Product Details

• Actors: Bro Beck, Anthony Cardoza, Noble 'Kid' Chissel, Frederic Downs, Dee Duffy
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Rhino / Wea
• VHS Release Date: January 30, 2001
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004ZETW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,968 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worse than SIDEHACKERS- which means a really funny episode!, February 4, 2001

By 

Carson E. Lorey "cellorey" (Cardiff, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Hellcats [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is an earlier episode of MST3K (Season Two), but it is very funny primarily because the movie THE HELLCATS is so bad. The plot is not decipherable, but it involves Ross Hagen (yes, he plays Rommel in THE SIDEHACKERS) trying to avenge his brother's death. He does this by joining a drunken sex orgy held by this group called the Hellcats. This is where the plot stops, and MST3K takes over. I especially liked the song "Mass Confusion," which Crow says "describes the plot." This latest Rhino release is top-notch; however, whoever was in charge of writing the synopsis on the back of the boxcover does not know the difference between Joel and Mike. Joel is the host in this episode but the summary says it is Mike about two or three times. Also, on the front cover, the folks at Rhino failed to edit the cast of The Hellcats, instead using the cast from BLOODLUST! Despite these minor mistakes, the final result is a high-quality tape of a classic television show, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Definitely recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At their best in season 2, Hellcats delivers non-stop laughs, October 31, 2003

By 

Valnastar "Man With No Name" (Deep 13, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Hellcats (DVD)

Until I discovered MST3K I'd never even seen a "B" movie "biker" picture, but the writers and cast of MST3K always seem to be at their best when making fun of these low-budget stories about sociopaths and societal drop-outs. I was overjoyed when I found out that Hellcats would be offered on DVD as this and the other season 2 gem, "Wild Rebels" are to me among the very best MST3K episodes ever. The stupidity of the characters and dialogue is funny all on its own, but the cast of MST3K raise the humor level many notches and never let up on the poor direction, acting or plot for a second. They even manage to make the music in this film fun and you'll be humming "the bike song" after the closing credits.

One cinematic footnote regards a misidentification I believe of the film's director, Bob Slatzer, who is actually the stockier fellow of the two main "gangsters" and not the thinner one pointed out by Joel and the 'Bots during the picture. I discovered this when I saw Bob Slatzer interviewed in a documentary about Marilyn Monroe. But, this minor error does nothing to diminish the quality and quantity of the humor in this episode, which is so dense with jokes that you'll catch something new each time you watch it. Buy this now!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but not the best MST3K motorcycle film, July 24, 2002

By 

Brian A. Schar (Menlo Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Hellcats (DVD)

Hellcats begins promisingly enough, with a catchy little theme song ("Heeeellll-cats! Heeeellll-cats!") that you will not be able to dislodge from your brain for days. It's perky and happy in exactly the way that the movie is not. Then the movie descends into extended periods of boredom punctuated by stupid biker tricks. As another reviewer noted, everything in this movie is padding.

This is one of those movies that would be intolerable were it not for the MST3K treatment. You get to see unattractive people spray beer on each other, make out, ride motorcycles, and engage in dubious feats of strength, although I fear this description makes the movie sound much more entertaining than it actually is.

As for the "plot", Ross Hagen shows up in the US on leave from Vietnam, hangs out with bikers and his dead brother's fiance in some kind of attempt to do something undercover, something happens with the biker gang, and then he goes back to Vietnam. The end. Was it some kind of social commentary, equating the bikers with the Viet Cong? And if so, were they both supposed to be bad guys, or just misunderstood good guys? Was it a failed attempt at a girl-gang film a la the far more entertaining (and non-MST3K) "Switchblade Sisters"? With the truly awful script, direction, lighting and sound, who can tell?

While I wouldn't pass up this DVD altogether, I would acquire the MST3K version of "Sidehackers" first. It's a far more entertaining and bizarre motorcycle movie, with Michael Pataki taking it totally over the top, and Ross Hagen as the hero yet again, in case you can't get enough Ross Hagen. I really hope these two films don't represent the peak of that guy's career.