Do you know who Stuart Gordon is? If you don't, you should by now. Go watch some of Gordon's flicks, and get back to me. And if you do know Gordon's flicks then you need not read this to know that you should be checking out his latest film. Chances are you've known about it for quite some time, and have been waiting for it to come to a theatre or DVD place near you. Maybe you're just reading this to find out how Stuck compares to Gordon's other pictures. It seems like slightly foreign territory to him (comedy), but not really too much of a stretch.

I wish to compare this to another film that was recently released called The Ruins. I didn't like The Ruins. The reason I didn't like it is because it was a film that could have had a Stuart Gordon-like sensibility to it, instead filmed in a tone that didn't in any way fit with its content. I shouldn't be groaning and laughing at a film like that. I should be groaning and laughing with it.

Gordon said that he got the idea for Stuck after seeing a news story in which a man actually did get stuck in a windshield of a woman's car as she was driving home, was kept in her garage, and found days later. He says he heard this story and thought to himself “that would make a good screwball comedy.” That's why I love Gordon. To a normal person, that sounds either terrible or forgettable. To Gordon it is comedic.

And he's right. While not a veteran of the comedy genre, Gordon always has the ability to entertain us and nothing changes here. Stuck is pure entertainment to its core. It's funny when it wants to be (including a great opening credit sequence), and it has the power to make the viewer extremely uncomfortable.

I've never had too much of a problem seeing a character's arm being cut off in a film, or his guts being ripped out by zombies, but the little things get to me. Someone performs an impromptu piercing or has to rip off a fingernail, and I squirm like crazy in my seat. Something about when that smaller scale pain is presented to me allows my imagination to accurately recreate it. It's more tangible, like I've felt it before. Stuck is full of scenes like this. I challenge you to not feel discomfort while watching it. You won't be able to.

So, is Stuck as good as having another Stu Gordon horror flick? That's up for you to decide, I suppose. It lacks the lasting power of Edmond or King of the Ants and the recklessness of Re-Animator, Castle Freak, or From Beyond. But I enjoyed it as much as I've ever enjoyed one of his movies, and that's saying a hell of a lot. Perhaps by branching out, he will win himself more fans than he would have as merely a horror director.