ReelBob: ‘Heckle’ ★★½

By Bob Bloom

“Heckle” is a throwback slasher film akin to those that proliferated in the 1970s and ’80s in which a group of people at an isolated location are picked off one by one to avenge an earlier wrong.

The movie is rather bland and formulaic, except for the fierce performance of Steve Guttenberg, best known for such films as “Diner,” the “Police Academy” franchise and “Cocoon” and its sequel.

In “Heckle” he portrays Ray Kelly, a foul-mouthed standup comedian whose humiliation of a young heckler leads to tragic consequences.

The movie jumps the past to the present, as it follows another standup comic, Joe Johnson (Guy Combes), who has been signed to portray Kelly in a planned biopic.

Performing on stage one night, Johnson is heckled by an audience member who really rattles the comedian, so much so that he stomps off stage.

But that is just the beginning. The heckler begins stalking Johnson, calling him on the phone and seemingly harassing him wherever he goes.

When Johnson and some friends — on Halloween weekend so, of course, you can guess what’s coming — go to an isolated country house for a costumed, early 1980s-themed party, bodies begin to pile up.

What keeps “Heckle” moving are trying to figure out the identity of the killer and his motive.

The latter sort of becomes a bit clearer as the movie progresses; the former takes longer to unfold.

Except for Guttenberg, the characters are very two-dimensional. Combes’ Johnson is unlikable — a self-centered prick for whom you have no sympathy.

And the killings, while bloody, are rather perfunctory; they mostly lack suspense or a solid buildup.

The movie features too much exposition for the killer’s motives as well as for the identity of the initial murder that sets the story in motion.

The film does come to life in the few scenes in which Guttenberg appears, especially the one in which he verbally destroys his heckler.

The film, written by Airell Hayles and directed by Martyn Pick, runs a short 75 minutes. But it requires a leap of faith to accept its revenge premise.

No matter, seeing Guttenberg as you’ve never seen him before is worth the time to check out “Heckle.”

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap substack and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

HECKLE
2½ stars out of 4
Not rated, bloody violence, language, sexual situations