Okay, it's hokey. Yeah, the special effects blow, even for the timeframe when it was originally made. Okay, I'm not even what is considered a member of KISS Army.
When I was a little kid, though, at a Halloween Party having just bypassed the obviously non-productive way of bobbing for apples by simply shoving my entire head in the bucket, pinning an apple to the bottom and winning the damned bobbing kudos; well, I was fairly soaked and removed from the garage while somebody tried to dry me off.
What were the adults doing? They were watching this film. I was too young to be into any form of music, I had no idea who these guys were, but they were cool. I spent the remainder of the party slipping in to watch bits and pieces of it before being sent back out only to repeat the cycle.
I mainly remember liking Peter Kriss's make-up and his singing of "Beth". A few years later I was into music and got Destroyer, and in adulthood they put the movie on to VHS format so I could see the whole thing. I had the slight cringe one sometimes gets when viewing a movie as an adult that you thought was incredibly awesome as a child, but I couldn't let it go.
It's a pure nostalgia thing. Adding to the nostalgia is the filming location at Magic Mountain, home of the most awesome rollercoasters ever, though it would be a long time before I really went there. Magic Mountain, now owned by Six Flags, is shutting down at the end of 2006, so now there's double nostalgia involvement.
Regardless, it's just plain fun - good music, a mythical like approach to the characters of KISS, a plot to take over the world, and really horrible production and effects that you let slide because of the 'to hell with it, let's have fun' mindset this was made in.
It's not for people who don't like at least a little KISS, nor for those who hate gaping plot holes and lousy special effects; but as a time capsule of oddly more innocent times despite the fact that the heroes did things like barf blood and growl, it's a wonderful thing.