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Voodoo Academy

Voodoo Academy

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hysterical, horrible and highly homoerotic!
Review: It's a movie that so bad, its actually good. I read about the movie and went and rented the VHS version and was not impressed. However I knew the DVD had a full half hour worth of extra footage, so I purchased it (while I was not impressed with the VHS, I liked it enough to want to see more).

Full Moon releasing should be commended for this jam-packed DVD with raw audio and directors comentary. It's fun to watch and the director's cut makes much more sense than the VHS version. The plot is thin, the acting is awful and it's uber-cheesy. Special Effects? Sort of... The one thing this vid has going for it, is a string sense of style! The young studly cast is likeable and the director knows how to make them look good. Don't get me wrong - the movie is still bad - but it feels so good to watch it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exploitation with beautiful guys
Review: Notable for being one of the first homoerotic horror films ever made, VOODOO ACADEMY (2000) was shelved for quite some time by Full Moon Entertainment before being released in a heavily edited VHS edition (which you should avoid at all costs) and this expanded "director's cut" with 23 minutes of added footage and risque sequences.

Christopher Sawyer, played by Riley Smith ("Lover's Lane," "Not Another Teen Movie") enters an extremely exclusive Bible college for young men -- so exclusive that the school has only admitted several other students (including mega-buffed Huntley Ritter of "Bring it On", Travis Sher, and Kevin Calisher), all of whom look like male models with stunning physiques beneath their strict jacket and tie uniforms. The college is run by a renegade priest (Chad Burris) with some revolutionary ideas about religion, as well as a few unorthodox methods, and a seductive headmistress, Mrs. Bouvier (Debra Mayer). But upon witnessing several strange events, most of which usually include his classmates gyrating and touching themselves during their sleep, our young hero quickly discovers that the boys are being transformed into voodoo dolls to awaken the powers of Satan.

There's absolutely no question that VOODOO ACADEMY is a terrible film. Shot in a matter of days (in Pasadena, California) and with a microscopic budget, the acting is extremely stilted (which the actors can't be blamed for considering the time they had to rehearse and the single takes which were often used), the script is dreadful, and the film is shot on 16 MM stock which gives the picture a distracting and grainy look.

And yet ... the movie is GREAT.

That might seem like a wild contradiction in terms, but VOODOO ACADEMY is the first movie that I've seen since Ed Wood's PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE which is so relentlessly bad that I completely enjoyed myself. Most of the special effects are amateurish enough to cause side-splitting laughter, and Mayer's transformation into a demonic creature (with fake horns, long fingernails, and a ridiculously lowered voice) at the climax of the film is one of the most unintentionally hilarious moments in any horror movie.

But more importantly, the movie must be commended for finally taking the standard "exploitation" horror film and substituting a group of hunky, beautiful young teenaged guys for the typical bevy of scantily-clad young women. Obviously made to appease female fans and geared towards an untapped gay audience, there are multiple scenes of the students after they've stripped to their boxers, receiving wine-drenched rubdowns and caressing themselves while they experience "erotic dreams." Riley Smith bravely explores the school to discover many of its secrets while clad in only a pair of tight, white boxer briefs and socks. Additionally, several of the film's deleted scenes (which have luckily been restored to the DVD version) are obviously intended for a homosexual viewer: in the opening scene, one of the students is gradually peeled out of his school blazer, tie, white shirt ... right down to his boxers, of course ... while the obviously turned-on Burris runs his hands over his own bare chest. Another stunning moment which has gained a bit of notoriety is the famous "confessional scene," where strapping young actor Ben Indra falls into an erogenous trance, rips open his shirt, strips it off to reveal a toned body, and does things to his cross which the word "blasphemy" could hardly describe ... needless to say, anyone of the gay persuasion who isn't turned on by this scene probably needs to formally declare himself a eunuch.

The DVD also features a fair amount of extras, including feature commentary by director David DeCoteau, an alternate take and blooper real (which includes another version of the Ben Indra shirt-ripper confessional), a raw audio track where you can hear the director giving direction to the actors, and more.

With a sequel currently being filmed as of this writing, you should definitely treat yourself to VOODOO ACADEMY -- whatever your gender or sexual orientation might be.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One hot movie
Review: Obviously this is not an oscar calibur film, but it isn't meant to be. Riley Smith makes this movie. I will watch anything he is in. I am hoping his movie LOVER'S LANE will soon be on DVD too. Voodoo academy is indeed homoerotic as others have mentioned, and it is nice to see this type of thing incorporated into a movie. The same old tired formulas in horror movies--damsels in distress--is outdated. Bring on the guys! DeCoteau is a cool director.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: finally somthing diffrent
Review: ok so its not a acaddamy winning movie but at least its not ripping of other movies it stands out.the story is some what diffrent its about an all boys school which study the bible to become move christion but when the boys start going missing things get intresting and the boys take matters inter thier own hands and begin to saspect the head prinsapale. my review dosent give the film justise and you should see it and youll see what ive be trying to write it stands on its own

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Awful, in a good/excellent/Showgirls sort of way!!
Review: OK, i LOVED this movie. I had friends over to watch it (a group of gay men) and we had a blast. It's a typical exploitive-type horror movie where we get a real eyeful of hot guys running around ...! The acting is horrible (laugh-out-loud horrible), the production values shoddy, but it's funny in that Showgirls "I'm not supposed to be laughing at this part but I am" way. Definitely get the fully-restored version on DVD, which contains all the formerly-deleted stuff (LOTS of nighttime writhing around in undies and inappropriate self-touching!) and some fun extras. ... definitely a great flick for a Friday night, pitcher of margaritas, and some good friends. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 4 stars for the eye candy alone, NO doubt . . .
Review: Okay, the director of this film is openly gay - but that is NOT news if you've seen it. "Voodoo Academy" is rife with young, hot and well-built young men in white boxer briefs spending good chunks of the movie writhing around and touching/rubbing themselves while dreaming in their beds. . .

