Simon Says DVD Review
Simon Says DVD Review
Simon Simply Slays
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Simon (Crispin Glover) is super-simple, while his older, more sophisticated identical twin Stanley (also Glover) has lots of complex ideas — mostly involving killing people. Relying on a completely impossible system of elaborately set deathtraps and complete happenstance, the brothers make short work of several victims throughout the film: Kind of like Saw's Jigsaw meets Showtime's Tara if they lived in the forest and had to become survivalist-style MacGuyvers. It's ridiculous!
Ridiculous and sublime, that is. Played a lot like Club Dread (and interestingly enough an actor from that gross-out horror comedy, Greg Cipes, also appears in Simon Says), this movie is slicker and not quite as outright comedic. The deaths are horrific, gasp-aloud spectacles, both gory and gooey — but they're not the only reason to watch the movie. The main attraction is goofy yet gritty Glover, playing his best genre role since Willard (actually, Simon Says was made just a few years after that, but it's taken a few more to find its way to DVD in the U.S.).
Simon Says trips back and forth in time reminiscent of The Tripper, and I couldn't help but notice it has a 'Shrooms vibe, but — it's a lot more entertaining, better-made, and faster-paced than either of those movies. Which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement: I did find Simple Simon very boring in the spots that didn't involve death, and I didn't much care for the victim-characters (with the exception of Cipes, who always plays "the stoner" to perfection). I didn't really glom onto the twins as kids, their family unit being way too whacky without being especially funny.
However, Glover is great, and the cinematography, color, composition and deadly set-pieces are really relish-worthy. (Pickaxe fans will definitely want to watch this movie as a double feature along with My Bloody Valentine!) While I wouldn't go out of my way to see Simple Simon twice, double the Glover helps, as do the outrageous methods of dispatch.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson