Heavy Metal (1981)

Rating: ****
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Cast: John Candy

The only film of its kind, this animated sci-fi fantasy tale is a combination of interrelated short stories of horror, sex and violence, and the ever present influence of evil. The stories all slithered off the pages of "Heavy Metal" magazine and are loosely connected by a glowing green ball of evil known as the "Loc Nar." It has tracked down a single young girl who is capable of destroying it and tells her various tales of its nasty nature. Much like Disney's "Fantasia" (1940), each of the segments has its own unique tone and animation style. Good looking and well made, with a killer hard rock soundtrack, this groundbreaking film was revolutionary in the animation industry. Full of adolescent male fantasy imagery and gratuitous sex and violence, this is an extremely entertaining film for the teenage boy in all of us.