Mazes and Monsters (1982) Review

Dungeons and Dragons - I mean - Mazes and Monsters is a doozy of a picture. I've seen a lot of Tom Hanks' old movies, and I've seen a lot of stinkers. He had to pay his dues to earn them Osacrs. Mazes and Monsters out did them all. It was so terrible it was hillariously entertaining. I kid you not, Mazes and Monsters is a cautionary tale about the dangers of playing Dungeons and Dragons. The whole thing plays out like an after school special designed to keep kids off role playing games. Tom Hanks plays a kid in college tortured by his troubled past. His brother ran away and never came back so Hanks burried his feeling in his M & M character named Bardeaux. When the pain got to be too much he would slip into Bardeaux's personality, abandoning the real Tom Hanks. Be warned children, role playing games can lead to multiple personalities.

The story starts with Hanks as a freshman in college. He's a recovering M & M addict, trying to concentrate on his classes, but he inevitably hooks up with a hardcore Level 9 Mazes and Monsters crew. They go from playing tons of alcohol-free nights of the game to LARPing in a nearby cavern. I'm willing to bet that this is was the first cinematic depiction of Live Action Role Playing. Even back then the dangers of LARPing were obvious. It turns freaky kids even more freaky.



Everything about this movie was terrible, right down to the quality of the DVD transfer. Which made it oh-so delicious to watch. Anyone who grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons could tell you that the game helps teach kids problem solving skills and how to think about the world creatively. It doesn't make you go schizo and try to jump off the World Trade Center, like Tom Hanks tries to do. It was really weird seeing a young Hanks crying his eyes out at the top of Tower One. The creepiness pervades the film and there is nothing intentionally funny about it. The fact that the movie takes itself so seriously is friggin hillarious. I won't even tell you how it ends. It's too good to spoil.