I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Following the release of Quiet on Set, it put Nickelodeon in more of a negative light than anyone thought possible. While confirming Dan Schneider's degeneracy, and indirectly giving Drake Bell some vindication, we also got a little more info on another Nickelodeon crook, Brian Peck, and the outpour of info was so staggering he actually got a Wikipedia article, which is what led me to this.
Some may wonder how someone like Brian Peck was able to not only get work, but the support of multiple celebrities in Hollywood after he was brought down in 2003, while also getting work time after? On the latter I'd assume nobody bothered to give him a background check, or assumed that if he wasn't directly on set it would have some legal clearance. But on the former, let's go into some background. Peck has been involved since the mid-80s, I'd assume he was a personable guy and the reason people defended him was because, well, nobody would assume someone so allegedly kind would do something so foul.
Of course, beyond interactions behind closed doors, it was hard to pick up on disturbing behaviors as Peck for the most part just popped up in small roles in places you'd never expect. To hell with Pickle Boy, you can find him in cameos for the first two X-Men movies (directed by an outed pedo even), he even had a voice role in the first Jak and Daxter game, the Gambler mind you. And his apparently friendly aura even extended to serial killers, why else would he get a signed painting from John Wayne Gacy, and mind you it's pen pals.
Compared to someone like Victor Salva, whose degeneracy was practically telegraphed in a majority of his films and hinted at in his first movie, who managed to maintain some presence in Hollywood and support from a big name like Francis Ford Coppola, Peck was the kind of guy who just hung out in the background, acting only when the cameras were off. If he directed a movie, would we get a big hint to his misdeeds? Well now there's a chance to answer.
Movie Background
The Willies was put out on video in 1990. It's a low budget horror anthology film that managed to land some fairly big names, no doubt owed to Peck establishing connections. This movie also has Nickelodeon connections. Kathleen Freeman played Mrs. Gordon in As Told by Ginger, Kimmy Robertson played a character in the first season of Drake and Josh, and this movie had Michael Bower, pre Salute your Shorts, and also someone who had a close encounter with Peck, apparently Peck insisted he be in the bathroom with Bower as he cleaned himself off of worms from a previous scene.
So yeah, any chance of separating the art from the artist is null and void, but I'll give Peck this much, at least he didn't show a scene of Bower walking in nothing but pajama bottoms even showing more than we'd ever want to see, like Salva.
But with that said, let's see if any signs were present even back then.
The Movie
The framing device centers on a group of kids telling campfire stories. Takes me back to when I watched 2001's Campfire Stories, and while that film helped make It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia possible by letting two of its lead actors meet for the first time, I question what good this movie did for its actors.
It starts with friends, or brothers, bickering while trying to light a campfire, or in this case, turn on a lantern. I guess Peck is trying to make this scene come off as naturally as possible, but it just drags on and on. If you can cut out dialog and it would be of no consequence to the story then that's not good.
One thing that's kinda interesting about this movie is that it foregoes the three story format most anthology movies have. In this, it's two full stories, mixed with three short ones. Certainly different, but do they work? From what I could gather most of these stories are framed like urban legends, even being based on existing ones and serving as dramatizations. The first one deals with a woman finding a dead rat in her fried chicken, which I couldn't find any links to incidents like it from back then, but similar situations have happened.
The movie appears to be a horror comedy, which means it may not take itself as seriously as others, or just play to the sensibilities of the period. I do have a stomach for some cheesy flicks, others don't.
The next story centers on a man who dies while riding a haunted house attraction. I'd point out how it seems like an underserved fate, or the fact that he hasn't gone on with the expectation of it being not scary, but if this is based on an urban legend. At the very least the old man's commentary is funny in a morbid way. I will point out that in one scene where a woman had her throat slit, the blood coming from the laceration was green. I saw a review of 2002's Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings, another low budget direct-to-video flick that also had green blood.
There was also a story involving a woman who tried to dry off her dog by putting it in the microwave, which is actually a confirmed urban legend, confirmed as in it was discussed. The copy I'm watching had the scene cut out, but you can find it on YouTube. Best way I could describe it is good intentions, a small dog and a microwave don't mix, I think some animal activists would've had a stroke seeing it, and at the very least the payoff was well timed.
But now let's go on to the fuller stories, right after the opening credits which occur about ten minutes in, two included if the microwave segment was included on the print I'm watching.
Keeping with the urban legend motif, and making me want to watch Urban Legends, the 1998 movie, these tales are based on second hand knowledge, it happened to a friend of a friend of theirs, see if you can catch that reference. The first one deals with a bullied boy in Greeley, the exact opposite of Hawaii, I mean they say Greeley, but it may be Connecticut, it's too New Englandy to be Colorado, not helping we needed to be given a grand tour before we even see who the focus is gonna be.
