Some movies are so bad, they’re good. Troll (1986) and Tammy and the T-Rex (1994) may have bombed at the box office, but they rightly earned their cult stripes years later, and I, for one, love them despite all their very noticeable flaws.
First up, and predating Tammy and the T-Rex by eight years, is Troll, directed by John Carl Buechler. Let me start with a simple statement. Troll is not one of the worst movies ever made by a long shot; that title goes to its 1990 sequel. However, Troll does have some serious problems, from its confusing mix of Gothic fairy-tale horror and comedy to its low-budget, Gremlins-inspired effects. Despite these flaws, Buechler’s movie remains a guilty pleasure for me, and for many other fans of so-bad-they’re-good movies.
Buechler’s strange fantasy wastes no time in introducing us to the Potter family: Harry Potter Senior (yes, that’s right, Harry Potter!), his wife Anne, teenage son Harry Junior and young daughter Wendy. The Potters have just moved into a brand new San Francisco apartment building filled with more than a few colourful characters. But just a few hours into their arrival, Wendy is attacked in the basement by a troll who takes her physical form and is determined to create a new troll kingdom. Meanwhile, upstairs, an unassuming older lady, who is actually a white witch, Eunice St. Clair, the brilliant June Lockhart, takes Harry Junior under her wing, in an attempt to stop the Troll kingdom from taking over the apartment block.
If all this sounds nuts, it is! Buechler’s movie is a bizarre yet strangely entertaining mix of fantasy, horror and comedy that never quite decides where its heart lies. However, it remains entertaining and unique, all the same, due to the performances of Noah Hathaway, June Lockhart, and Jenny Beck. Released ten months before Critters (1986), Troll may have bombed at the box office, but it has since earned a place in the hearts of millions of fans, including me!
Like Troll, Stewart Raffill’s Tammy and the T-Rex is a movie that really shouldn’t work and primarily doesn’t. But that fact doesn’t stop this roaring disaster from carving an eternal place in your heart. After all, how many movies contain a teenager’s brain transplanted into a mechanical T. Rex, a host of squashed bullies and Paul Walker in a crop top? Of course, the answer is only one!
Raffill unapologetically capitalises on the post-Jurassic Park fever of 1993 with a horror comedy that is as ridiculous as it is brilliant. Whether the movie is titled Tammy and the T-Rex or Tanny and the Teenage T-Rex remains a source of debate. But, title aside, this 1994 B-movie is a bizarre, deliciously dark and downright silly treat that gave Paul Walker and Denise Richards their breakout roles.
Tammy and the T-Rex had a tough journey to the screen, its hurried studio re-edit transforming an R-rated comedy-horror into a PG-13 love story. Thankfully, the original version remained intact, and in 2019, the world finally got to see the film Raffill intended.
As a hormonal teenage T. Rex stomps all over the horror-comedy genre, this monster-sized B-movie will earn a place in your heart, despite its kooky screenplay and dodgy effects. It’s laced with great dark humour and performances that understand the tongue-in-cheek nature of the on-screen action. So grab the popcorn and settle in for a roaring good time.
Movies don’t need to be perfect to scratch a cinematic itch, and Troll and Tammy and the T-Rex are perfect examples of this. Yes, they’re bad, and yes, they are both as confused as hell, but trust me, you won’t find a more fun way to spend an evening than with these so-bad-they’re-good gems.
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