When Horror Doesn’t Stay on the Screen: Phantom of the Megaplex (2000)

When horror doesn’t stay on the screen!

I loved this film so much as a kid! There are so many amazing things involved in it!

1. It’s a DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie). Now I’m from the generation that these movies came out every month and were amazing. Today all the DCOMs are completely dumb, and poorly written, but back in my day they were actually something to look forward to on a friday night.
2. It’s a very well done modern version of the Phantom of the Opera. I loved how well they do it! I love almost everything Phantom of the Opera-y. (The 1945 version was atrocious! Don’t watch it!)
3. They reference so many other movies, that it just makes a cinephile like me squeal in delight!
4. It has MICKEY ROONEY! Yes this amazing man plays a misunderstood guy, and classic film buff. When I watched this film I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to have quotes and film plots memorized that I just whipped out whenever something came up that was similar. Phantom of the Opera, may have started me in my love of classic film, but this film completely changed my personality.
5. It takes place in a movie theater, one of my favorite places to be and where I have always wanted to work at. I wish I could get a job there, but so many others want to work there it’s hard to get in. 😦 One day!
6. Taylor Handley was the main guy. I had the hugest crush on him when this film came out, I was like 8 or 9 and in love with him.

So the film starts out with the credits and Fugue in D Minor, classic, horrific stuff! Love the creepiness of the organ! We are also told that when the original theater was destroyed to create the new megaplex, a man was supposedly trapped in there and now haunts the megaplex for all eternity.

Taylor Handley’s character, Pete Riley, introduces us to the megaplex where he works at.

 

They are getting ready for a huge film premiere, Midnight Mayhem, at the theater. He is the assistant manager and not only in charge of a making sure everything goes just right, but a crazy collection of workers.

1. There’s Shawn MacGibbon and Senior Manager. He is getting passed over for the owner’s doofus son. Something he is not happy about. He’s Pete’s boss.
2. Ricky “Rules”. He always follows the rules to a T and makes sure everyone else does.
3. “Scary” Terry. She is always talking about some seemingly innocent thing turns out to be murderous. She loves the macabre.
4. Hillary “Honey”. She’s the mom of the group and always calling everyone dear, sweetie, or honey.
5. “Question” Mark. Whenever he’s told to do something, he always answers with a question mark.
6. “Racy” Lacy. Always moving a mile a minute.
7. Merle. He’s not really under Pete either, he kind of does what he wants. He’s the projectionist and handyman extraordinaire. He feels under-appreciated at his job.
8. “Movie” Mason. Played by the wonderful Mickey Rooney! I love Movie Mason and wanted to be just like him. Movie Moreland!  I love the sound of that. Mason is mistreated by Shawn MacGibbon. Everyday Mason comes with a mock schedule, his family owned the old theater and it was his personal playground. MacGibbon hates him, and is verbally abusive to him every time he sees him. Mason is absolutely awesome though. He has an amazing speech in the film. It was so well written.

“Movie Mason: When we arrive in this world magic is all around us…Yet as the years pass, simple pleasures aren’t quite so simple to find. Myths… Legends… Fall away. Santa’s secrets are revealed. Card tricks lose their fascination. True wonder is hard to come by… But there is always magic at the movies. Pirate ships… bicycles that fly… angels earn their wings, beautiful women marry handsome men and we all learn that there is no place like home. To destroy that magic, to shatter those moments to me is a sin so grave it would almost be incomprehensible!”

Pete’s mom is going out that night so he ends up being stuck with his cinephillic brother and sister. This turns out to be the least of his problems as there is a masked figure roaming about that is causing all kinds of disasters all over the theater.

Electrical systems fail, a candy machine breaks down and shoots the gumballs all over the lobby. Then the popcorn machine goes haywire and Pete has to figure out how to stop it. Every time he solves one problem new ones start popping up.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Phantom then starts pranking films based on their plot or name. In Cyclone Summer, a Twister like film, he places a giant fan that blows destructively at the audience.

In Cut to Black, he makes lights flicker on and off, cutting to black. He continues on this spree. Giant blowups ballons are misplaced and pop up elsewhere, MAYHEM ALL OVER.

Pete valiantly tries to stop him and determine who he is! Will He find out? Watch and see!

Now for movies he references are the following (I watched this a few weeks ago so sorry if I don’t list all of them, comment any I don’t catch):

1. King Kong: The Gorilla balloon that attacks the people in the Mayhem Movie
2. The Wizard of Oz: Mason quotes from it and references it.
3. Twister: Cyclone Summer is a parody of it
4. Godzilla, The Giant Behemoth, The Great Gila Monster, or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms: Midnight Mayhem has a huge dinosaur that attacks a city.
5. Scream. The girls are in the bathroom and the phantom is lurking around scaring them much like he tries to scare Sydney.
6. Scream 3. A similar scene with the phantom lurking around happens in here too.
7. Sleepless in Seattle. The kids hope that the mom will be proposed to in this way.
8. Miracle on 34th Street. He references it in his speech he gives on magic.
9. Hollywood Hotel. Mickey Rooney sings the song “Hooray for Hollywood“.
10. The Sword in the Stone. They are running a promotional that if you pull the plastic sword out of the plastic stone you will win free movie passes. Pete runs and grabs it to destroy the blow up balloons.
11. Tarzan or George of the Jungle. Pete swings on a vine over to capture the phantom.
12. Phantom of the Opera. Of course, the whole film is based on it!