Anyway, focus, and three bullies, how long are they gonna last? But before then, I have to put up with some mediocre kid actors. I'd say these bullying scenes give me Dhar Mann vibes, but I don't think many of you know what I'm talking about. While they'll win no awards in acting, they put more effort into hanging the boy, Danny, in the air, and to his rescue is the school janitor. About the only suspicious thing I can pick out of this is the idea that Peck did the prop work for that scene, close contact, you hopefully get the idea. There's also the janitor, custodian, whatever, insistence that he help Danny out, but that's actually integral to the plot.
Which is good to know because why else place so much focus janistodian unless you just want to pad shit out? Before we get to the scares, it seems like we're just trying to hate the bullies and a teacher, a keen eye would notice these characters would become casualties. Danny would excuse himself to the bathroom, and the ball gets rolling when he sees a giant monster in one of the stalls, note how the monster doesn't chase after him in a subtle clue.
Anyhow, our first casualty is the teacher, who until then, at least she's better than the other Ms. Zorski, As Told by Ginger, only bringing this up since Kathleen Freeman was in that and this.
To add onto the twist, when Danny discovers the school cleaner's body, it's packed away neatly in the closet, head severed from body, no struggle. But back to the teacher, she would go to the bathroom and get into a rant, which is a fancy way of saying she's about to die. She does, but at least she tries to put up a fight, though she would've been better off running.
You can get the idea that the bullies go through the same thing, only this time Danny plays accessory to murder as he knocks down a prop drinking fountain, the dumbest thing I've seen in the movie so far. Also I'd like to point out an earlier scene, and one I'm getting to, showed kids wetting themselves. Take of that what you will, and I only bring it up because, remember, Brian Peck.
It ends with what I assume to be a cameo, and confirmation that cleaning dude is in fact the monster, and is carrying out his deeds at a new school.
The twist was somewhat obvious if you paid close enough attention, and the idea of a grown man killing children to protect others can't be taken seriously if it was directed by- well you get the picture. Only way this could be worse is if Danny's actor was also a victim.
One last thing to bring up is that the janitor is played by James Karen. I don't know if playing a monster in a Brian Peck movie is a lower point than playing a klansman, The Jeffersons.
Anyhow, me bringing up Peck may not stop anytime soon, because the next story has Michael Bower, and I want to see how strong the warning signs are here.
The next story centers on an unpleasant boy who likes to torture flies. I mean sure, I kill them and they are unpleasant but damn, must be going through something fierce. Gordy encounters a farmer/scientist, and the latter is bound to provide something that would seal his fate, but not if Gordy tries to steal it first, it being some manure. I assume to get something foul enough to attract flies, and we know the manure is not your average manure, given the science junk we see inside. Seems like this isn't even a first time offense, as he's on a full name basis with the farmer.
Compared to Danny in the previous story, we're learning more about Gordy here, I mean did we need to know he had asthma? Let's see if that proves to be important. To its credit, in a scene where Gordy plays with a cat, it seems needless, but it actually has a payoff and establishes how rotten he is, so rotten something bad is bound to happen to him.
The next scene hangs for a while as Gordy puts flies he caught into a jar. About the only thing that caught me off guard was what looked like a bunch of stray hairs climbing up the wall to the far right. Unless there was a greater point to this, all I have to say to this scene is that it leaves a very dark implication, you can figure.
If it wasn't obvious Gordy was mistreating flies, the next scene focuses on him poisoning them using the fumes from liquid nail remover, but then again that's not clear as next he goes on to study them, no wait, he's removing their wings for a collection, wait again, he's putting them in a tank filled with chewed gum and an eaten lolipop.
Okay, if I had to share my biggest problem with this story is that it doesn't firmly establish the tone. Is he fascinated or into torturing flies, whether intentionally or not? Of course there's also the matter of the music, where certain tracks begin out of nowhere, worst offender being here where it cuts from a somber piano tune to a war theme.
But now I have a better picture, he's taking flies, removing their wings, and using them as pieces for models. I guess if he just kills flies it would've been too easy, especially since Gordy has dysfunctional parents. Points for subverting expectations, but why the hell did it have to happen in a film helmed by someone so, ahem, upstanding.
If you needed a good reason to why Gordy stole from the farmer, the next scene confirms that the manure is genetically engineered, and probably has a good enough scent to attract flies hence him stealing it, otherwise why bother? Also, take a peek at the callsigns to a news station, KORN. And Korn didn't get the idea for their name from this movie, just for the record, the story behind that is far more dirty.
