Those that approach this entertaining little backyard feature would do well to approach from the rear. Those expecting a horror movie or erotic thriller may find themselves disappointed unless they pay more attention to the HOUSE OF IDIOTS part of the title. Paul Scrabo's feature debut as writer and director is actually much more of a broad relationship situation comedy, though it delves into frequent and lengthy horror and sci-fi spoofery.

It's only fitting that the film spends so much time making fun of genre conventions, as most of the people involved met at genre conventions, such as the annual Monster Bash or one of Fangoria's Weekends of Horror. Everyone in the cast and crew is a convention regular, and many of them formed longtime friendships after making contact at such shows.

Retired TV horror host Conrad Anderson (Conrad Brooks) is minding the home of famed sex therapist Dr. Horace while the doc is away. But when a trio of patients show up at the door, Conrad can't resist the temptation to scam them out of some ready cash, and recruits horror writer Frank (Michael R. Thomas) to pose as Horace's mentor "Dr. Horror". Veterinarian Valerie (Debbie Rochon of PLAY-MATE OF THE APES, HELLBLOCK 13 and many more) is having trouble maintaining relationships because she's a control freak. Photographer Mark (Trent Haaga of TERROR FIRMER) is a wolf with a secret. And millionaire Ashley (Nathan Sears) is engaged, but unsure that getting married is the right thing to do. Dr. Horror tries to help them out or at least help them out of a few bucks by telling cautionary tales of each patient's possible future. In one story, Valerie marries Mark and ends up murdering him, but is irked to find him keeping his promise to "stay with her forever" from beyond the grave. In another, Mark's chauvinistic ways earn him a gypsy curse that makes him turn into a werewolf every time he's aroused. And Ashley's story is a somewhat elaborate space opera in which his "perfect woman" (Rochon again) turns out to be the queen of an amazon planet.

These stories, and segments in between, all poke gentle fun at other independent genre movies, especially all those 'erotic' thrillers and Naked Vampire Lesbian (NaVaL) pictures. Guest stars Jasi (Roxanne) Lanier, Marina Morgan, Barbara Joyce, Rachael Robbins, Tina Krause and Ruby Larocca - like Rochon, all veterans of those kinds of movies all lend a hand in lampooning their own work. Other guest stars popping up in cameos include Brinke Stevens, Bob Burns, author Don McGregor, and David "The Rock" Nelson, but the for many the movie earns the price of admission due to the presence of veteran TV horror host John Zacherle, who pops up at odd moments to make hilarious comments on the action, and even performs a song and dance number.

Rochon makes for such a sparkling and attractive leading lady that one wonders why she's so often cast in offbeat smaller roles. Haaga could be mistaken for a young Steve Buscemi, but also manages to pull off the 'juvenile lead' slot when called on. And Sears just seems to be having the time of his life. But it's Thomas that just about steals the show. By trade a make-up man whose career stretches back to the 1960s, a few years back Thomas began entertaining fans disguised as various characters at conventions, especially with his dead-on Bela Lugosi imitation. Highlighting this bit is his imitation of Lugosi's "Ygor" character from the Universal Frankenstein movies, which he performed in TITANIC 2000 and includes here as well. He mugs a bit too much Scrabo would have done well to tell everyone to pull in the reins but he also scores a lot of big laughs.

And indeed, this is one of those zero budget affairs for which the cast is everything, as there isn't much of anything else. One could say that a more experienced crew might have made the production appear slicker, and a fresh editor may have tightened things up a lot more (the film runs a generous 132 minutes). And given a bit more time, the actors might have delivered better takes than those used, making a better connection with the material and each other. However, it's tough to criticize such an obvious labor of love, and it's a credit to Scrabo that he created a story with actual dramatic progression where others would be satisfied with only a series of parody vignettes. Kudos are due all around for making such a fun little show. The only question I have is how they missed having Forry Ackerman in it.