The story is lame and laughable - a group of 6 boys at a bible college are really being used as guinea pigs by the Evil Lady Demon and her equally-evil Reverend, one by one being turned into mini-voodoo dolls as their "pure and innocent" souls are sucked from the INCREDIBLY HOT bodies in order to bring some big boss demon back to take over the world . . . or something like that. The effects are weak, the acting sporadically believable --

But if you are female or a gay male - WOW. This movie takes the exploitation of the female body generally found in horror movies and flips it, this time making some VERY hot and hunky guys the object of lust and desire. Huntley Ritter as Rusty particularly stands out, incredible face and physique, and even Chad Burris as Reverand Carmichael sports his naked torso in the DVD version before rubbing wine into a few hot bodies with relish.

If you have a DVD player, don't even THINK about getting the VHS version - the DVD is packed with extras, and the 23 extra minutes of footage in the film was used wisely in showcasing even more of the bodies of the film's young male cast. Some of the reviewers here call this softcore porn, which I did NOT agree with when I saw the VHS version - having now bought and seen the DVD, I would agree; I noticed some gay men here disputing the homoeroticism in the film, but honestly it IS sometimes more what you DON'T see than what you DO see that turns you on - -

And on that score, "Voodoo Academy" scores a major touchdown. A guilty pleasure that will bring you minimum guilt and maximum pleasure. . .

The added blooper reel on the DVD is kind of lame, boring after awhile, but the behind-the-scenes footage with commentary is cool - I was an actor in L.A. for 2 years, and it made me miss the feel of being on a film set . . .

BUY THE DVD IF YOU CAN FIND IT, IGNORE THE VHS -- THOSE 23 EXTRA MINUTES ARE WORTH IT!! WHEW!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Sometimes it's good to be bad.
Review: Sometimes it's good to be bad. That's what the villians in this movie think. Apparently, it's also what the director and all the actors thought too. Some sci-fi/horror movies are so bad that they're funny; this one is so bad that I wanted to cry. Cute guys aren't enough to make up for such a sorry movie. And who didn't notice the microphone hanging above the dinner table?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This film ain't about the acting...it's about the boys.
Review: The reviewer who reviewed this film prior to me did so before the DVD was released, and it shows. The VHS and studio release version of this film was only 70 minutes, because the studio head felt there was too much homoeroticism. Thus whole scenes of the characters in bed (no sex, no touching, just writhing away while having a nightmare), or running around in their boxer-briefs were removed. The process of the rub-down with the tainted wine was cut and edited, and a very controversial "confessional" scene (once again, no sex, no touching, just writhing) was eliminated. Along with them went quasi-central parts of the story.

The DVD has been fully restored, original opening, original story, original cast, and original footage. It is now well over an hour. It is also very, very homoerotic.

In the materials they refer to it as the first horror film for girls ... this is true. All the hackneyed conventions: victims stalked in their underwear, menaced in their underwear, figuring out the terrifying truth...in their underwear is here. Yep, all the victims are virgins too. Except here, they are all male.

The real gem in this DVD collection is the add-on package. There is a running commentary available with some of the most hilarious observations combined with technical background and all the gossip on the shelved and highly edited versions (the studio head was very disturbed by the idea that these victims were boys). There is an unheard of gem in a "raw" audio track without special effects, looping, dubbing, score, or editing. There you hear the director calling the shots ("writhe more, writhe more!" "Now unbutton the pants!") as well as more technical aspects of the film. There is a blooper reel, but it is largely unremarkable, and there is a behind the scenes feature.

If you like kitschy horror or are a person (woman or man) who loves tight young men in their underwear, then you'll love this film and be glad it's not on VHS, where you'd wear it out. If you don't, try SCREAM or something...this is most definitely a cult favorite type of film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: GUILTY PLEASURE
Review: THIS FILM IS PURELY A GUILTY PLEASURE. IF YOU LIKE B MOVIES THIS
IS IT. SILLY PLOT, MOSTLY AN AD FOR BOXER BRIEFS. HOWEVER IT
WAS A VEHICLE FOR RILEY SMITH AND ONE OF THE "STARS" WAS IN BRING
IT ON. BUT RAINY NIGHTS HAVE BEEN PASSED WITH WORSE.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not well made but still fun
Review: This film was fun to watch. I admit it was poorly made and the script was corny to say the least. The best aspect was the twist with male, female roles being changed from the norm. I would have to say, if you want mindless entertainment that will not draw you down emotionally. See this movie. It was fun, light and entertaining.


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