Search - Catcher on DVD

Hilarious, unforgettable - and quite terrible

04/15/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

""The Catcher" has become legendary among those of us who were patient enough to sit through it. A cautionary note: do not watch this movie alone. It is not frightening (though it is very gory). You will simply need your friends to help you through the tedium between unintended belly laughs.Joe Estevez (either the brother or cousin of Martin Sheen - we're not sure which) plays the "father from hell". We first see him "coaching" his son Johnny at softball. Joe's overracted tirades ("you throw like a girl, boy!") had us laughing so hard we had to pause the tape only several minutes into the flick. Imagine Martin Sheen after several hundred Big Macs and stripped of his acting ability.It recalls one of the old "Tales From the Darkside" television episodes - low-budget, strangely lit, and therefore slightly surreal.Needless to say - there is violence, and many years later young Johnny escapes from a mental insitution (this is from the back of the tape - the movie itself doesn't touch on this at all) to play "one last game". He then proceeds to knock off the baseball park workers, one by one... well, you've seen this before. If you can make it past the pseudo-artsy "let's hold the camera at a distance and pan slowly for several minutes" approach, the terrible acting, the laughable soundtrack, ... well, just wait for the return of Joe Estevez at the finale. He steals the show.Scorcese, Cohen Bros., Spielberg, are you listening? Joe Estevez! Someone call this guy's agent!Many scenes are not for the weak-hearted. I am fairly numb to movie violence, but some of this film's sick gore (the baseball bat scene in particular) had me twisting in my seat.There is an achingly long trailer before the movie (for "STARVED!"), and it is nearly as groaningly bad (read: endlessly entertaining) as the feature itself. Definitely worth a rental for the sick-minded, or masochistic, or merely curious. If this weren't rental-priced I'd pick up a copy of my own and bring it out every couple of years at parties for the ol' Mystery Science Theater treatment."

STRIKE THREE

Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 09/13/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"David Heavener who plays the suspected killer in THE CATCHER has come through many Z movies, like Twisted Justice, Fugitive X, etc., to this ridiculously horrible horror film without scars. But after this one, well, he may just have to retire.
Monique Parent is awful in the role of the baseball's bigwig something or other and all she does most of the movie is parade around with her clipboard looking at all the doors. The director must have liked her butt, cause that's about all he throws at us for a good while. There's one shot in the locker room that shows about eight catcher's masks...how many catchers does this team have? They never mention in the movie that the psychotic dad killer even escaped or got out..they want us to think it's Heavener. The deaths are fairly gory, especially the up the you know what baseball bat. There's some cowardly little janitor who stumbles around like Igor. There is little if any suspense and the ending is outrageously bad. And as for Joe Estevez, I don't know how he missed out on the talent the rest of the family has, but here once again he screams, shouts and offers no inference of characterization at all.
Lame and lethargic, this is one catch you don't want to make!"

In Praise of Joe Estevez

Michael Butts | 11/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Have you ever rented a movie and thought it was going to just stink, but became entertained by it's characters? That's how it was for me with this lack luster made for video release. If it weren't for Joe Estevez I think I would have turned the movie off after the first fifteen minutes. But Mr. Estevez was so over the top with his evil portrail of "how not to be a dad" it's worth every penny of the rental! I would love to see more of him in other films because he has such a wild glaze in his eyes and raspy voice! As a villian he rates up there with Christhoper Walken(True Romance), Dennis Hoopper (Blue Velvet), and Alan Rickman (Die Hard)! As for the rest of this video, the story is weak, the effects aren't there, and there is very little horror, except for a rape scene which will either make you laugh or squirm in your seat. Monique Parent is fun to look at, I wish we could have seen more of her! if you don't take it seriously the movie is alright, but It's Joe Estevez that will make the film for you!"

Campy and Dumb but a Great Spoof

Michael Butts | 10/06/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I rented this film because I had rented "Starved" and really liked what the film makers did with that movie and I wanted to see more of their work. I'm not sure if it was the completely unoriginal script (which I noticed wasn't credited) but this one was bad. They must of gotten paid a lot of money to make this one. However, about half way through the film I began to realize that it's not a horror film at all, but a campy spoof on horror films! One of the most notable scenes in the film involves a bat and a naked man and ... you get the rest! I wouldn't say the film was a total loss -- Joe Estevez was awsome! Monique Parent was actually pretty good in a part that didn't ask her to remove her clothes. Kudos must go to the poor actor in the shower scene and to the girl (Leslie Garrett) who gets locked in a clothes dryer! I think the Director should stick to his own material like he did in "Starved", it is obvious he tried to make the best of a pretty smelly story."