The Greenskeeper DVD Review

"The Greenskeeper" is a locally made horror film that is mainly known for being the film that baseball pitcher John Rocker stars in. A former Atlanta Brave, Rocker has since seen his baseball career falter, mainly due to injury, but no doubt impacted after a relentless media would not put to rest controversial comments made by Rocker in a Sports Illustrated interview. For awhile, it seemed that Rocker was the most hated man in America. Will Rocker's role as the maniac in this low budget horror flick win him any new fans?

Well, Rocker is one of the better actors in the movie. While his face is rarely seen, usually hidden behind what appears to be a beekeeper's mask, his role requries no speaking and very little acting ability. His tall, muscular frame works well for the role of the golf course serial killer. And the viewer actually begins to cheer for the killer to bump off more of the other insipid characters, who can't act to save their lives.

I can't imagine horror movie buffs in general liking this film, unless they specialize in collecting Z grade material. I'm actually a cheesy horror movie buff myself, and have a good collection of bad horror films, such as the classic "Plan Nine From Outer Space" and "Strait Jacket.

The special effects go for the extreme, and are pretty well done. Every golf related device imaginable is used to kill off the characters. There is definitely no shortage of blood.

While the script is clearly lacking, the acting is almost painful to watch. The main draw besides Rocker are The Regular Guys, Larry Wachs and Eric von Haessler, and their sidekick Southside Steve Rickman. Eric barely gets any screen time at all, but he does a mean "flipping the bird" which could serve as a symbolic review of the entire film. Larry is the most interesting character, playing the sadistic "Milkman" on a late night horror television show. Larry's line, "You've expired, bitch!" is the best line in the film.

Then there is Southside Steve, who unfortunately gets quite a bit of screen time. This is no doubt due to the fact that he invested a large sum of his own money into the film, not because of any acting ability.

Who can I recommend this film to? As I mentioned above, fans of The Regular Guys show will definitely want a copy, and according to the latest local radio ratings, there are plenty of those fans. As for those not familiar with The Regular Guys, I'd say fortify yourself with your poision of choice and see if you can make it through the end of the film.