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Popcorn

 Popcorn
type
TVTItem
 Popcorn
label
Popcorn
 Popcorn
page
Popcorn
 Popcorn
comment
Popcorn is a 1991 comedic Slasher Movie.Maggie (Jill Schoelen) is a film student in college, looked after by her aunt Suzanne (Dee Wallace) since Maggie's parents died years ago under suspicious circumstances. She's currently writing a film about a girl named Sara - based on the dreams/nightmares that she's been having. Her film professor, Mr. Davis (Tony Roberts), is working on getting the funds to help her make her movie, along with the movies of the other students in her film class. To that end, Davis suggests putting on a fundraiser movie marathon of three shlocky sci-fi movies: "Mosquito!" about a giant mutant blood-sucking insect, "The Amazing Electrified Man," about a felon wreaking havoc with new-found control of electricity, and "The Stench," a Japanese horror movie about a smell powerful enough to kill people. One of Davis' friends, Dr. Mnesyne (Ray Walston), has the original gimmick props for all three films, so they can be shown as they were originally intended, gimmicks and all.While preparing for the showing, the students come across a short film: "Possessor," a truly bizarre piece of celluloid. Davis explains that "Possessor" was made by a maniac named Lanyard Gates, who filmed everything except the final scene, which was to be performed on-stage: a ritual sacrifice. When the film was shown, Gates attempted to perform the sacrifice for real - there was a fight when this was realized, and the struggle ended up setting the theater on fire, killing several people. The students agree that Possessor can stay sealed up in the case where it was found, but seeing the film starts to trigger new nightmares for Maggie, as the film seems somehow to her strangely familiar.The night of the marathon comes, and everybody is ready to go - but as the movies start rolling, Maggie discovers to her horror that her friends are dying, one at a time, killed by various means related to the movies being watched - and that it all seems related to her connection to "Possessor," and that perhaps someone she knows, someone close to her, might be the killer...
 Popcorn
fetched
2023-06-08T19:44:26Z
 Popcorn
parsed
2023-06-08T19:44:26Z
 Popcorn
processingComment
Dropped link to HouseOnHauntedHill1959: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Popcorn
processingComment
Dropped link to TheTingler: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Popcorn
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Popcorn / int_1e584efa
type
Cruel and Unusual Death
 Popcorn / int_1e584efa
comment
Cruel and Unusual Death: Poor Bud is helplessly restrained, taunted via audio message and forced to wait and futilely struggle until he is slowly and painfully electrocuted to death. This is much harsher than the other kills and Bud gets it simply because it fits with the "theme" of the killings matching the movie being currently showed.
 Popcorn / int_1e584efa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_1e584efa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_1e584efa
 Popcorn / int_1e8f4b3b
type
Sextra Credit
 Popcorn / int_1e8f4b3b
comment
Sextra Credit: Sarah's classmate Tina is revealed to be having an affair with the film professor. Given the genre, this ends poorly for her.
 Popcorn / int_1e8f4b3b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_1e8f4b3b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_1e8f4b3b
 Popcorn / int_2e8875f0
type
Misplaced Retribution
 Popcorn / int_2e8875f0
comment
Misplaced Retribution: Suzanne and Maggie were as much victims of Lanyard Gates as Toby and his mother were, but Toby blames aunt and niece because Suzanne accidentally started the fire that left Toby disfigured.
 Popcorn / int_2e8875f0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_2e8875f0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_2e8875f0
 Popcorn / int_3358987f
type
Dancing Bear
 Popcorn / int_3358987f
comment
Dancing Bear: In-universe, each of the three creature features shown has its own William Castle-style gimmick. The killer ends up incorporating all three gimmicks in attempts to kill. "Mosquito" has a large animatronic mosquito come out of the screen and fly over the audience, similar to the skeleton used for the showings of House on Haunted Hill (1959). "The Amazing Electrified Man" has apparatus attached to chairs in the theater that give shocks to seated patrons, similar to the gimmick for The Tingler. "The Stench" has a special chemical mixture that produces a noxious smelling fog.
