The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue Movie Review

Written by James Ferguson

DVD released by Big Tree Productions

Written and Directed by Mike Bradecich and John LaFlamboy
2010, 96 Minutes, Not Rated


Starring
Justin DiGiacomo as Mole Man
Mike Bradecich as Marion Mugg
John LaFlamboy as Jarmon Mugg
Robert Englund as Hezekiah Confab
Susan Messing as K.C.
T.J. Jagodowski as Paulie
Tim Kazurinsky as Harold
X-Zanthia as Eliza

Review:

When you're a total screw up, there's not many options when it comes to career paths.  You could do something weird like start a llama farm or hope a relative dies and leaves you something.  That's just what happens to brothers Marion (Mike Bradecich) and Jarmon Mugg (John LaFlamboy) when their mother passes away and the pair inherit a rundown apartment building.  When the pets of their tenants start disappearing, they find out that there's a mole man living in the basement and he's hungry.  Welcome to The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue.

I absolutely love the premise of this movie.  It's a smart set up and it's rife with possible laughs.  Fortunately, writers / directors / stars Mike Bradecich and John LaFlamboy deliver.  These brothers are fuck-ups in the truest sense of the word.  They have no drive, no ambition.  This makes things all the more funny when they take it upon themselves to solve this mole man problem as they're probably the least qualified to take something like this on.  The fact that this creature lives in the basement, a place where they're terrified to set foot in, makes the situation even better.

The soundtrack of Mole Man is incredibly catchy.  There's a song played several times throughout and after watching the movie, I cannot get it out of my head.  It's a good song though, so it's worth it.  It starts out with "My foot and your ass are getting married" and just gets better from there.  I need to find a copy of this so I can add it to my "Get Pumped" playlist, right after "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito from the Karate Kid soundtrack.

For a low budget flick, Mole Man has some pretty good production values.  The make up effects on the mole man are decent, although not mind blowing.  Since that character lurks in the shadows for the most part, it doesn't affect the movie too much.  The lighting, sound, and video all look great.

There are a few hiccups with the acting, but most of the actors are quite good.  Robert Englund steals just about every scene he's in as the lecherous Hezekiah Confab.  There's a great one where he's leaving his apartment while on the phone with his lover talking about all the dirty things he's going to do to her (presumably her anyway).  Englund clearly has a fun time with it.  Also, Bradecich is clearly channeling Seth Rogen throughout his performance.  This can be good or bad depending on your feelings on Rogen.

My only real issue with Mole Man is that sometimes jokes were carried on too long.  Once a joke gets past a certain point it just stops being funny and that cropped up a few times along the way.  Those don't come up to ruin the movie though.  

The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue is a horror comedy film that delivers on the laughs.  It's on par with Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil. There is little to no gore, but it's made up for with a fun story and a catchy soundtrack.  Plus, it's got Freddy Krueger saying "I'm set for some wet intense fucking."  Where else are you going to see that?

Video, Audio and Special Features:

Video, audio and special features will not be graded as this was a screener.

Grades:
Movie:
Video:	n/a
Audio:	n/a
Features:	n/a
Overall:

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