The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

During the spring and summer of 1946, a hooded phantom stalked the lover’s lanes of sleepy Texarkana, Arkansas. The Phantom struck every twenty-one days despite a massive manhunt by state and federal officials. By the end of the summer, the masked killer had claimed five lives and left three survivors with deep physical and emotional scars. No suspect was ever apprehended. Some say the killer still walks the streets of Texarkana…

This Southern-Fried slasher from AIP and director Charles B. Pierce scared up business on the drive-inn circuit for years. The Town That Dreaded Sundown should be viewed as an early experiment before other directors mastered the slasher formula. Pierce combines elements from documentaries, police dramas, car chase flicks, and Don Knotts movies in this slasher. This bizarre concoction doesn’t always work and one wishes Pierce had added more stalk-and-slash bits to the recipe. Still, the stalking scenes are very suspenseful and some of the murders are pretty damn brutal.

The cast of TTDS. is both a strong point and weakness. Before battling a slasher in Terror Train, the great Ben Johnson hunted the Phantom killer. Johnson brings toughness and credibility to the character of Capt. J.D. Morales. Andrew Prine’s charisma gives his character more depth than the script. Dawn Wells, yes the one from Gilligan’s Island, shows she has the acting chops to make it as a scream queen. Wells, still very beautiful, has the best stalking sequence in the film. Sadly, the rest of the victims, police, and town folk don’t measure up. Some obscure their lines by talking away from the camera. And Pierce gives himself way to much screen time as Spark Plug, a comic relief deputy.

Special attention should be given to veteran stuntman Bud Davis for bringing the Phantom to life. We only see Davis’s eyes, but they are cold and cruel like a rattle snake’s. Davis has no lines and his features are obscured by a white hood but we know the killer is one grade A badass by watching his movements. The Phantom oozes madness and menace while hunting young couples on lover’s lane. If you love watching stuntmen portray slash happy maniacs, then check out Davis in TTDS.

The makers of TTDS claim the story is based on a real series of murders that stunned Texarkana in the 40’s. One wonders if writer Earl Smith was inspired by real life or reel life since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre made the same claim. While not a perfect slasher, genre fans should still seek out TTDS. Be patient with slow-mo car chases and Hee-Haw trappings and you’ll find some nice slasher material. Try not to flinch during the death by musical instrument scene.

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Terror on Tour (1980) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

It’s all sex, drugs, and rock & roll for the Clowns, a band with Kiss’s make-up and Alice Cooper’s stage show. The party starts to sour when a slasher begins to thin out the female fan base. With dead groupies piling up like stacks of fire wood, the police send a woman undercover to find the killer.

Terror on Tour isn’t a typical slasher. The story focuses on horny, middle-age rockers instead of horny teens and the main cast is all male. Women are presented as good time girls which livens up the scenes between deaths, but prevents the film from developing a strong heroine. The killer’s identity isn’t terribly difficult to guess. Gee, which member of the cast doesn’t enjoy spending time with very interesting women?

Don Edmonds, best know for directing some of the Ilsa films, gives the viewer plenty of blood and boobs to go along with the rock music. Buck Flower is listed as production manager but his best contribution to Terror on Tour is the presence of daughter Verkina Flower. Shockingly, Verkina spends most of her brief screen time topless. Hard to believe this is the same little girl terrorized by her father in Drive-In Massacre.

Screenwriter Dell Lekus gives the characters plenty of funny dialogue. One groupie asks the drummer how long they have. “About eight inches,” he replies. Another character proclaims, “I wish that guy would commit suicide before I have to kill him.” A nerdy stage hand is the film’s most complex and sympathetic character. The poor guy has to dress like one of the Clowns to meet women because he doesn’t know how to talk to members of the opposite sex.

While Terror on Tour is never scary or frightening, it is entertaining in a Girls Gone Wild sort of way. Low production values may be a result of budget being used to purchase the booze and drugs the cast enjoys during party scenes. A sleazy little slasher from an age when drugs were safe and it was okay to love women for their bodies.

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Sweet Sixteen (1982) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

The tranquility in a small Texas town is shattered by a series of brutal murders. Sheriff Burke (Bo Hopkins) and his kids (Friday the 13th III’s Dana Kimmell and Last American Virgin’s Steve Antin) have to catch the killer before the town erupts due to racial tension between the rednecks (lead by Don Stroud) and the Indians (lead by Don Shanks, Michael Myers in Halloween V). One common link connecting the victims is they were last seen alive talking to young Melissa (Aleisa Shirley), the new slut in town. Since the town is on edge, Melissa’s mother (Susan Strasberg) invites the entire town to Melissa’s sixteenth birthday party which promises to bring everyone, including the killer, together.

