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Idle Hands

Play trailer Poster for Idle Hands R 1999 1h 30m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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18% Tomatometer 57 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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Idle Hands

Idle Hands

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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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Critics Reviews

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Jeff Millar Houston Chronicle Jul 21, 2005
Maybe 90 seconds of viable and sustained humor at the end. Go to Full Review Kim Newman Sight & Sound Dec 2, 2002
It's an infalliby funny gambit... Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review Emilie Black JoBlo's Movie Network Nov 2, 2023
8/10
Of course, some things are truly puerile and just didn’t age well, but still, it’s fun and that is all that movie aimed to be. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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. See more 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. See more Lee B @Leeech Oct 2, 2026 Just another run of the mill journey in late 90s horror/comedy. I giggled just fine. See more ZEINA . @Zeina212 Sep 23, 2026 This worth classic movie I have ever seen wasting my time See more 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?! See more Robert P @Superbad Sep 3, 2026 Idle Hands = A *3* star movie See more Read all reviews
Idle Hands

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Cast & Crew

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Rodman Flender

Director

Devon Sawa

Anton Tobias

Seth Green

Mick

Elden Henson

Pnub

Jessica Alba

Molly

Christopher Hart

The Hand

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Idle Hands

A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. A scene from the Columbia Picture Idle Hands. View more photos

Movie Info

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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