There are films so chaotic of their influences that — by proper — they should not work. And but, in some way, by combining wildly disparate components with DIY spectacle, they’re merely magic. This month has seen two such marvels, the primary being Vera Drew’s ultra-personal superhero parody The Folks’s Joker, which unfurls a touching trans coming-of-age story in opposition to a backdrop of Batman villains. The second is the gleefully absurd slasher spoof from administrators Lindsey Haun and Nick Roth, known as Hanky Panky.
Regardless of how deeply you have dived into horror comedies, I can guarantee you that you’ve got by no means seen something fairly like this. And that is as a result of Haun and Roth collide references from every part from The Shining and Deliverance to Little Store of Horrors, Males in Black, Physician Sleep, and Clue — as a result of why not? And we’re not speaking the model of parody of 2000s “Not Another” infamy, the place every part from teen films to epic films obtained lumped collectively in a studio-glossy but sloppy narrative. Hanky Panky is so removed from color-by-numbers that it is the comedy equal of a Jackson Pollack.
What’s Hanky Panky about?
Credit score: Joyful Canyon Membership
This sensational stoner comedy begins — as a lot horror does — on a distant snowy mountain, the place a comfortable wood cabin sits. As Sam (Jacob DeMonte-Finn), wearing a swimsuit and a involved expression, approaches, a sound-alike of The Shining‘s rating performs. So when Sam begins conversing together with his unconventional greatest pal — a speaking handkerchief known as Woody (voiced by Toby Bryan) — there is a sharp and foolish distinction in tone. All it is advisable to find out about Woody at this level is he is dedicated to Sam, pushing the unhappy sack to make daring decisions in life and love, and he loves messes. Like sexually. Woody likes to get moist and soiled, actually.
Anyhow, this implies Woody is urging Sam to flirt with heat and spacey Diane (Ashley Holliday Tavares), who gleefully believes within the powers of increasing one’s thoughts by means of psychedelics. However the remainder of this mountaintop crew is much less pleasant. Snarling Carla (Christina Laskay) is hoping a gaggle atmosphere will give her a break from her dunderheaded husband, Cliff (Anthony Rutowicz). Blathering on is Dr. Crane (co-director Roth), a pretentious PhD-holding bartender (“At a wine bar! He doesn’t even know how to mix drinks!”) whose bombshell spouse, Lilith (Azure Parsons giving Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White in Clue), is notoriously two-faced (actually!). Their hosts are the conspicuously incestuous sister-brother crew of Rebecca (Haun in a campy femme-fatale position) and her hillbilly brother, Norm (Bryan once more). And for good measure, a suspiciously plucky neighbor (Clare Grant) retains popping by with baked items — which can be clearly store-bought.
So what is going on on on this weird getaway? Properly, that is for sheepish Sam to seek out out. And, heads up, it includes a speaking high hat, voiced by Seth Inexperienced.
Hanky Panky is divinely silly.
Credit score: Joyful Canyon Membership
From the chilly open, during which a random man flees an unseen menace solely to be lower down in blood-splattered snow, Hanky Panky exhibits it is aware of how these tales go. Amid the outlandish particulars of speaking vogue equipment, there’s the regular pacing of a slasher. There is a menace, and the primary one to be eager to it’s the final one anyone will consider. Slowly, characters start disappearing or dying off, and it is as much as an harmless to save lots of the day by rising braver and bolder. However Roth and Haun fill this acquainted framework with contemporary enjoyable by means of an absolute avalanche of silliness.
Mashable High Tales
On one degree, there are the brazen intercourse jokes of Woody, who begs to the touch a “wet mouth” and audibly orgasms when he is used to scrub up a gross mess. However there is a weirdly candy facet to his bond with Sam. As soon as chastised for his incivility, the attractive hanky pleads to be held, chirping, “Uppies! Uppies!” like a repentant toddler.
Elsewhere, this glorious ensemble fortunately chews the surroundings, leaning into each alternative to be an excessive amount of, whether or not reacting to clumsy puppetry (the place the strings are clearly seen), gloppy blood that appears like Icee syrup, or otherworldly revelations. Hilarity explodes in heated arguments over girls’s vogue, shocked reactions that lean into the operatic, and a chronic slap struggle that circles from Clue-like enjoyable to a bit tiresome and again round to silly humorous. After which there are comically awkward moments of social cues misinterpret that scorch with cringe comedy. One explicit standout comes when a panicked Sam particulars his suspicions to an aggravated Carla, who gestures to the novel in her hand and replies, “I’m trying to read. So….”
Everybody concerned is aware of precisely what sort of film that is and embraces it, making for a welcoming environment that urges audiences to hitch within the enjoyable. And the intersection of absurdity and dedication is paying homage to Aunty Donna, the Australian comedy troupe whose Netflix collection is well one of many funniest issues streaming has ever seen.
Hanky Panky comes collectively in chaos.
Credit score: Joyful Canyon Membership
The kooky characters who collide within the cabin are archetypes plucked from a variety of genres, together with the decided detective and tearful bombshells of movie noir, the smug mental of Frasier, the nagging spouse and dopey husband of sitcoms, and past. Even bits of science fiction make their manner into Hanky Panky. Extremely, as a substitute of this movie seeming like Roth, Haun, and firm are chucking every part on the wall to see what sticks, the movie feels much less compelled and extra free.
As is the case with The Folks’s Joker, Hanky Panky feels keen about its allusions and but irreverent towards them, making for a romp that’s spontaneous even in its acquainted bits. Proudly a B-movie, this gleefully foolish slasher performs like the very best stoner comedies, providing a world the place paranoia is justified and getting excessive is downright heroic. However in the long run, you need not smoke as much as take pleasure in Hanky Panky — although it could not damage.
Hanky Panky is offered for lease or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Vudu, and it is streaming on Tubi.
