Idle Hands

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Poster for

Idle Hands

R

1999

1h 30m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

20%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

When slacker teen Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) has his right hand possessed by a demonic force, he finds that his life gets a lot more interesting. While Anton himself is an amiable guy, his hand proves to be an appendage of death, killing his two best buddies, Pnub (Elden Henson) and Mick (Seth Green), who return to life as wisecracking zombies. In addition to murdering those closest to him, Anton's evil hand significantly hinders his chances with lovely neighbor Molly (Jessica Alba).

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Critics Consensus

An uneasy mix of slapstick and gore, Idle Hands lacks the manic energy and comedic inspiration required to pull off its goofy premise.

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Jeff Millar

Houston Chronicle

Jul 21, 2005

Maybe 90 seconds of viable and sustained humor at the end.

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Kim Newman

Sight & Sound

Dec 2, 2002

It's an infalliby funny gambit...

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Mar 22, 2002

1.5/4

Its mixture of slapstick humour and gore -- produced by the flying fingers -- gives new meaning to the phrase digital effects.

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Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

Oct 20, 2026

3/5

It's not the smartest teen horror out there, and the reasoning behind what's happening gets a bit convoluted, but there are some memorable moments, and fans of the genre will likely find plenty to enjoy.

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Chase Hutchinson

The Inlander (Spokane, WA)

Oct 11, 2025

A stoner horror-comedy more fun in theory than it is in execution, Idle Hands is still a movie you must watch just to say you’ve done it. You’ll likely groan at the iffy jokes, but you can’t fully dismiss the fun it has with practical body horror effects.

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Elliott Cuff

Loud and Clear Reviews

Nov 23, 2024

3.5/5

Idle Hands is a quirky mixture of slapstick comedy and horror tropes that melds together seamlessly, and it remains deserving of its cult favourite status.

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Jacob B

@JB3.0 Oct 3, 2026

An underrated horror comedy from the late '90s that certainly isn't perfect and that got me giggling but never truly laughing out loud. You can't say that Idle Hands doesn't mine as much horror and humour as it can out of the premise of "what if the bit with Ash's hand from Evil Dead II was the whole movie?". I would've also made a joke about this being a weird Addams Family spinoff but it turns out the guy whose hand "played" Thing in the live-action duology was also involved with this film. Devon Sawa really sells the possessed hand routine and the rest of the cast is quite memorable too. Though the soundtrack choices make this film absolutely reek of the late '90s. Still, I can see why this stoner-themed horror comedy has gained a following and I do find most of what happens in it quite memorable. Give it a watch if you want something different from all those meta scary movies written by Kevin Williamson that were all the rage at the time.

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Jim R

@RT49979225 Oct 3, 2026

Critics whine about everything. This movie is perfect for what it is - a cringey, silly 90s horror comedy. Not great but not terrible. It's pretty funny. Great soundtrack. Awesome Tom DeLonge cameo. Seth Green was the most enjoyable thing about it.

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Lee B

@Leeech Oct 2, 2026

Just another run of the mill journey in late 90s horror/comedy. I giggled just fine.

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ZEINA .

@Zeina212 Sep 23, 2026

This worth classic movie I have ever seen wasting my time

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rick T

@Guntherxxx Sep 18, 2026

What a terrible awful movie, with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It doesnt work on any level at all. What on earth was jessica alba thinking?!

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 3, 2026

Idle Hands = A *3* star movie

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Rodman Flender

Director

Devon Sawa

Anton Tobias

Seth Green

Mick

Elden Henson

Pnub

Jessica Alba

Molly

Christopher Hart

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Synopsis

When slacker teen Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) has his right hand possessed by a demonic force, he finds that his life gets a lot more interesting. While Anton himself is an amiable guy, his hand proves to be an appendage of death, killing his two best buddies, Pnub (Elden Henson) and Mick (Seth Green), who return to life as wisecracking zombies. In addition to murdering those closest to him, Anton's evil hand significantly hinders his chances with lovely neighbor Molly (Jessica Alba).

Director: Rodman Flender
Producer: Andrew Licht, Jeffrey A. Mueller, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd
Screenwriter: Ron Milbauer, Terri Hughes
Distributor: Columbia Tristar, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Team Todd, Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 30, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.0M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround

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