This reminds me of those early Roger Corman cheapies. A young lawyer, on his first case, comes to realize that a toupee from hell has been responsible for a series of murders committed by bald men. The toupee tends to escape as its victim/murderers are about to be apprehended, snarling with a threatening, guttural voice. The lawyer fights a battle to the death with the evil hairpiece. Needless to say, this is entirely off the wall. Some of the writers criticized this series as betraying its goals. But is "Amazing Stories" supposed to be like "The Twilight Zone" or "Tales from the Crypt." Some of them are, like "Mirror, Mirror," but mostly they are just a collection of all kinds of odd tales. This one makes you laugh and maybe that's all the writers wanted you to do. So don't get your hair in a mess.
9 Reviews
A Hairy Tale That Should Have Been Better
ccthemovieman-13 September 2007
"Murray Bernstein" used to be meek, wimpy accountant who had a nice family and all was well....at least better than now. The turning point? He bought a toupee. Eight days later he's in jail after murdering several people. A young and "dispensable" lawyer, "Harry Ballentine," comes to his cell and interviews Murray and then goes back to the office determined to do everything he can to help defend the man. What he finds is strange....very strange.
With a great title like "Hell Toupee," I expected this episode to be outrageous and quite funny. Well, it was outrageous, but it wasn't funny; it was just stupid. Having a "psychotic hairpiece" might have been a clever story for horror and comedy but they went totally slapstick with this, which I don't mind except it poor slapstick.
The toupee sidles along the ground and makes goofy noises and, somehow, gets around. Maybe a five-year-old would laugh at these sights or at Tony Kienitz's over-the-top young lawyer act, which gets aggravating in a hurry.
The only thing funny in here were a couple of puns made by the skeptical police captain.
With a great title like "Hell Toupee," I expected this episode to be outrageous and quite funny. Well, it was outrageous, but it wasn't funny; it was just stupid. Having a "psychotic hairpiece" might have been a clever story for horror and comedy but they went totally slapstick with this, which I don't mind except it poor slapstick.
The toupee sidles along the ground and makes goofy noises and, somehow, gets around. Maybe a five-year-old would laugh at these sights or at Tony Kienitz's over-the-top young lawyer act, which gets aggravating in a hurry.
The only thing funny in here were a couple of puns made by the skeptical police captain.
Not Amazing Stories!
tschi_uwe2 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was not from Amazing Stories it was an episode from Tales From The Crypt!! I loved this episode and remember the Crypt Keeper speaking of his next tale. I was not sure if he meant "Hell To Pay" or "Hell Toupee" - turns out he meant both.
!!Spoiler!! A large tomato red toupee (like the hair of a Wishnik Troll)scratched the scalp of its owner and possessed people for a short time.
I loved watching Tales From The Crypt on HBO Saturday nights. There were times it would scare me because I didn't know what I was seeing and later it became more comedic. I loved Amazing Stires and was saddened when stations stopped airing. Tales from the Crypt started as the next best thing then became the BEST thing. Hell Toupee was the first episode of Tales From The Crypt to make me laugh.
!!Spoiler!! A large tomato red toupee (like the hair of a Wishnik Troll)scratched the scalp of its owner and possessed people for a short time.
I loved watching Tales From The Crypt on HBO Saturday nights. There were times it would scare me because I didn't know what I was seeing and later it became more comedic. I loved Amazing Stires and was saddened when stations stopped airing. Tales from the Crypt started as the next best thing then became the BEST thing. Hell Toupee was the first episode of Tales From The Crypt to make me laugh.
Strange, lame and werid funny episode of the series.
blanbrn28 February 2019
This episode from season one of the "AS" series called "Hell Toupee" is one that's different, a little lame, strange, and funny. It involves a defense lawyer who finds out some stuff about murders, clients, and other things. As it's with each defendant seems to be involved with a hair piece that being a toupee as with each head the piece goes on murder seems to happen. And when it gets in the hands of one mild mannered lawyer other attorneys be well aware! Overall funny and different certainly an odd and different entry from the series.
"My kids were annoying. My wife made me sick. Life was great!"
classicsoncall28 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Good grief! Another dopey episode presented by "Amazing Stories". I could take these kinds of programs if they were offered once in a while but this series had more than it's share. That crawling toupee reminded me of a couple horror flicks that I've seen featuring a severed hand that crawled around from place to place, neither of which I can recall the name of right now. And no, one of them wasn't 1963's "The Crawling Hand", because I just became aware of that one and haven't seen it yet. Actually the slithering hairpiece was probably the best thing about this show, it was so goofy looking it made you laugh just looking at it. Everything else though was even more over the top, as there's nothing here that one can take seriously. Odd too, that every character who got themselves a toupee did it because it made them look younger. The couple of times in my life when I had my head shaved, I thought it had the same effect!
Guilty pleasure
Quentintarantado3 April 2008
I loved this episode! Yes, it's moronic, and that's the pleasurable thing about it to me! I especially like how low tech (in a series with at-the-time cutting edge effects like in The Mission) the toupee is, crawling along on the ground. It's the same dumb humor as the homicidal bunny in Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. I also love the puns. Isaac Asimov once said puns are the noblest form of wordplay. The bigger the groan, the better, and that title is quite a groan.
Lastly, I like the nerd lawyer. Nerds were still up-and-coming at the time (Bill Gates was still on his way to becoming the richest man in the world) so for a nerd to save the day and get the girl, well, I like the idea!
Lastly, I like the nerd lawyer. Nerds were still up-and-coming at the time (Bill Gates was still on his way to becoming the richest man in the world) so for a nerd to save the day and get the girl, well, I like the idea!
