DVD HUH? Munchie

When I was a kid, I always saw the VHS of Munchies in the horror section of West Coast Video and imagined how scared it would make me if I ever got the nerve to ask my parents to rent it. I never actually saw it, but I did see the sequel, Munchie (1992). Dear Lord, the original couldn't have been scarier than the sequel.

See, the original was a horror movie about Gremlin-like creatures coming out of the earth. The sequel is about a wise-cracking Gremlin-like creature coming out of the earth to grant wishes, cause mischief and speak with the voice of Dom DeLuise. And believe me, there's nothing creepier in this world than a puppet that speaks with the voice of Dom DeLuise.

The puppet is constantly "on," in more ways than one. No word comes out of its mouth that isn't a weak gag told by an uninterested man. It gets annoying after about two lines, and insanely frustrating after about three. And the puppet is constantly in motion, like some sort of epileptic Showbiz Pizza character. The head is constantly wagging from side to side, the eyes are always rolling, and the wrists are constantly rotating, so it looks like Munchie is forever drying his hands under a hot air blower in the men's room.

The film does star a very young Jennifer Love Hewitt, making this an interesting item for fans of hers, and '70s artifacts Loni Anderson and Arte Johnson find something to do, but the real star is the awkward puppet. Do not let the box art fool you, at no point does Munchie surf on a pizza.