Patrika Darbo, as Doattie, the trailer park neighbour. She had a small run on 'Days Of Our Lives'. 125 episodes over 18 years, which is a short run, comparatively, for the 13k+ episodes it's been going (the current lead role has only been in 3k).

Mitzi Kapture, as the girlfriend, starred in Silk Stalkings but probably better known as Alex Ryker from Baywatch.

Marshal Bell, as the vagrant. A method actor, he tormented Paxton during the shoot offset. He's been a support actor in many big films, such as Midnight Sting, Starship Troopers and Capote.

This 1992 comedy thriller stars Bill Paxton and Marshall Bell.

Paxton (True Lies) plays Graham, a businessman who moves into a new home and becomes haunted by a vagrant (Bell) residing across the street. Graham suspects he's dangerous and begins having nightmares/hallucinations of him which causes him to question his own sanity. This isn't a bad flick with amusing and cringeworthy moments, Paxton is good in it and there's grotesque make-up effects for Bell's character. Give this one a view at least once.

Only this year has this combination black comedy / psychological thriller / urban paranoia flick / satire finally gotten a DVD release, thanks to the fine folk at Scream Factory. That would be good news to those who are fans, but for this viewer, who hadn't seen it since it hit VHS, it has to rate as a failure. An interesting failure, for sure, but a failure, none the less. Of course, this is just personal taste speaking, but I didn't find it funny often enough and was a little put off by the over the top, cartoonish performances in the three main roles. Still, it's wacky and offbeat enough to sustain itself for a while, until the final third when it goes downhill.

A production of Mel Brooks' company Brooksfilms, this was the final directorial effort for effects veteran Chris Walas, who returned to what he did best afterwards. Bill Paxton stars as Graham Krakowski, a wimpy yuppie who buys a fixer-upper house across the street from a vacant lot. Soon Graham comes to be terrorized by a towering, hideous, disease-ridden bum, played by character actor Marshall Bell of such movies as "Total Recall" and "Starship Troopers". The bum frequently squats in the aforementioned lot, but also lets himself into Grahams' home whenever he likes. Graham eventually wonders if he's letting his own darkest inner thoughts and imagination get the better of him.

This probably could have been a bit better had it not resolved itself the way that it does. Walas' direction is adequate, although it may have been nice had he reined in the actors a bit. Michael Ironside scowls his way through the role of a cranky detective; other familiar faces include sexy ladies Mitzi Kapture ('Silk Stockings') and Colleen Camp ("Clue"), Patrika Darbo ("Hatchet"), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen from the Christopher Reeve "Superman" series), Teddy Wilson ("Life Stinks"), and Stuart Pankin ("Arachnophobia"). Christopher Youngs' score is a little unusual and amusing. Production design by Michael Bolton is also noteworthy.

Even with its faults, this may have the makings of a cult favourite for some tastes.

Four out of 10.

What was this? A comedy? No, I don't think so. Usually comedies will have humorous scenes, this movie has exactly one that earned a chuckle(the aforementioned cops and urination bit). A horror movie? Nope, usually horror movies will evoke some kind of feeling of dread or fear. A bum popping up to yell boo doesn't qualify. A psychological thriller? Nope, thrillers will leave you guessing and this one plays its hand far too early.

Bill Paxton seems like a nut job from the beginning so his descent into madness is no big change. What was up with him driving his car off a cliff and in the very next scene gassing it up like nothing was wrong? This was nothing more than a z-grade bottom filler that should be avoided.

This is the worst movie ever and no one should EVER watch it. I can't believe I wasted two hours of my life on this bucket of rat vomit. It's not thrilling, it's not funny; it's not so-bad-it's-funny; it's just BAD. Do NOT watch this stupid, stupid movie. The cardboard people and idiotic plot do not make for suspense, depth of character, or ironic tension.

The pathetic attempts at humor involve facile sex jokes and Paxton's moronic paranoia. Also, at the end he attacks the vagrant with a coat rack. And there's something about a polaroid photograph. I can't remember very well, since I've tried my best to blot out any recollection of this garbage film from my memory banks.

