The Greenskeeper is another jokey slasher flick filled with familiar faces, a tongue-in-cheek tone, and a few pretty cool deaths. It's also mostly known for having troubled former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker (who got in trouble in 1999 for uttering racist comments to the press) in a bit role as our killer who's obviously inspired by the baddie in 1981's The Burning as he's not only burnt to a crisp, but also because he has a fondness of a pair of hedge clippers.

It's just another day at the Summerisle Country Club and Alan (Allelon Ruggiero) really hates his job as the assistant greenskeeper. However, since his mother and greedy stepfather own the place he kind of has no choice since his attempts to become a screenwriter haven't paid off yet.

Ready to quietly celebrate his latest birthday his stuck-up girlfriend convinces him to allow her and a handful of friends to have a party in the clubhouse after hours. It promises to be an evening of sex, drugs, and even more drugs. Alan isn't too big on the whole thing but the promise of getting to hangout with one of the club's waitresses he has his eye on sweetens the deal. But things soon start to get out of hand when it turns out the burnt up former greenskeeper is still prowling the grounds and he doesn't take too kindly to them.

This is not a movie you are supposed to take seriously and that's quite obvious by all the wacky dialogue (like two characters arguing about the sexual orientation of Sesame Street muppets), dopey TV footage of a movie called "The Milkman", and a self-deprecating tangent one person goes on about low-budget slasher movies. Plus screenwriters Kevin Green (who also co-directed) and Alex Wier seem to enjoy making fun of the "stuck-up snob" portion of society quite a bit. And it's because of all this good-natured humour that the entire thing makes for silly entertainment.

They've also added in a bunch of deaths that are done with panache (such as nails in a tennis ball machine, a "ball washer" scene, and a cool "hole maker" moment) and the expected "twist" ending with the killer explaining his entire plot to his victims while they sit by waiting for him to finish.

Generally acted well and with popular former Playmate Christi Taylor on hand to fulfill the movie's nudity quota, The Greenskeeper is a pretty likeable horror-comedy that turned out much better than it has any right to have. It slings enough blood to please, has a few laughs, and pulls off a handful of creative (if predictable) deaths. I'd just like to know what's with all the sudden "lightning flashes" they start to use during any stalking scenes - I mean, sure, it helps make things mildly creepy by using silhouettes to its advantage, but there's no reason for it. (Chris Hartley, 11/30/05)

Directed By: Kevin Greene, Adam Johnson, Tripp Norton.
Written By: Kevin Greene, Alex Wier.

Starring: Allelon Ruggiero, Ron Lester, Christi Taylor, Thomas Merdis.