Okay, gather 'round the flickering glow of the imaginary CRT, fellow tapeheads. Remember trawling the aisles of the local video rental palace, maybe a ‘Video Barn’ or ‘Mom & Pop Tapes’? You’d scan those wonderfully lurid covers, hoping for gold. Sometimes, you didn't find Gremlins, but you found... something like it. Something cheaper, maybe a bit weirder, something undeniably Corman. Tonight, let's rewind to 1987 and slap in a tape that absolutely screams "video store shelf-filler" in the best possible way: Munchies.
### Gremlins Lite, Corman Style
Let's not beat around the bush: Munchies wears its Joe Dante inspiration right on its furry, poorly-articulated sleeve. Produced by the legendary Roger Corman’s New World Pictures – a studio practically built on nimble, budget-conscious responses to box office hits – this film knows exactly what it is. An archaeologist dad, Cecil (played with bewildered commitment by the great Harvey Korman, a long way from The Carol Burnett Show), unearths a weird little creature during a dig in Peru. Naturally, he smuggles it home for his perpetually horny slacker son, Paul (Charles Stratton), and his girlfriend Cindy (Nadine Van der Velde). They dub the critter "Arnold," and for about five minutes, things are vaguely okay.
But this is a Corman joint, folks. Things go sideways fast. Arnold gets creature-napped by Cecil's evil twin brother, Jed (Harvey Korman again, chewing scenery like it’s bubblegum), gets chopped into pieces, and voila! – each piece regenerates into a snarling, mischievous, beer-swilling little monster: the titular Munchies.
### Puppets on a Shoestring
Now, let's talk about what makes Munchies a fascinating little time capsule, especially for fans of practical effects. Forget polished CGI smoothness; this is the era of tangible creatures, and the Munchies themselves are glorious examples of low-budget ingenuity (and its limitations). They’re rod puppets, mostly, jerky and often hilariously static, looking like angry Muppet rejects crossed with rabid koalas. Their main activities seem to involve driving badly, brandishing tiny weapons, causing mild property damage, and leering suggestively.
The real kicker? Munchies was directed by Tina Hirsch. If that name rings a bell, it should – she was one of the editors on Gremlins (1984)! Talk about knowing the source material. You can almost feel her trying to recreate that chaotic energy, albeit with noticeably fewer resources. The mayhem feels less threatening and more like a slightly dangerous frat party hosted by felt monsters. Remember how those tiny explosions or sparks felt so real back then? That’s because they often were real, tiny squibs and flashes giving the chaos a tactile quality modern effects sometimes miss. The scene where they commandeer a car? Pure, unadulterated B-movie puppet pandemonium.
### That Unmistakable 80s Vibe
Beyond the creature feature antics, Munchies is soaked in mid-80s flavor. The synth-pop score pulses with optimistic cheese, the fashion choices are… choices, and the plot logic often takes a backseat to just getting the little monsters into another ridiculous situation. Harvey Korman throws himself into the dual role with gusto, clearly having some kind of fun, even if it’s just the fun of a professional slumming it slightly. The younger leads, Charles Stratton and Nadine Van der Velde, provide the requisite earnestness and mild peril.
It’s the kind of film that probably played best late at night, maybe during a sleepover, fueled by pizza and soda. The jokes land with a thud sometimes, the pacing can be uneven, and the plot holes are big enough to drive a Munchie-stolen car through. Did critics love it back then? Absolutely not. It was largely dismissed as a cheap knock-off. But did it find an audience on VHS and cable? You betcha. It possesses that certain charm unique to ambitious B-movies of the era – a sincerity in its silliness. There’s even a weird subplot involving aliens and refrigerators that… well, it happens.
### Still Worth Snacking On?
So, popping Munchies into the VCR today (or, you know, finding it digitally), how does it hold up? It’s definitely dated, and the seams of its budget are more apparent than ever. The comparison to Gremlins remains unavoidable and unfavorable if you're looking for genuine scares or sophisticated satire. But if you approach it with the right mindset – appreciating the practical puppet work (however crude), enjoying Harvey Korman’s presence, and soaking in the pure, unrefined 80s B-movie energy – there’s definitely fun to be had. It’s a reminder of a time when even the knock-offs had a certain handmade charm.
VHS Heaven Rating: 5/10
Justification: Munchies scores points for its sheer audacity in ripping off a blockbuster, Harvey Korman's game performance, the hilarious puppet effects, and the undeniable nostalgia factor for Corman-esque creature features. It loses points for sluggish pacing, weak jokes, and generally being, well, not very good in conventional terms. It's a solid "watch with friends and laugh" flick.
Final Thought: Forget slick digital critters; Munchies serves up pure, unadulterated 80s puppet cheese – messy, a bit stale, but oddly satisfying if you’re in the mood for vintage junk food cinema.