The Vagrant tells the story of Graham Krackowski (the always magnificent Paxton), who moves into his new home only to be terrorized by an unruly homeless vagrant that lives across the street in an abandon lot. That's it, but that is all this film needs because Paxton, director Chris Wallas, and the rest of the cast turn a simple plot into a memorable laugh-scare fest. And like most film buffs would agree, finding the right mix of horror and comedy is not easy to do, and even when it is done, it's hardly ever done right. Not in this case however...

A subplot deals with Paxton up for a promotion at his suit-wearing executive job, as well as his girlfriend flying into town for a visit. With just the right amount of time spent on each to add to the story, the focus remains however on Paxton and his unwanted guest.

What begins as simply an inconvenience to him, escalates into an all out war of head games, wit, and eventually murder, with Paxton losing his girl, his job, and untimately his mind in the process. But what makes the story truly compelling, is that the audience is left in limbo throughout most of the film as to if all the happenings are indeed caused by the vagrant or by Paxton himself?

Now I'm not one to spoil a good whodunit, so I will leave that rock unturned for those who haven't had the privilege of seeing this little charmer. Because when it is all said and done, the ending has more than a few surprises.

So don't be left out in the cold like our antagonist, and rent this wacky masterpiece before its too late. And remember, if you ever find a book on the toilet of the house you are looking to purchase, think twice...

Chris Walas' special effects work is within the hearts and minds of every single genre fan. I mean, he did the facemelting in Raiders of the Lost Ark, created the Gremlins, designed the makeup for Jereeba Shigan in Enemy Mine and was the creature designer for The Fly, House II, Arachnaphobia, Naked Lunch and so many more films, as well as directing The Fly II and this film.

Richard Jefferies wrote Blood Tide and the script for this movie a decade before it was filmed. It was based on a real homeless person who lived in a vacant lot on the other side of the street from his first house in Los Angeles. He showed the script to William Wesley and that led to them making Scarecrows together and then after rewrites on this movie, Walas came on to direct and brought the script to Mel Brooks, who had produced The Fly II.

Graham Krakowski (Bill Paxton) has just bought his first house and he worries that the homeless man (Marshall Bell, Coach Schneider from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge) across the street is stalking him, a fact that becomes more true when he has the man arrested for urinating on his yard. Soon, he's sleepwalking and wondering when he's having a nightmare and when it's reality. And when a series of murders happen, he wonders if he's the one doing the killing.

This movie has the kind of cast I love to see in a movie, including Michael Ironside, Colleen Camp, Stuart Pankin, Mitzi Kapture (I may have watched more than one movie with a Silk Stalkings castmember this week) and Marc McClure.

This made me miss Bill Paxton, an actor who could do just about anything. He hits every emotion in this film and owns every scene that he's in.

Anal and ambitious neurotic yuppie accountant Graham Krakowski (well played to nerdy and uptight perfection by Bill Paxton) buys himself a new house. However, Graham's life gets turned upside down by the unwelcome and unsettling intrusion of a crafty and dangerous bum (a creepy and menacing portrayal by Marshall Bell, who looks positively hideous sporting grotesque make-up) who used to squat in said abode. Director Chris Walas maintains a snappy pace throughout, ably mines a wickedly funny line in inspired oddball black humor, and does a sound job of sustaining a quirky tone as well as adeptly crafts a deliciously wigged-out paranoid atmosphere. The clever script by Richard Jefferies not only astutely explores the basic yuppie fear of failure and poverty (Graham transforms from smug affluent executive to scruffy down-on-his luck redneck during the course of the wacky story), but also delivers one real doozy of a surprise twist concerning the homeless man's true identity and actual motives for ruining Graham's life. The solid cast keeps this picture on track: Michael Ironside as hard-nosed detective Lt. Ralf Barfuss, Mitzi Kapture as Graham's unreliable girlfriend Edie Roberts, Collen Camp as kooky and horny real estate agent Judy Dansig, Patrika Darbo as cheery trailer park resident Doattie, Marc McClure as Graham's loyal and amiable friend Chuck, Stuart Pankin as stern boss Mr. Feemster, and Teddy Wilson as easygoing blind guy X-Rays. Moreover, this movie has a delightfully over-the-top cartoonish quality that in turn makes it quite a loopy hoot to watch. The slick cinematography by Jack Wallmer and John J. Connor provides a cool stylish look. Christopher Young's energetic heavy-breathing score further enhances the overall outré mood. Recommending viewing for fans of out of the ordinary fright fare.