 Popcorn / int_3358987f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_3358987f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_3358987f
 Popcorn / int_49d5f48f
type
Of Corpse He's Alive
 Popcorn / int_49d5f48f
comment
Of Corpse She's Alive: The killer manipulates Tina's body in order to throw the rest of the group off the track. Part of the film's horror comedy comes from the fact the body is used in ways that are impossible, such as getting it to point without holding the fingers in place.
 Popcorn / int_49d5f48f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_49d5f48f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_49d5f48f
 Popcorn / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 Popcorn / int_6439de78
comment
Heroic Sacrifice: In the second Show Within a Show, The Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man, the villain's former lover sacrifices herself to save her husband and drive the villain to suicide.
 Popcorn / int_6439de78
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_6439de78
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_6439de78
 Popcorn / int_6b05b601
type
Jerkass Has a Point
 Popcorn / int_6b05b601
comment
Jerkass Has a Point: Joy isn't a very nice person and taunts Mark cruelly when she thinks Maggie has dumped him, but she isn't wrong to be upset with Mark for asking her to be his date and then spending most of the film trying to make up with Maggie.
 Popcorn / int_6b05b601
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_6b05b601
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_6b05b601
 Popcorn / int_70638525
type
Luke, You Are My Father
 Popcorn / int_70638525
comment
Luke, You Are My Father: Lanyard Gates was Maggie’s dad, and tried to kill her along with her mom during the original screening of Possessor.
 Popcorn / int_70638525
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_70638525
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_70638525
 Popcorn / int_7434bef6
type
SinsOfTheFather
 Popcorn / int_7434bef6
comment
Sins of the Father: Toby wants to murder Maggie and Suzanne because of the fire that destroyed his body and killed his mother, taking it out on them because Lanyard Gates is already dead.
 Popcorn / int_7434bef6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_7434bef6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_7434bef6
 Popcorn / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 Popcorn / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: Toby D'Amato is the killer.
 Popcorn / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_970c790a
 Popcorn / int_9788e2b1
type
Black Dude Dies First
 Popcorn / int_9788e2b1
comment
Black Chick Dies First: Averted. Cheryl is one of the three students who survives.
 Popcorn / int_9788e2b1
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Popcorn / int_9788e2b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_9788e2b1
 Popcorn / int_a16aeb99
type
Genuine Human Hide
 Popcorn / int_a16aeb99
comment
Genuine Human Hide: The killer likes to wear the skin of his victims in order to lure others in. They're actually fake copies.
 Popcorn / int_a16aeb99
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_a16aeb99
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_a16aeb99
 Popcorn / int_b5171e10
type
Tragic Villain
 Popcorn / int_b5171e10
comment
Tragic Villain: Toby is completely insane, but turned out this way after he watched his mother burn to death in the fire that raged during the original showing of Possessor. The same fire destroyed all the skin on his body, and he spent most of his life in and out of surgeries that left him hideously disfigured and forced to apply prosthetic skin to his face on a daily basis just so people wouldn't be terrified of him. While it's clear he's very much enjoying the kills he commits, it's laced with him ranting about how he'll never have a normal life and how much he hates Maggie and Suzanne for indirectly being the cause. What stops him being a total monster is that he can't bring himself to kill Joanie when she reveals she's in love with him (not knowing it's Toby she's talking to).
 Popcorn / int_b5171e10
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_b5171e10
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_b5171e10
 Popcorn / int_b6aad019
type
Snuff Film
 Popcorn / int_b6aad019
comment
Snuff Film: Toby attempts to finish Possessor this way to complete his revenge.
 Popcorn / int_b6aad019
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_b6aad019
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_b6aad019
 Popcorn / int_c2393191
type
Show Within a Show
 Popcorn / int_c2393191
comment
Show Within a Show: The festival consists of various gimmicky '50's B-movies they made up for the project. There's also Possessor, the film Gates screened before his initial massacre.
 Popcorn / int_c2393191
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_c2393191
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_c2393191
 Popcorn / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Popcorn / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: Among all the fake movies, the festival is also showing The Incredible Melting Man and The Deadly Mantis.
