At any point in this movie, you could be watching one of three films. The first is a Hallmark channel movie about Lochlyn Munro, a former doctor who decided to leave the hectic city life, more to a small town, and fix up an old Bed and Breakfast. He's invited his girlfriend and her daughter out to participate in the grand opening, when his recovering addict brother arrives. Can he set his brother on the straight and narrow? Will the inn's attractive new guest create a jealousy that destroys Lochlyn's relationship? Is it truly possible to escape the city life and return to small town values, or will the heartless engine of big city capitalism force Lochlyn back into medicine? With the bright lighting and soft focus camera work of a million other romantic comedies that couldn't quite afford Lacey Chabert, this movie promises to deliver a heart-warming story from the creator of 21 Jump Street that reaffirms the concepts of love and family.
Yet this movie is also a mid 90's Nickelodeon special about 10-year-old Pamela, who befriends young ghost girl Emma. As their friendship blossoms, Emma warns Pamela about the curse of the town's Tooth Fairy, who takes children by stealing their teeth. With the adults not listening, Pamela and Emma will have to break the curse themselves. But can they escape the two goofy yokels thwarting them at every turn? Is the crazy witch lady a friend or a foe? With cheesy sets and silly, scene chewing performance straight out of children's theatre, this films promises a child friendly romp from the creator of The Greatest American Hero full of useless, silly adults and dangerous conflicts solved by the wisdom of a fifth grader.
Yet this film is also a horror film violating every social norm and repeatedly crossing the boundaries of good taste. A character is shredded alive by a wood chipper. The nudity is truly gratuitous. At one point, the camera cuts to a full screen shot of dismembered human genitalia. Beyond a 2AM slot on the Showtime or Cinemax, there's no where on cable television this film could possible broadcast. The copious blood and innuendo promises a Fangoria approved slasher from the creator of Silk Stalkings that will require every possible trigger warning.
What makes this such a glorious piece of cinema is how rapidly the movie switches between these three tones. During an early scene, the single mother expresses her frustration with her divorce, has a hackneyed, vaudeville interaction with a southern stereotype, and experiences an attempted sexual assault in under a minute. The previously mentioned visible castration is accompanied by a pun that could only be appreciated by a six-year-old. The phrase "Mood Whiplash" can't even apply, since it implies that one mood is given a chance to build momentum before the tone changes. I've see movies with more disturbing gore and violence, but never one that was so daring in mixing depravity and banality. I've seen this film at least six times by now and it still always manages to shock me.
As a final little bit of trivia, the cast of this film have been, over the course of their combined careers, fought Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, Carrie, Puppet Master, Jigsaw, the Predator, and the parody villain from the Scary Movie movies.