Forget The Blair Witch Project -- Trekkies is undoubtedly the scariest movie of the year. This 86-minute foray into the Trekkie -- oh, I'm sorry, would that be Trekker? -- universe cleverly disguises itself as a mere documentary, but is actually a head-first ride into madness, obsession and the bizarre, the likes of which would make even Tod Browning cringe. Unless, of course, he's laughing his ass off, which is the other reaction this look into the lives, motivations and sanity of Star Trek fans provokes.

For a film that starts out by mentioning the widespread popularity of the series (Trekkies are the only fans listed by name in the Oxford English Dictionary; over 30 million fans watch Star Trek every week), it sure goes out of its way to find the show's freakiest admirers. To begin with, there is The Commander. Her real name is Barbara Adams, but calling her as such would not likely merit a response -- and nor will insisting that she not wear her Star Trek uniform every day to the Whitewater hearings, on which she served jury duty. Other devoted fans of the series include Denis Bourguignon, who runs the "Starbase Dental" dentist office, where he and his entire dental staff wear Trek uniforms while working on their patients, and Glen Proechel, who teaches Trekkies worldwide the Klingon language. The most notable, however, is Gabriel Koerner, a fourteen-year-old whose tremendous talent (the Star Trek special effects he creates on his computer rival Hollywood standards) is equalled only by his social ineptitude. As Gabriel fumes over the stripes on his uniform being too thick, nitpicks about his enormous collection of action figures, or screams at a friend of his who calls during the interview, the film takes on a level of knowing absurdity, and you can't help wonder what exactly it is about this series that provokes such an intense reaction.

Which is, lamentably, something that the documentary never touches on. Narrated and executive-produced by Denise Crosby (and containing numerous appearances by other Star Trek actors, producers, and writers), the film gives an in-depth look into the daily lives of Trek obsessives without explaining how they reached this point. By the film's end, you'll be amused, frightened, but ultimately just as baffled as William "Get a life!" Shatner. While there are some genuinely touching moments (a wheelchair-bound fan explaining how "Star Trek" was once the only bright spot in her life), the film concentrates mainly on Trek's most outlandish adherents, providing laughs and a kind of awed incredulity but never really getting to the root of why someone would legally change their name to James T. Kirk. Not to mention that the normal Star Trek fans (You're out there right? Somewhere?) go completely ignored. Overall, Trekkies is good for a few laughs (and a few nightmares), but it never goes deeply into the lives of its protagonists -- which, when you think about what that uniform must be like after a week's worth of wear, might not be such a bad thing afterall.

DROOL FACTOR: I believe the title speaks volumes here. Also, the drool-worthy Patrick Stewart wasn't even in it, so negative points.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: None in the conventional sense, but how would you like to have your teeth pulled by a dentist in a Star Trek uniform?

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Well, The Commander was pretty intimidating...