 Popcorn / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_c75df49a
 Popcorn / int_d0f0a80d
type
One-Word Title
 Popcorn / int_d0f0a80d
comment
One-Word Title
 Popcorn / int_d0f0a80d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_d0f0a80d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_d0f0a80d
 Popcorn / int_d397657d
type
Hoist by His Own Petard
 Popcorn / int_d397657d
comment
Hoist by His Own Petard: Toby is done in by the mechanical mosquito going haywire and stabbing him through the chest and electrocuting him, a combo of how he killed Professor Davies and Bud.
 Popcorn / int_d397657d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_d397657d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_d397657d
 Popcorn / int_d67239d2
type
Even Evil Can Be Loved
 Popcorn / int_d67239d2
comment
Even Evil Can Be Loved: Joanie's in love with Toby and has been trying to get his attention. When Toby impersonates Leon and tries to kill Joanie, he stops after Joanie asks if "Leon" knows if Toby likes her. Toby cannot handle this new knowledge and thus can't bring himself to hurt Joanie, running back to his hiding place and destroying stuff in a rage.
 Popcorn / int_d67239d2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_d67239d2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_d67239d2
 Popcorn / int_db54633f
type
Can't Take Criticism
 Popcorn / int_db54633f
comment
Can't Take Criticism: People regarded the movies Lanyard Gates made as total garbage, which makes sense since they were made while he was strung out on acid. He responded by making a movie that ended with him killing his own family in front of the actual audience. Well, he only managed to kill his wife.
 Popcorn / int_db54633f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_db54633f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_db54633f
 Popcorn / int_dbca2c99
type
Red Herring
 Popcorn / int_dbca2c99
comment
Red Herring: Maggie starts to think Lanyard Gates is still alive and after her because she might be his daughter. While Maggie is Lanyard's kid, he also really has been dead for fifteen years. Toby dressed up as Lanyard to scare Maggie.
 Popcorn / int_dbca2c99
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_dbca2c99
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_dbca2c99
 Popcorn / int_dd91f8d8
type
Audience Participation
 Popcorn / int_dd91f8d8
comment
Audience Participation: In-universe - the marathon allows people to shout their own Mystery Science Theater 3000 / The Rocky Horror Picture Show style lines at the screen. For example:
 Popcorn / int_dd91f8d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_dd91f8d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_dd91f8d8
 Popcorn / int_e13156e1
type
Mama Bear
 Popcorn / int_e13156e1
comment
Mama Bear: Suzanne stepped in to save Maggie, her niece, when Maggie's own mother couldn't and managed to rescue her before her insane father killed her.
 Popcorn / int_e13156e1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_e13156e1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_e13156e1
 Popcorn / int_f46fb603
type
Pungeon Master
 Popcorn / int_f46fb603
comment
Pungeon Master: The killer really enjoys his puns, even laughing at his own corny one liners.
 Popcorn / int_f46fb603
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_f46fb603
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_f46fb603
 Popcorn / int_fc45bac0
type
Wouldn't Hit a Girl
 Popcorn / int_fc45bac0
comment
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: When Cheryl tries to break up a fight between Mark and Joy's new boyfriend, the boyfriend refuses to show Mark any mercy but says he won't hit a girl. Cheryl asks if he means that, then proceeds to deck him once she's sure he won't retaliate.
 Popcorn / int_fc45bac0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_fc45bac0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_fc45bac0
 Popcorn / int_name
type
ItemName
 Popcorn / int_name
comment
 Popcorn / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Popcorn / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Popcorn / int_name
 Popcorn / int_name
itemName
Popcorn

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Popcorn
hasFeature
B-Movie / int_f3c6f8bf
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Films of 1990–1994 / int_f3c6f8bf
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Horror Comedy / int_f3c6f8bf
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Sextra Credit / int_f3c6f8bf
 Popcorn
hasFeature
The Foreign Subtitle / int_f3c6f8bf
 Popcorn
hasFeature
Wouldn't Hit a Girl / int_f3c6f8bf