Sweet Sixteen could have easily been one long, dull film if lesser actors were cast in major parts. The interaction between Hopkins, Kimmell, and Antin is great to watch, especially when Kimmell goes all Nancy Drew while trying to solve the murders. Don Shanks plays Jason, a more authentic version of drive-in hero Billy Jack. Shanks uses spin kicks, tackles, elbow drops, and a really big knife to deal out redman’s justice in a white man’s town. Don Stroud gives the film a sense of menace as the town bully and Patrick (The Howling) MacNee lends some acting weight as a doctor excavating an old Indian burial ground. Michael (Graduation Day) Pataki gives his usual sleazy performance as the mayor who is quick to forget about his wife.

Despite the strong performances by a veteran cast, Sweet Sixteen is dragged down by a weak script. Erwin Goldman throws too many subplots at the viewer and never develops the slasher elements. Goldman spends too much time beating a dead horse with the mean whites vs. noble Indians storyline. I’m sure the topic made a great story back in the 70’s, the 1870’s that is, but it really feels out of place in a slasher film about guys getting hacked up by an unknown killer. Soap opera territory is mined as well when Kimmell’s strait-laced character suddenly becomes friends with Shirley’s uber-slut Melissa after the two have a giant bitchfest at a funeral. Melissa’s “I want to be a good girl” antics smack of after school special.

Jim Sotos handles the direction duties fairly well except when it comes to filming the murder scenes. The killer is only represented as a hand with a knife that always attacks in slow motion, no holiday masks or black gloves here, so there is no sense of dread when Sotos uses the killer’s p.o.v. shots. Sotos does a nice job capturing the desert landscape which gives the town a real feeling of isolation. Gary Graver is listed in the credits as 2nd unit director and one suspects he’s the one responsible for some of the more sleazy inserts. Aleisa Shirley has a nude scene right after the viewer learns the Melissa character is only 15. Another tasteless scene gives new meaning to the term “muff diving” as the camera zooms in while Melissa gets dressed for school.

Sometimes a good cast can make any slasher entertaining despite a low body count, meandering storylines that never reach a destination, and a killer that is never fully developed. Fans of songs found lurking at the end of slasher films will want to hear “Melissa’s Theme” or try to track down the soundtrack released by Regency. While a proper DVD is said to be in the works, Sweet Sixteen did get the bootleg DVD treatment through Brentwood under the title “Secrets of Sweet Sixteen” and with a bogus synopsis that makes it sound more like a teen comedy. If you have a vhs copy of Sweet Sixteen, then don’t bother with the Brentwood version as it appears to be lifted from the Vestron tape. Hold out for an official DVD release.

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Strange Behavior (1981) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Dr. LeSange is dead and buried, but strange things keep occurring in sleepy Galesburg. Someone is killing the children of the men who opposed LeSange’s fiendish experiments. Evidence points to multiple slashers, but Sheriff Brady (Michael Murphy) believes LeSange is involved. The Sheriff doesn’t realize he’s next on the death list and his son has been chosen as executioner.

Strange Behavior (AKA Dead Kids) starts slow, but builds in tension and suspense. The first murder is shown as shadows on a wall. This lures the viewer into a false sense of security and makes later scenes all the more shocking. The hypodermic to the eyeball and the pissing blood scenes are sure to cause a few squirm-in-your-seat moments.

Even though the film has a strong cast, Fiona Lewis is the real star as Dr. Parkinson. Her performance oozes grace, charm, and cold evil. Marc (Jimmy Olsen in the Superman series) McClure is fun to watch as the goofy buddy to Dan Shor. And what the hell is Louise (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) Fletcher doing in this film? She has a nothing part as a white-trash waitress.

Michael Laughlin does a good job as director but the script he co-wrote with William Condon has a few problems. Strange Behavior sometimes plays like a sequel to a film that was never made. We never learn what happened to Dr. LeSange, why the town was so against him, or why there are a pair of leg bones in LeSange’s coffin. It’s almost like the filmmakers assumed the audience already knew what transpired three years before this story.

Strange Behavior may seem dull, slow, or just plain odd to some slasher fans, but give it a chance and you’ll be rewarded with a few thrills and chills. Just don’t watch it late at night. The beautiful Tangerine Dream soundtrack will put you right to sleep. Their main track could be called “A lullaby for Slashers”.

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Splatter University (1984) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

A psycho escapes from a mental institution. Three years later, the female students and teachers of St. Trinians College fall victim to the knife wielding slasher. The new teacher on campus (Francine Forbes) thinks she knows the killer’s identity. After the deaths of her friends, the young teacher confronts the killer in the hallways of the college.

