Waste of time

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Blistering performances.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The summary says it all. With a cast of has-beens (Charlene Tilton? Stuart Pankin? Phyllis Diller? Rip Taylor? Larry Storch?) and people who should have known better (Billy Zane, Dom Irrera, and directors Mel Brooks, Joe Dante, John Carpenter, and John Landis), there isn't a single laugh in the entire movie, which contains some of the lamest, most revolting sight gags ever filmed. It's all well and good to spoof popular films like "Psycho" and "The Silence of the Lambs," but you have to at least attempt to make it a FUNNY spoof rather than simply referencing the film. Instead, Mr. Greggio names his hero Jo Dee Fostar and his villains Antonio Motel and Animal Cannibal Pizza. The "Psycho" scene, with Martin Balsam as Det. Martin Balsam (another indescribably unfunny reference) was bizarre and moronic. Did anyone seriously think this remotely resembled humor? Avoid this piece of garbage at all costs, lest you fancy being scarred for life.

I can't think of another movie in which an actor replayed his most famous role...for laughs. Millions of people over several decades saw Martin Balsam as the Detective who Gets Killed on the Stairs in "Psycho" (1960). And here he was, 34 years later, playing his every scene from the original as a gag. Unlike "Psycho" shower murder victim Janet Leigh, Balsam always refused to give interviews on his scenes in "Psycho," feeling it was given too much notice over his other films (he won the 1965 Oscar for "A Thousand Clowns.") I guess he was finally willing to revisit the detective -- for pay. Maybe it was revenge for Balsam to play the role in so bad a movie this time.Yeah, "Silence of the Hams" is terrible, but as a film artifact, I find Balsam's appearance amazing. His physical appearance, too. He's a fair sight more elderly and frail in "Silence of the Hams" than he was in "Psycho," but he takes his staircase fall ("Again??!!") yet again with grace and humor. Intriguing: this was made by its star, Italian comedian Ezio Greggio, and Martin Balsam died in Italy about a year later. Balsam had appeared in many other Italian-made films. Was this film made in Italy?

It is an true art form to make a good parody, an art form that Mel Brooks perfected. And even if Mel Brooks has a brief cameo, it is Ezio Greggio that is the mastermind of this one. And though he don't reach the heights of Brooks, he and the rest of the cast and crew delivers a good parody. The base for the parody is Silence of the Lambs and Psycho, but some other movies get spoofed along the way.In a movie as this it is the jokes that is the essence of it all. One can't really talk of a coherent plot nor is the cast performance the major part. Note however that the performance is not bad, but it is more fun to try to recognize each actor/actress instead, as it is used in some jokes. Now, the joke part, I think that the major part of the jokes and spoofs was very funny. Some didn't work, and some too predictable to produce much laughter. However, all in all, the jokes were good and well worth the time spent watching the movie.7/10

Take 10 lame American movies and add a few good ones. Stir around for a while, and let some Italians figure out the rest, and you have the funniest comedy ever made. Many people won`t like this one though. The 10 lame movies I mentioned are all big hits, and lot`s of people like them, so naturally this movie is not for everyone. Martin Balsam makes a very funny impression playing his role from Psycho. The Italian director does a enormously funny role as Italian "Norman Bates". Great fun.10 out of 10 easily. probably 12 or 13 to.