Hysterical Summary
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Chris Bearde
Genres: Comedy, Horror
Rating:
During the peak of the slasher-movie boom of the early '80s, there were numerous attempts at Airplane!-style horror parodies, all of which fell considerably short of their comic targets and vanished into cable-TV obscurity. Hysterical, an abortive vehicle for the questionable comic talents of the Hudson Brothers, is perhaps the weakest of the lot. Bill_Hudson plays Fred Lansing, a writer vacationing at a rustic lighthouse in the deceptively idyllic Oregon fishing town of Hellview, where he is tormented by the apparition of Venecia (Julie_Newmar), a local woman who killed herself one hundred years ago. The lovelorn Venecia wishes to use Fred's body as the vessel for the spirit of her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard_Kiel, once again typecast as a great big guy), and isn't particularly interested in Fred's opinion on the matter. When Howdy apparently grumbles to life, several townspeople are subsequently murdered in ghastly ways, leading a pair of bumbling detectives (Mark_Hudson and Brett_Hudson) to investigate the horrific history of the Hellview lighthouse and generally make nuisances of themselves. Filled with insipid puns, tired sight gags, silly musical numbers, and unfunny cameo appearances from the likes of Bud_Cort and Charlie_Callas, this inept spoof has perhaps three genuine laughs scattered throughout its ninety-minute runtime, amounting to only one decent joke per half-hour of wasted film. Cavett Binion, Rovi
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