Splatter University is an entertaining slasher film for all of the wrong reasons. Director Robert Haines is so inept that he allows numerous mistakes and gaffs into the film. A few mistakes include bad post production dubbing, dead bodies that move, and a doctor with bloodstains on his coat before he’s attacked by the killer. The mistakes are often more entertaining than the actual film.

Writers Michael Cunningham, Robert Haines, and John Michaels produced dialog filled with crude humor and bad one liners. Unfortunately, they forgot to add depth to their characters and suspense. Gore consists of knife penetrations and plenty of squirting blood. Even though the camera zooms in on girls wearing tight jeans and shirts, there is no nudity except for a cover of Look magazine. When you see the female students, you’ll be glad they kept their clothes on. The soundtrack is one annoying song that plays throughout the movie.

Francine Forbes is the only real actor in the cast. She brings a charming innocence to this film. The rest of the cast must be friends or relatives of the filmmakers. They obviously weren’t hired on talent or good looks. The killer’s identity is a bit of a surprise, but the actor looks too silly to be menacing.

Splatter University is so badly made that it’s actually entertaining. If you’re looking for frights and suspense, then look somewhere else. Splatter U. works best as a party film, something to watch with a room full of friends. It’s good, sleazy fun.

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Slumber Party Massacre 3 (1990) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

It’s the early 90’s and the slasher genre, though not quite dead, is on life support. Everyone from politicians to major studio moguls are ghoulishly rubbing their hands together, anxious to pull the plug. Trips to the local Mom and Pop video store become depressing exercises in futility for the forgotten fans looking for new slashers. And then one day you spot a new title that conjures memories of the good old days… Slumber Party Massacre 3. You let out a cry that sounds like Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and rush to the counter with your precious find. The guy at the register can’t understand a word you’re saying because you’re babbling but he gladly takes your sweat soaked cash and sends you out the door before you frighten the customers.

Slumber Party Massacre 3 is much closer in spirit to the original than Part 2, all the stalk and slash you crave without the annoying Elvis impersonator posing as the driller killer. Jackie (Keely Christian) has a slumber party with her girlfriends (Maria Ford, Maria Claire, Brandi Burkett, Hope Marie Carlton, and Lulu Wilson) plus a few uninvited guests that include a creepy neighbor (M.K. Harris), a weirdo (Yan Birch), and some horny guys trying to crash the festivities. Everyone has a goodtime until the new driller killer (Brittain Frye) arrives with his favorite toy and makes a bloody mess all over the house.

What really makes Slumber Party Massacre 3 stand apart is a vicious third act devoid of the usual dark humor found in the first two entries in the series. Frye’s character is left impotent from years of abuse so the drill’s phallic symbolism becomes much more sinister and the murders become more like brutal rapes. Maria Ford’s death scene is the most difficult to watch, her character begs for mercy while writhing helplessly on the floor. Her attempt to seduce the killer only enrages him to the point of overkill.

Director Sally Mattison keeps the action moving and the blood spraying during the film’s 87 minute running time. The only minor complaint against Mattison is she cast too many blonds in key roles. Sometimes it’s easy to confuse Christian with Burkett and Wilson with Carlton because the actors look so much alike. Screenwriter Catherine Cyran creates strong female characters and a deranged killer with a more developed back story compared to the first two driller killers. Thankfully, Cyran confirms an aspect of slumber parties that men have long suspected. Women at slumber parties will strip for their girlfriends whenever someone turns on a radio. Bless you, Sally Mattison and Catherine Cyran, for having the courage to reveal the truth to the world.

Slumber Party Massacre 3 tries very hard to recapture the magic of the slasher genre’s glory days. Buckets of blood, beautiful women in danger, and bad pop music sprinkled throughout the film adds to the 80’s nostalgia. The film may have been ripped to shreds by critics upon release but Slumber Party Massacre 3 provided one last cinematic fix for strung-out slasher fans before the genre’s revival in the late 90’s. Really, how can anyone not like a film that involves death by electric vibrator? Watch for a cameo by Marta (Friday the 13th 2) Kober as a pizza girl and an excellent Freddy mask when the boys crash the party. Eagle-eyed slasher fans will notice the set used in Slumber Party Massacre 3 was also used in Sorority House Massacre 2.

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Scream For Help (1984) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Christie (Rachael Kelly) is sure her new step-father, Paul Fox (David Brooks), is trying to kill her mother but none of her friends or family take her warnings seriously. The suspicious teen stalks her step-father and his lover, Brenda (Lolita Lorre), in an attempt to gather evidence proving Fox’s evil intentions. Eventually, Christie convinces her mother that Paul is a cad and has him tossed out of the mansion. The happy ending is ruined later that evening when Paul, Brenda, and the psychotic Lacy (Rocco Sisto) invade the house to murder mother and daughter so Paul can inherit the family fortune. Three desperate killers face off against one angry girl armed with quick wits and a butcher knife in the bloody, suspenseful final reel.

