oprlvr33 Admittedly this film is far better than the sinister Rob Zombie junk. (sorry Rob fans)At least Snyder put some substance, plot, and decent action into this. Have to hand it to him: he's not a bad actor. Especially in a psychotic role; which some may accuse of him as being cliché'. However, it is Dee Snyder. He wouldn't unrealistically portray a warm, loving father. Keep it real. And while I was never a huge fan, nor follower of metal music, I loved Twisted Sister. And Dee Snyder is my all-time favorite. Here he almost brilliantly resurrects his Capt. Howdy personae. And featuring Robert Englund; a very noted actor, whom of course revolutionized horror movie history with his iconic Freddy Krueger. Here we are subject to an opposite, non-sinister role as Jack, much like Englund's nice-guy character Willie, from the classic V - TV series. Snyder obviously is an Englund fan (like the rest of us :) and deliberately cast him in this film, as honorary appearance. No doubt Englund is brilliant, and could easily pull off a crime-drama psychotic serial killer as well.Overall, a few sinister scenes do drag a bit, and lack some intensity. However, Snyder does pull this thing off, for the most part.

Film Watchin Fool Why You Might Like It: This is a decent abduction/kidnapping/"serial killer" film that you might enjoy if you are into that genre. It also brings the idea of technology into fold as the abductor uses the Internet chat rooms to lure teens to his home. The acting is very spotty, but I felt there were some solid performances by some including Dee Snider who plays the villain. Overall it is very mediocre and average, but okay and should keep you entertained if these type of films interest you.Why You Might Not Like It: Although I anticipate it is meant to be, the movie is a bit sensationalized and over the top. Dee Snider seems to deviate a bit from the content and get into some fairly sadistic themes and situations that don't add much to the final product. There is some really bad acting to go with some solid performances. Brett Harrelson is terrible and painful to watch as even his cast mates seem appalled by his acting in spots. Again, the story and product are fairly average and there are better films in this genre.Acting/Casting: 5* Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 5.5*Plot/Characters: 5* Entertainment Value: 5* Total - 5+5.5+5+5 = 20.5/4 = 5.125*

AntoineMDevine First, the acting is horrible. I get the archetype of the disaffected detective, but disaffected does not mean disconnected. Gage is an iceberg except when he finds his daughter, than he becomes an emotional wreck before allowing himself to get beat up by a skinny kid. How did he make detective without learning self-defense? When he found the house, why didn't he call for backup? Next, the chat scene is completely unbelievable. There's no way you set up a new chat account and go right after the subject, and get an invitation for a face to face in 15 minutes. It's takes the FBI weeks, sometimes months, to get a suspect to trust them enough to meet. They were made as soon as they changed the profile, which was also bogus. The whole idea of a chat-room is anonymity. You can't get exact names and addresses. If you could, there would be no point to having a screen name. Also, ISPs did not store IM chats then. Only recently has the technology been developed to store them with a third party service. The technology didn't exist in 1998. At best, they might be able to trace the screen name back to a credit card.The tracing scene was also a joke. The guy's father was a marine. He had to learn something about tactics, like, I don't know, using an untraceable peer-to-peer network for his computer.As someone commented earlier, the 2nd half of the movie is pointless. If you are a seasoned detective, and you get a call from the guy who kidnapped your daughter, don't you grab her up right away? He seemed surprised that she was taken again after the nut-case sees him let the lynch mob take him. His powers of deduction are nonexistent.When this movie was released, it was scarier. This time, I spent more time laughing at all the mistakes and bad acting. This is now a 5***** rotten tomato.

tonymurphylee 1/2 out of ****This film has officially taken the beauty of a human body, and made it something ugly. It's really too bad. This film is very stupid and really quite unpleasant. Sure, it may not be no CHAOS(2005), but it is certainly very cheap and dumb. At least it actually has a real message though. Beware of strangers on the internet. This is a good lesson and a good message, so for that, the film at least has something to be proud of. But otherwise, i feel that the film is a waste of time and money.The plot revolves around Captain Howdy, a foolish goofy looking man who enjoys kidnapping young people, tying them up, and... piercing them?!?! now obviously, this guy is a sadist, but not in the traditional sense. You see, this is all he does. He doesn't kill them(at least on purpose as it seems), he doesn't appear to sexually violate them, he doesn't even really threaten them all that much. At least at first! There comes a point in the film where a particular thing happens to him for a particular reason by some particular people. I don't dare to reveal what, but somehow this causing him to not only pierce, but rape and kill. It doesn't really make much sense.Listen, if you are a fan of horror movies or Dee Snyder, you deserve better. I just happen to think that one of the most attractive people in the movie making business is Linda Cardellini, and she is in this film. But she is wasted and used and her body is shown being distorted and destroyed in this terrible film. I think that it is awful that she was used that way in a film like this. I find this film to be very boring and ponderous and not at all scary. don't watch it.Rated R for strong graphic torture/violence, language, nudity and sexuality.