Spontaneous Combustion, what a mess!

Hellbilly · 11-17-2002, 02:32 PM

I bought the disc the other day and damn, I totally forgot how awful this flick was. What a mess!
Bad acting, bad dialogues and a few good/bad pyro effects.
Brad Dourif shines however but his talent was totally wasted here.
Ah well, there were a few things I did enjoy though - moments of interesting cinematography and those 50's style propaganda films at the beginning were kinda well done.

Anchor Bay did a great job on the transfer, it's quite colorful and the image is pretty sharp at times.

Spontaneous Combustion ain't the worst film I've ever seen but it's pretty bad.
Tobe Hooper, what went wrong???

KillerCannabis · 11-18-2002, 09:28 AM

You just said it........ Tobe Hooper, thats what went wrong.

11-18-2002, 11:50 AM

Spontaneous combustion is always messy. Good thing it hardly ever happens.

11-18-2002, 03:08 PM

Yeh - Spontaneous Combustion sucked. Another one of those total let-downs that everyone was waiting for.

Everyone has crucified Tobe since Texas Chainsaw - but I don't think it's fair.
Eaten Alive / Death Trap was okay, Funhouse wasn't anywhere near what it could have been - but it was still pretty cool. Lifeforce gets hung out to dry all the time - but I like it a lot. The stunning M. May parading around naked, zombie attacks & mad old-fashioned comic-book type horror. I love that movie.

11-19-2002, 02:29 AM

I just watched Lifeforce again a few weeks ago, and wow! what a tour de force!

Someone on IMBD or Amazon described it as "the best bad film ever made" but I don't really see the "bad" part.

I agree that Spontaneous Combustion is bad, but most of what Hooper's done, I find enjoyable. He also directed the pilot for Nowhere Man, which was an excellent TV show.

11-19-2002, 03:40 AM

Yeah, Lifeforce rocks.
I didn't realize Hooper'd worked on Nowhere Man... I wouldn't exactly call it excellent, but it was OK and Bruce Greenwood was good.

11-19-2002, 06:59 AM

I guess I was a real Nowhere Maniac in the day. I followed the daily drama between Larry Hertzog and the Evil Suits at Touchstone, which was just as compelling as the drama on screen.

I don't know, between Nowhere Man, Babylon 5, and Lexx, the 90's brought us some fine television.

11-19-2002, 10:50 AM

Yes but . . . .

02-02-2003, 06:07 PM

Alright, I just watched Spontaneous Combustion for the first time.

I thought the whole thing started off rather well with it's 50's atomic family prologue. It had interesting characters in those scenes and it showed real promise.

Fastforward 30 years and the movie goes downhill. Sure we get Dourif in another off-kilt performance to help us along, but the movie just doesn't know where it's going. It felt like a bad X-Files episodes. I did enjoy the special effects and the music was quite good... but the murders were repetitive (crispy!) and the whole conspiricy angle got old rather fast. Plus, the ending is a total groaner! Ugh! Actually, the entire final reel of the movie was horrible.

Basically, it's Scanners with fire. But I'd watch Cronenberg's film twenty times before subjecting myself to this again.

02-02-2003, 06:09 PM

I just passed it buy last night at Best Buy. Glad I did

dwatts · 06-28-2005, 08:17 AM

See, after Riddick I really needed something different. So I put this on. I was sitting them, a little worse for wear beer wise, assuming I was phasing out, because some of this made no sense..... turns out it's just a bit choppy is all.

But dammit, unlike Riddick, I somehow had a good time watching it! Mark me as a new fan of this film. See, this was bad, in a good way. The DVD is old, but looks amazingly good. No real bonus material though

The story, even for such a fantastic story, falls apart and makes little sense. They really could have done more, this one is a bit new, a bit Carrie, a bit Scanners....... but it never takes itself seriously, and the funky sets give you flashbacks to times when neon phones were considered cool.

Two thumbs up - for all the wrong reasons.

Hellbilly · 06-28-2005, 04:40 PM

Heh, it's been three years since I last saw Spontaneous Combustion. My appreciation for the cheese has grown since 2002, so I might have to watch this again soon.

06-28-2005, 08:52 PM

I bought that two-fer disk with Society on it. I've seen Society which I liked, and still have yet to view Spontanious Combustion. I'm not gettin' any motivation to see it in the near future either.

11-17-2002, 02:32 PM	#1
Hellbilly Water-squirting greatness Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Franconia Posts: 13,665	Spontaneous Combustion, what a mess! I bought the disc the other day and damn, I totally forgot how awful this flick was. What a mess! Bad acting, bad dialogues and a few good/bad pyro effects. Brad Dourif shines however but his talent was totally wasted here. Ah well, there were a few things I did enjoy though - moments of interesting cinematography and those 50's style propaganda films at the beginning were kinda well done. Anchor Bay did a great job on the transfer, it's quite colorful and the image is pretty sharp at times. Spontaneous Combustion ain't the worst film I've ever seen but it's pretty bad. Tobe Hooper, what went wrong??? __________________ "Common sense turns me on" Last edited by Hellbilly; 11-17-2002 at 10:58 PM.