One of the most obscure TV references I personally know
fatedrummer26 July 2010
Firstly, I have to give props to quentintarantado for the review & shared appreciation for this episode of "Amazing Stories."
This takes me back to High School..... and a decade & 1/2 later, one of my best friends & I STILL recite a few memorable lines from it.
Goofy? Yes. Low-Budget? Absolutely. Chock full of unknown actors? Yep! Worth blowing 22 some-odd minutes of my youthful life watching it when it aired? HECK YEAH!!!
Such a great pun in the title; Which was also blended into the plot itself with the same cerebral genius & off the wall comedy. I just wish I could find this one online to watch again.
This takes me back to High School..... and a decade & 1/2 later, one of my best friends & I STILL recite a few memorable lines from it.
Goofy? Yes. Low-Budget? Absolutely. Chock full of unknown actors? Yep! Worth blowing 22 some-odd minutes of my youthful life watching it when it aired? HECK YEAH!!!
Such a great pun in the title; Which was also blended into the plot itself with the same cerebral genius & off the wall comedy. I just wish I could find this one online to watch again.
Over the top, but I like it very much
sonnyschlaegel26 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Harry Ballantine, a young lawyer, is going to defend a man who has killed three lawyers. The murderer had led an inconspicuous life till, about a week before, he bought a toupee. Then, two more lawyers are killed, and when the murderer is arrested, Harry finds out that there is a parallel to the first case: the second murderer has recently bought a toupee, too. Harry finds out that the toupee has a life of its own and has escaped from the prison. Why is it so dangerous, and will Harry be able to stop it before even more lawyers fall victim to it?
I liked this episode very much. The story is over the top, but it's not meant to be a serious thriller / horror story, it's meant to be a funny story. And it really is funny in my opinion. I liked the scenes in which Harry chases the toupee, and there are lots of jokes that I liked, for example what Harry says about defending the toupee, or Harry's answer to the murderer's question why they have sent him instead of an experienced lawyer. And there were some small details that I think are funny and well done, for example Harry has a picture of President Nixon on his wall, and there's a worm's-eye view shot (or toupee's-eye view shot) when the toupee tries to escape from the prison.
I've read that this one may have been inspired by an episode of 'The Twilight Zone' (1959) titled 'Dead Man's Shoes'. Or perhaps it's meant to be a spoof of that one, but I don't know it since I haven't seen that episode. It's also possible that there is another source; I've read that the concept of 'sympathetic magic' is part of a lot of old folktales, that is there is a link between the villain of the story and an object, and the villain can only be killed (or, as in this episode, stopped) if the object is destroyed, so perhaps one of these old tales was the inspiration for this episode. There's also a funny remake (spoof?) of it in 'The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror IX' (#10.4).
I think if you liked the previous episode ('Secret Cinema'), which is also in the style of a farce, you will probably like this one, too.
I liked this episode very much. The story is over the top, but it's not meant to be a serious thriller / horror story, it's meant to be a funny story. And it really is funny in my opinion. I liked the scenes in which Harry chases the toupee, and there are lots of jokes that I liked, for example what Harry says about defending the toupee, or Harry's answer to the murderer's question why they have sent him instead of an experienced lawyer. And there were some small details that I think are funny and well done, for example Harry has a picture of President Nixon on his wall, and there's a worm's-eye view shot (or toupee's-eye view shot) when the toupee tries to escape from the prison.
I've read that this one may have been inspired by an episode of 'The Twilight Zone' (1959) titled 'Dead Man's Shoes'. Or perhaps it's meant to be a spoof of that one, but I don't know it since I haven't seen that episode. It's also possible that there is another source; I've read that the concept of 'sympathetic magic' is part of a lot of old folktales, that is there is a link between the villain of the story and an object, and the villain can only be killed (or, as in this episode, stopped) if the object is destroyed, so perhaps one of these old tales was the inspiration for this episode. There's also a funny remake (spoof?) of it in 'The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror IX' (#10.4).
I think if you liked the previous episode ('Secret Cinema'), which is also in the style of a farce, you will probably like this one, too.
Really dumb....but this is NOT a criticism!
planktonrules23 June 2015
The show begins with a novice lawyer talking to his client in prison. It seems that a week ago, the killer was just a normal guy and he has no idea what drove him to kill. Only after repeated similar cases does this lawyer put it all together--they common thread is a killer toupee that makes them murder lawyers!!
I am not a big fan of "Amazing Stories". As I re-watch the shows, I see a distinct problem with the writing. For every excellent episode, you'll find a half dozen that really stink. Sometimes the problem is that the show SHOULD be scary but instead it comes off like a kids' show--and a silly one at that. However, a big exception to this is "Hell Toupee"--it's VERY silly and not the least bit scary AND yet it is very funny and worth seeing. I think this is because the concept is so incredibly silly and the show never tries to be anything else but silly. In fact, it's such a cute episode that I am not surprised that "The Simpsons" 'borrowed' the idea for one of their "Treehouse of Horror" episodes--the one where Snake is executed and they make a toupee of his hair! Overall, this show is one of the best--silly but all in good fun.
I am not a big fan of "Amazing Stories". As I re-watch the shows, I see a distinct problem with the writing. For every excellent episode, you'll find a half dozen that really stink. Sometimes the problem is that the show SHOULD be scary but instead it comes off like a kids' show--and a silly one at that. However, a big exception to this is "Hell Toupee"--it's VERY silly and not the least bit scary AND yet it is very funny and worth seeing. I think this is because the concept is so incredibly silly and the show never tries to be anything else but silly. In fact, it's such a cute episode that I am not surprised that "The Simpsons" 'borrowed' the idea for one of their "Treehouse of Horror" episodes--the one where Snake is executed and they make a toupee of his hair! Overall, this show is one of the best--silly but all in good fun.
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