Mole Man of Belmont Avenue, The (2011)
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Starring Mike Bradecich, John LaFlamboy, Robert Englund, Justin DiGiacomo, Mary Seibel, T.J. Jagodowski, X-Zanthia, Dave Pasquesi
Directed by Mike Bradecich and John LaFlamboy
The first-time writing and directing duo of Mike Bradecich and John LaFlamboy take on the world of horror comedy in their feature film debut The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue, which is centered around a mole-like creature (DiGiacomo) who torments down-on-their luck brothers Marion (Bradecich) and Jarmon (LaFlamboy) after it moves into the ramshackle of an apartment building the pair just inherited.
It seems, though, that Marion and Jarmon are not really up for the challenge of fighting off a tenant-eating monster, especially since these landlords can hardly keep the lights on already. Struggling to get by, the brothers team up to find the monster that’s making their rent-paying tenants vanish, and getting to that confrontation involves a lot of pot smoking and joke telling, including Jarmon being blown away by an ’80s Atari (who wouldn’t be these days?) after smoking up a mushroom-laced joint.
And despite the dastardly creature lurking within the walls in The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue, everyone wants to get in on the funny action, including a horny elder bachelor played by iconic genre actor Robert Englund who desperately tries throughout the film to distance himself from the hapless brothers while trying to hide his coveted porn collection (who knew Freddy Krueger was such a dirty old man?) as well as the token grumpy curmudgeon of the building (Seibel), the flirtatious hooker (X-Zanthia), a wise beyond his years hermit (Pasquesi) and of course the token stoner (Jagodowski).
At its best, The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue is an entertaining and lighthearted stoner horror comedy with both Bradecich and LaFlamboy proving here that they do indeed have a knack for writing naturally hilarious off-kilter dialogue reminiscent of banter you’d see on an old “Scooby-Doo” episode (which is meant as a total compliment), and I’m curious to see where their careers go from here- their future work should no doubt prove to be filled with laughs if their feature film debut is any indication.
Scene after scene, the laughs from the entire ensemble that’s filled with great comedic character actors and SCTV alumni hit you so often that performances in Mole Man manage to never lag once during the entire 90-minute run time. As for the scares, there never really are any, but that’s not the point here- The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue is about kicking back and having a fun time, and that’s exactly what you should have if you’re up for the hilarious antics of two clueless stoners fighting against a dog-eating Mole Man.
A definite must-see if it makes its way to your neck of the woods during its festival run, check out the official The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue website for more information.
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