11-19-2002, 10:50 AM	#8
BlazingMagnum Guest Posts: n/a	Yes but . . . . Attached Thumbnails

06-28-2005, 04:40 PM	#12
Hellbilly Water-squirting greatness Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Franconia Posts: 13,665	Heh, it's been three years since I last saw Spontaneous Combustion. My appreciation for the cheese has grown since 2002, so I might have to watch this again soon. __________________ "Common sense turns me on"

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11-18-2002, 09:28 AM	#2
KillerCannabis Slow, Deep & Hard Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: So Cal Posts: 5,606	You just said it........ Tobe Hooper, thats what went wrong.

11-18-2002, 11:50 AM	#3
Werner Von Wallenrod Guest Posts: n/a	Spontaneous combustion is always messy. Good thing it hardly ever happens.

11-18-2002, 03:08 PM	#4
BlazingMagnum Guest Posts: n/a	Yeh - Spontaneous Combustion sucked. Another one of those total let-downs that everyone was waiting for. Everyone has crucified Tobe since Texas Chainsaw - but I don't think it's fair. Eaten Alive / Death Trap was okay, Funhouse wasn't anywhere near what it could have been - but it was still pretty cool. Lifeforce gets hung out to dry all the time - but I like it a lot. The stunning M. May parading around naked, zombie attacks & mad old-fashioned comic-book type horror. I love that movie.

11-19-2002, 02:29 AM	#5
MapleBob Guest Posts: n/a	I just watched Lifeforce again a few weeks ago, and wow! what a tour de force! Someone on IMBD or Amazon described it as "the best bad film ever made" but I don't really see the "bad" part. I agree that Spontaneous Combustion is bad, but most of what Hooper's done, I find enjoyable. He also directed the pilot for Nowhere Man, which was an excellent TV show.

11-19-2002, 03:40 AM	#6
Werner Von Wallenrod Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah, Lifeforce rocks. I didn't realize Hooper'd worked on Nowhere Man... I wouldn't exactly call it excellent, but it was OK and Bruce Greenwood was good.

11-19-2002, 06:59 AM	#7
MapleBob Guest Posts: n/a	I guess I was a real Nowhere Maniac in the day. I followed the daily drama between Larry Hertzog and the Evil Suits at Touchstone, which was just as compelling as the drama on screen. I don't know, between Nowhere Man, Babylon 5, and Lexx, the 90's brought us some fine television.

02-02-2003, 06:07 PM	#9
the.wicked.one Guest Posts: n/a	Alright, I just watched Spontaneous Combustion for the first time. I thought the whole thing started off rather well with it's 50's atomic family prologue. It had interesting characters in those scenes and it showed real promise. Fastforward 30 years and the movie goes downhill. Sure we get Dourif in another off-kilt performance to help us along, but the movie just doesn't know where it's going. It felt like a bad X-Files episodes. I did enjoy the special effects and the music was quite good... but the murders were repetitive (crispy!) and the whole conspiricy angle got old rather fast. Plus, the ending is a total groaner! Ugh! Actually, the entire final reel of the movie was horrible. Basically, it's Scanners with fire. But I'd watch Cronenberg's film twenty times before subjecting myself to this again.

02-02-2003, 06:09 PM	#10
THE MOVIE KING Guest Posts: n/a	I just passed it buy last night at Best Buy. Glad I did

06-28-2005, 08:17 AM	#11
dwatts HackMaster Join Date: May 2002 Location: Crashed Posts: 16,580	See, after Riddick I really needed something different. So I put this on. I was sitting them, a little worse for wear beer wise, assuming I was phasing out, because some of this made no sense..... turns out it's just a bit choppy is all. But dammit, unlike Riddick, I somehow had a good time watching it! Mark me as a new fan of this film. See, this was bad, in a good way. The DVD is old, but looks amazingly good. No real bonus material though The story, even for such a fantastic story, falls apart and makes little sense. They really could have done more, this one is a bit new, a bit Carrie, a bit Scanners....... but it never takes itself seriously, and the funky sets give you flashbacks to times when neon phones were considered cool. Two thumbs up - for all the wrong reasons.

06-28-2005, 08:52 PM	#13
4Gotten1 Guest Posts: n/a	I bought that two-fer disk with Society on it. I've seen Society which I liked, and still have yet to view Spontanious Combustion. I'm not gettin' any motivation to see it in the near future either.