Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Awful horror tale with violence, language, drunk driving.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Heckle
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In HECKLE, bad boy comic Ray Kelly (Steve Guttenberg) and his wife were the victims of an unsolved double murder in the 1990s. Decades later, Joe Johnson (Guy Combes) is a stand-up comic at the height of his fame, and he's due to star in the biopic about Kelly. One night, while performing, Johnson is heckled, and Johnson insults the heckler in return. Soon, the heckler is calling Johnson on his private number, repeatedly stalking him, making threats, and revealing knowledge of traumatic moments from his past. Meanwhile, Johnson's girlfriend has proposed that Joe and their friends stay in a remote house in the English countryside for Halloween to have an '80s-themed party with VHS copies of '80s slasher films and no usage of smartphones and laptops. As the party gets going, a hatchet-wielding killer in a clown mask begins killing the partygoers one by one. It doesn't take Joe long to realize that it's the heckler who has been stalking him, and as he discovers the heckler's identity, Joe must come to terms with the actions of his past.
Is It Any Good?
You know when the best-known actor of the picture's name is misspelled in the closing credits, it's a sure sign of an amateur production. If that was the worst thing about Heckle, "Guttenburg" might be overlooked, but it's par for the course in a poorly executed attempt at horror mixed with some attempts at dark humor that don't even come close to being funny. Not to be obvious with the movie's premise, but this really is an experience not unlike sitting through a struggling comedian trying to find humor out of trite and overdone premises. You almost feel sorry for the entertainment on stage, but mostly you just wish the whole thing would just end sooner rather than later.
The central premise had potential, as other suspense movies centered on stalkers have shown in the past, but the execution is so shoddy, any potential is wasted within the first 15 minutes. The movie soon leaves the "stalker" premise behind and becomes just another horror movie where city people hang out in a country home and get murdered one by one, which also makes zero sense in the context of the stalker and the "big reveal" as to why he's donning a clown mask and going on a hatchet murder spree. The movie is a failure of bad acting, bad directing, and clunky storytelling guaranteed to make viewers yell phrases much stronger than "Get off the stage!" at their screens.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about horror movies. How does this compare to other horror movies you've seen?
What are some of the cliches of horror movies, and how did this movie use those cliches?
How did the violence and gore compare to other horror movies? Did it seem necessary to the story, or was it excessive? Why?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 24, 2020
- On DVD or streaming : March 18, 2022
- Cast : Steve Guttenberg , Guy Combes , Clark Gable III
- Studio : Uncork'd Entertainment
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 81 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 21, 2022
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