That’s the fearful post for today! More to come! 3 Days ‘Till Halloween

Here is a cover page/poster I made for my facebook page for my countdown to Halloween.

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong in the World

For the previous post, go to Feast Your Eyes on My Accursed Ugliness

For more on The Phantom of the Opera, go to It’s BACK: The Sequel

For more of horror happening in a movie theater, go to Midnight Madness

For more on Disney, go to I’m No Warrior, I’m An Assistant Pig-Keeper

For more on Disney Channel Original Movies, go to Bowled Over

For more on The Giant Behemoth, go to From the Sea Burning Like Fire 

For more of my fav quotes, go to I Want Friend Like Me

Grimwood Ghouls’ Gym Teacher: Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

Maybe I shouldn’t have taken this job as a gym teacher.

I love this film so much! I remember that I used to watch this all the time as a kid on TV when Fall would come around. I still do as I love it, and my nieces and nephew are always bugging me to watch it with them. We are all big Scooby fans.

Cartoon Network on Sarurdays used to be the greatest. They would to show Boomerang, and have Scooby-Doo marathons. And every Saturday night they used to do a double film feature. During October they used to do a Creature Double Feature and would show Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo and Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, and Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. My sister and I used to watch these all the time. My all time favorite  was always Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. I loved that they refrenced old monster movies, and I remember wanting to be Sibella because I though she was the prettiest of all the “ghouls”.

So the story starts out with Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy all going to Grimwood School for Girls to be P.E. teachers. Every year the girls compete against the Calloway military school at a volleyball game and lose; so this year Ms. Grimwood decides to hire someone to coach them. Fred, Daphne, and Velma aren’t there with them for some reason.

So when the guys get there, they discover that the school is for GHOULS not GIRLS! They being Shaggy and Scooby, are totally terrified and want to leave, but Scappy convices them to stay and hang out.

So the ghouls are Sibella, Dracula’s daughter,

It’s fangtastic to meet you

Winne the Wolfman’s daughter,

Hellooooooooo!

Elsa Frankenteen, Frankenteen (Frankenstein)’s daughter (her name also alludes to Elsa Lanchester who was in the Bride of Frankenstein),

Hello der

Tanis daughter of the Mummy,

And Phanty (Phantasma) the Phantom’s daughter. I think they are alluding to the Phantom of the Opera because she plays the organ, but they actually make her a ghost in this.

There is also a dragon named Matches and they also allude to The Adam’s Family by having a mobile hand crawling around.

So anyways; Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy start preparing the girls for the tournament. All are eager to win, espechially Tanis who wants to put the trophy in her mumuy case, and Winnie who wants to teach the Calloway Cadets a lesson.

I love the cheesy, punny lines in this film. “It’s Batastic”, “This helps me unwind”, and “it’s a real Howl”.

Couldn’t resist

Meanwhile the Cadets are also preparing for the tournament. In fact Tug, the leader of the group, has created a remote control volleyball so that they are sure to win.

There’s no way we’ll lose

However, everything that Tug creates ends up blowing up. Usually hurting him or the captain of the Academy.

The next day, they have the tournament where the boys try out their secret weapon.

As cheaters always get what’s coming to them, the boys lose due to their attempt. The remote control they have ends up getting swallowed by Scooby-Doo, and his hiccuping with it helps the girls win.

The next day the school is all in a flutter as they are having an open house. All the monster dads are going to come which starts freaking Scooby and Shaggy out as they realize they will have The Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula, Phantom, and Frankenteen all under one roof.

They have a fun time, but then all the monsters let Shaggy and Scooby know that if anything happens to their daughter and her friends; their lives are OVER!

Unbeknowest to them all, evil lurks in the area. Revolta, the evil swamp witch wants to kidnap the girls and turn them into her evil slaves.

She uses her evil spider bats to spin webs around Shaggy’s head, convincing him to take the ghouls out on a jog through the swamp. The girls love it, but pretty soon the Spider Bats have captured all the girls, and Revolta spirits them away to her lair.

The Calloway boys see what’s happening, but don’t do anything. They are supposed to be going on a hike through the swamp as well are trying to just get back home.

It’s up to Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy, and Matches to save the day. In Revolta’s lair they have to defeat evil mirror monsters and giant swamp creatures to try and save the girls.

In the end they are captured and Scooby-Doo is turned into a frog. Revolta hooks all the ghouls up to her machines to make them her evil minions, but before she can finish Scooby is able to jump around and cut off the tubes, having all the girls turn back to normal. They then use Revolta’s wand to get rid of her and the Calloway boys come back and save the day using a helicopter they created.

At the end, the ghouls and cadets have a big party and dance the night away. The monsters also come and join in.

Scooby and Shaggy are feeling really confident with themselves, when Ms. Grimwood introduces the newest recruits. One of which is The Creature from the Black Lagoon’s daughter,

And what appears to be The Great Gila Monster’s or Godzilla’s daughter.

This is too much for Shaggy and Scooby as they cannot handle any more ghouls and monsters. They quickly grab Scrappy and jet outta there. It ends with them waving good-bye to everyone, and heading out on the road to a new place.

Good-bye!

 

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong In the World

To go to the previous post, go to The Only Thing That Matters is the Ending

To purchase a copy of this film,  click on the image below: