Customer Reviews

Rona Jaffe's Mazes & Monsters [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In yet another misguided attempt to save the nation's youth from "things we don't understand but they sure LOOK like trouble," the socially-conscious television executives of the 80's gave us the anti-RPG diatribe "Mazes and Monsters." It's just a shame we couldn't do something of equal value for them in return, like force them to do several hundred push-ups in a tub filled with rotting fish heads and rusty thumbtacks. I bear them no malice because the film was bad (which it most certainly was), but because the theme song was so wretchedly, painfully horrible, after enduring it for just a few brief seconds, the idea of getting a triple root canal on a moving rollercoaster sounds fairly soothing in comparison. I'm still bitter just thinking about it.

Still, disregarding that steaming pile of musical waste product posing as the opening tune (which is replayed off and on throughout the film, I'm sorry to say), there are a few things you could actually recommend this film for. The dialogue, acting, and overall 'story' are terrible enough to generate more laughs than most of the intentional 'comedies' currently playing nowadays, and there's a couple hallucination sequences that feature a surprisingly well-designed creature costume, far better than a [bad] production like this deserved. Be warned, though: the film plods along at a stubbornly slow pace, and most viewers may find their 'fast forward' button has become their new best pal long before the ending credits roll (and since that lousy theme song plays again during those credits, you may want to nominate the 'mute' button as your second best pal).

Final vote? Don't buy this film. Talk a friend into buying it, borrow their copy, then breathe a sigh of relief that it won't be taking up space on YOUR shelf. You may be short one friend afterwards, but at least you'll save a few bucks.

Bad acting, a terrible plot, and reality stretched to the brink make this movie a terrible choice for anyone that DOES NOT play roleplaying games. If you do like RPGs, rent this movie with your friends and watch it - you'll laugh yourselves silly, especially at the ending!

What I wouldn't give to see what the gang from MST3K could do to this one. You will shriek in horror and howl hysterically! This not-so classic fright-fest starred Tom Hanks well before he had a copious choice of film projects. The plot is dreadfully simple, and simply dreadful. A Fantasy Role-Playing game drives a college dweeb to insanity when the players take it too far for his fragile little psyche to withstand, proving that even the highest of the Hollywood echelon had to just pay the rent sometimes. This mock-worthy made for TV movie aired in 1982 and had audiences wondering why they were watching this crap in the first place. Mazes and Monsters did for Dungeons and Dragons what Reefer Madness did for marijuana. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll kiss 75 minutes of your life good-bye! Get this for your next party with your wittiest friends and have some hearty laughs. You'll be glad you did.

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, a popular game came along that scared the bejeezus out of the older generation.

What initially appeared like a harmless game based on knights and dragons and other such fantasy figures from youth, proved to be not quite as sweet and innocent as parents previously thought. Mom and Dad found out that the game was (potentially) full of violence. Concerns grew that the game took long periods of time to play, and had occult/magic elements. Overzealous or simply ignorant adults blasted the game, fearing what exposure to these "fantasy plays" would do to their innocent little children.

Parents have traditionally feared such things; in the mid part of the century, it was E.C's horror comics, then rock n' roll, then the Beatles. We see such similar and mostly unfounded fears today over card games like "Magic: The Gathering," and even more so over video games. Fearful parents always point to the occasional isolated news article about some guy who freaked out after several straight days of gameplay on "Everquest" ("Mazes and Monsters" instantly sprang to mind when this was reported), as some kind of proof that such games are bad for EVERYONE.

"Mazes and Monsters" is the embodiment of the fear of overprotective parents in the early 1980's, who were worried about RPGs. In the made-for-TV film, a young man becomes so wrapped up in gameplay, that he loses his sense of self and "becomes" his character. The game itself is a very thinly veiled version of Dungeons and Dragons, and anyone even remotely familiar with the game will instantly see the allusions to D & D.

While I have never been a big fan of Tom Hanks, I freely admit the man is quite talented. Even at a young age, and at a relatively early stage in his career, he still commands the film with his portrayal of the troubled young man, Robbie. The ending is especially well-handled, memorable, and poignant.

Also interesting is that, although the film is clearly a warning against role-playing games, the message is somewhat mixed. While Robbie has problems divorcing himself from the gameworld, the other kids do not. In fact, they are incredibly intelligent, and prove this by deducing what is happening to their friend, and how best to help him. In addition, the kids are a far cry from being the sort of unpopular, nerdy, Star Trek virgins that gamers are usually portrayed as in the movies.

I would encourage you to try this film, although I think you should avoid the Front Row Video brand version that I purchased, as it was dubbed very poorly in EP mode. "Mazes and Monsters" will take you back to the time at the dawn of the 80's when D & D and the books of J.R.R. Tolkien were all the rage. Ah, nostagia.

The film is not only important as an artifact of the time in which it was made, it also showcases a recently lost New York landmark. And better still, the film is pretty good in its own right.

I'm a role-player and although this has anti-RPG overtones I loved it. I first saw this movie when it first aired on television waaaaaaaaaay back in the day. Although the acting was a tad cheesy I felt it was a very good movie just because of the content, RPGs. And whether you loved it, hated it, or had no opinion whatsoever about it you do have to admit one thing...this was the *original* D&D movie; the forefather to the one made in 2000. This one based in reality and the latter based in what we all love, fantasy. Alot of people would advise against purchasing this, but I say if you are a child of the 80s as I am it is a fine addition to your collection of nostalgic tapes such as Red Dawn, Breakfast Club, Weird Science, etc.

'Mazes and Monsters' was a made for TV movie broadcast in the Fall of 1982. This movie featured Tom Hanks out of his 'Bossom Buddies' attire and instead donning a robe. A good number of role-players I know hate this movie; interestingly enough, most of them have never seen it. There is an interesting hypocrisy here: many of them whine at being labelled and misunderstood by people who do not know them, and yet, they turn right around and do the same. Hence, there are also several misconceptions about this movie both from people who never watched it or those who watched it with a closed mind. 'Mazes and Monsters' is based on the book of the same name by Rona Jaffe. This is the story of four college students who come to know each other by answering a players wanted flyer posted on a bulletin board for the game Mazes and Monsters. The students, as many people do, have varying degrees of issues in their lives and/or do not socialize well. This is not by any means represented as a definition of gamers but rather as a reason people look for activity and for some escape; for these particular students, they chose gaming. This additionally adds character development into the story so the characters themselves are not one dimensional. One of the students, played by Tom Hanks, has had a breakdown before and is pleaded with by his mother not to get involved with that game again; addictions are hard to break. As the gamers get further into the game, such as playing the game in a maze of caves, one of them, the Tom Hanks character, begins to find it difficult to seperate fantasy from reality as his worlds are melding. As his behavior deepens and he further isolates himself from his friends, he becomes drawn further into this world his own mind has created. This leads to his disappearance and his friends and the police, together and seperately, trying to find him before something really bad happens. One of the major complaints lodged against this movie is that it is anti-roleplaying. This story was directly influenced by events involving roleplayers which made local and national headlines at the time. It is never represented in this movie that the game itself was the culprit but rather the degree of escapism with regard to someone who has difficulty seperating fantasy and reality. In other words, the game did not drive someone crazy, they used the game as an escape from reality which, due to their lack of stability, went too far. This is further punctuated by the use of a newscast in the movie which uses the game as fodder for the disappearance, although, we have seen through the events which have transpired and through his friends that it is his stability, or lack thereof, which has led to this. This same type of escapism could just as well be applied to someone who loses themselves in the world of a TV show, a movie, or a series of books. Rather than condemn its subject, as many who have never seen this movie claim it did, it seeks to propose a scenario of how someones instability and tendency to excess when combined with an obsessive activity could possibly lead to such behavior. This movie sought understanding not blame, which is further punctuated by the very last scene of the movie when the four friends are together again. Those who condemned this movie only sought blame for their lack of understanding. Since this was a made for TV movie, this may move a little slower than that with which a lot of todays movie viewers are comfortable. This is after all a psychological drama and not a horror movie.-Bob

MAZES AND MONSTERS....hmmm....wait a minute...i play D&D and i think that title would make for a good adventure! but seriously..the movie was full of bull as well as unintentional laughs(PARDU the holy man...HAHA! )this fine piece of trash makes for good camp.Also,check out the book written by RONA JAFFE on which this movie is based and you'll also have some good summer reading!

I saw the movie off of the Mystery Channel. I was boring. For those of you expecting the 'heroes' to get zapped into a fantasy land, forget it. Tom Hanks thinks he's in the magical world. This movie is helped only by likable kids. Skip it and watch Labyrinth or Willow instead.

The acting was pitiful. The story was personally offensive to me. I managed to choke down the book, but this is utterly horrid. I'll not go into the fact that RPG's are not the center of evil, but I will say that I think it's Ironic that Patricia Pulling, head of the Anti-D&D organization, died of brain cancer.

Though it's a low-budget TV movie, Mazes and Monsters exposed us to Tom Hanks showing that he could play a serious role early on. It took nearly ten years for another serious role to come around and he won an Oscar for it. Most of the reviewers say this film discriminates against role-playing gamers. I think the main character was desperate for something to believe in other than his real-life and then became fanatical about something to the point of a pyschotic episode. He could have done this with anything, not just RPGs. He could have been like most people and did it with religion.