After a decent amount of foreshadowing, complete with Brian Peck himself as a newscaster, near someone older than him, granted, we get a bit more as Gordy's parents are worn to the bone with his interests. I don't know whether to call it projection, paranoia from the older generation, or a hit close to home just because you're not with it, but this feels different now compared to then. Later we get cameos from Tracey Gold and Kirk Cameron of Growing Pains, and I just want to say, of all the people who wrote letters to the court on behalf of leniency toward Peck, at the very least Kirk Cameron wasn't among them, guy may be a bit touched in the head but he's consistent at least.
I'd like to make a comparison to Victor Salva. Salva's Clownhouse and this featured a scene that had a boy in their pajamas. While Salva just had Nathan Forrest Winters in bottoms, at the very least Peck had Michael Bower fully covered here, and I bring it up because remember, Bower was a victim, and I'm looking for warning signs.
Anyhow, dream sequence. While it is made somewhat obvious it is one, I can forgive it if it's executed well, but it's as if Peck couldn't decide where it wanted to end. A good opportunity would've come after the Growing Pains cameo, but then it gets wacky as the farmer addresses Gordy, complete with ham. To be fair this isn't where the dream ends, as Gordy finds his body in a refrigerator surrounded by flies. I'd make a comparison to Emerald Twilight, but that came long after.
The nightmare loses its punch quite easily because it's dragged out. If this plays into the comedy aspect of horror comedy, I ain't laughing, and I sure as hell ain't scared. But oh no, that was one of two nightmares. Gordy finds worms in his inhaler, and his bed. At the very least there was no over the top music, so it's at least a notch above the first nightmare for not dragging out.
Speaking of drag, we gotta see Gordy go through more of his day to day routines, like lunch. He sits at a girls' table, and hey they didn't leave or tell him to leave. I'm counting on Gordy to either get framed, or stick to his own dirty tricks, and look at that it's the latter, he's not gonna make it unscathed at the end.
Before anything else, I found a scene were dialog was clearly ADRed in, nobody's mouths are moving. Almost as suspiscious as Spivey suddenly welcoming strangers to his farm. Hmm, maybe that first nightmare was a telepathic communication, it certainly didn't do anything to reform Gordy. For some extra props Spivey isn't being over the top when it comes to what I assume would be payback, at least not that much, until he gives Gordy a jar of his manure, made especially for him.
Sudden change of heart, manure built like no other, giving it to a little hellion that trespasses... better check the registry, I mean it's not like this is foreshadowing... what happens next in the movie, I'll get to the other later. For now, the mom gets rid of Gordy's flies, but in order for anything to happen, some need to somehow remain, and there is, from an unseen fly trap, and with him not learning anything we're nearing the end.
The movie cut to a bug zapper infrequently, I don't know if this is gonna have any relevance to what happens, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The flies mutate and grow to a giant size, thanks to the manure, when we see the flies it isn't done in the form of a jumpscare, that's a plus because giant flies are kinda silly, and they proceed to kill Gordy....'s hands.
The asthma detail had also worked well because it would explain how he was unable to scream loud enough, the parents get a full fright upon seeing the flies, and Gordy wakes up. You'd think this was a fake out but turned out to be real, but no, Gordy was just waking up, lounging on a hammock, now having prosthetic arms and accepting his fate.
I'll admit, I expected him to die, so he got off incredibly lucky, and he took it like a trooper. Of course losing your arms to flies is a piece of cake compared to-
Okay, the end, things go dark to prepare for a final scare... one that does not come yet, they get checked up on by an uncle, who turns out to be the monster janitor, I don't hear the other kids screaming so I assume he didn't just kill them for the crime of skepticism, but that's about it.
Thoughts
I'm not here to deny the creepy and depraved shit Brian Peck did, but I need to be objective. Compared to Victor Salva, Peck was more discreet, everything he did was behind closed doors and it doesn't show in this movie.
But, if you remove Peck from the equation, you're essentially left with an Are you Afraid of the Dark or Goosebumps type affair, which is pretty apt, as this came out two months after Are you Afraid of the Dark came out. Somehow this movie managed to keep my attention, I appreciate moments where certain cliches are either subverted or not done, the performances are fine enough, and to reiterate, if you see this movie with no context to Peck, you may not know what he has done, even if he acted creepy around Michael Bower behind the scenes.
Of course this is no underrated masterpiece, or that good at all, don't get it twisted. At the end of the day this is just a mere curiosity, and the only reason you may know about it is because you looked through Peck's filmography. A film by a man who got by through connections, popping up in the most random places, and you know the rest.
But let's be grateful Peck isn't on the scene anymore, and it only took fifteen years for him to finally eff off.
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