Mazes and Monsters

Starring: Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, Lloyd Bochner, Peter Donat
Directed by: Steven Hilliard Stern
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
1982

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Four friends begin playing Mazes and Monsters, and decide to take their game into a local cavern, where they continue playing in a more realistic atmosphere. Robbie (Tom Hanks) begins to take the game too seriously, and his three friends grow more and more worried about him as the line between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

Review:

Tim: This is a 1982 made-for-TV movie about a group of friends who play a Dungeons & Dragons type game that gets completely out of hand. This should be a disaster of a film- a cheesy, TV horror movie. And, to be honest, it is. You'll laugh more than you jump as you watch a completely cheesy 80s horror movie. Surprisingly, however, this film is more entertaining than you would imagine. This is because the film is Tom Hanks' debut movie, and it is fascinating to watch him in it. Despite how bad it is, Hanks attacks it with passion and energy.

There is also a strangely entertaining quality to watching a ridiculous horror movie with an absurd premise. Truly, this is almost a morality tale, railing against teenagers playing boardgames like D&D. In the world of this movie, these games don't just result in a lack of coolness or girlfriends, they also result in insanity.

By no means is this a good movie. Under no circumstances would I recommend this film, unless like me, you are a gigantic Tom Hanks fan and have decided to see every movie he ever made, no matter what. Mazes and Monsters is poorly made, is completely cheesy, and not worth your time. Unless you're fascinated by weakly crafted horror movies with terrible supporting casts and even worse writing. Hanks is by far the only reason to see this movie. It is made for TV, and trust me, it shows. Except for the few reasons outlined above, there really is no reason to see this movie, and no reason to go to any trouble to try to see it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 5.5



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