The most impressive element concerning Scream for Help is the major talent working behind the camera. Irwin (Halloween, Hell Night, Fade to Black) Yablans acted as executive producer and Michael (Death Wish) Winner directed. Tom Holland, already a slasher screenplay veteran with Psycho II, provided the script before creating the Fright Night series and Child’s Play franchises. Former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones wrote the synth score that pounces on the viewer whenever a bit of nastiness is about to occur.

Holland’s script, besides featuring several nail-biting sequences, is very subversive. Having the sweet, innocent heroine perform the stalking and slashing under cuts the criticism from mainstream critics that slasher films are nothing more than scenes of evil men harming helpless women. Christie spills more blood and racks up a higher body count than the three villains. Holland also taps into and exploits the universal fear of a wicked step-parent. Adults are blind to Paul Fox’s evil but a step-child can easily see past his handsome facade.

The most recognizable face in the film is Corey Parker, best known for taking a crap in the woods while his buddy is eating a road flare in Friday the 13th V. Parker plays a horny boyfriend who’s always too busy getting busy to notice his lady is in danger. At times Rocco Sisto comes across as a poor man’s David Hess, yet he gives the best performance in the film. Lolita Lorre is well cast as the seductive Brenda. Lorre alternates between electric sexuality and cold, smoldering cruelty.

Scream for Help is a suspenseful little slasher with a good pedigree. The forces behind this film made something different from the average slasher flooding theaters back in 1984. Sometimes Scream for Help plays like an after school special on crack with serious teenage topics being discussed shortly before the shocking sex and mayhem kicks in. Those watching the Lorimar VHS edition of Scream for Help should check out the three trailers following the closing credits. American Anthem looks pretty generic but the extended Max Headroom preview and the theatrical trailer for Maximum Overdrive featuring Stephen King provide a real nostalgic blast from the past.

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Schizoid (1980) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

A black-gloved killer armed with a pair of scissors is stalking the members of Dr. Foles’ (Klaus Kinski) group therapy sessions. Advice columnist Julie (Marianna Hill) receives threatening letters before and after the murders but no one believes the letters are serious. The letters become more deranged and the killings more vicious as Julie’s relationship with Dr. Foles changes from patient to lover. Julie is gripped by paranoia as the shadowy slasher draws closer for the kill.

Schizoid (a.k.a Murder by Mail) has the ingredients to be a slasher fan’s dream. The production company, Golan-Globus, also produced New Year’s Evil and Hospital Massacre. Director David Paulsen made an early entry into the slasher genre with Savage Weekend. Besides Klaus (Crawlspace) Kinski and Marianna (Blood Beach) Hill, the cast features Craig (N.o.E.S. 3) Wasson, Donna (Angel, Jaws 2) Wilkes, Christopher (Taxi) Lloyd, Richard (V) Herd, and Joe (Murphy Brown) Regalbuto.

Paulsen, who also wrote the screenplay, does a nice job of building up the mystery surrounding the killer’s identity. Most of the male characters have problems with women so the viewer is never sure Julie is safe when she goes to the police or her psychiatrist. One wishes Paulsen had thrown a few more deaths into the script as the film starts to drift toward soap opera drama after the second murder. Fortunately, Paulsen closes the film with a tense and suspenseful ending with Julie surrounded by suspects and the police several minutes away.

Schizoid is lacking in the gore department but dishes out heavy doses of sex and sleaze. The sex scenes between Kinski and his female patients are cold and angry, the participants resemble wild animals rutting on nature programs. The film’s most disturbing subplot is the heavy incest angle between the doctor and his daughter, played by Donna Wilkes. he daughter slowly undresses and takes a shower while her father watches. Kinski keeps a blank expression during most of the film except for the scenes involving Wilkes’ character. Klaus acts more like a young man in love rather than a worried father while Wilkes comes across as a jealous, spiteful lover trying to keep her man. Very disturbing stuff but Kinski and Wilkes give the best performances of the movie during these scenes.

Schizoid, which combines giallo elements with the slasher genre, should be better remembered today considering the talent involved. Strong performances from a great cast help Schizoid stand out from the average slasher. Sadly, the film was released at a time when the audiences’ tastes had changed from subtle scares to extreme gore. Hopefully Schizoid will one day find new life on DVD, complete with commentary and behind-the-scenes features. One suspects the ladies in the cast have a few stories to tell.

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Scalps (1983) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Six archeology students head for the hills in search of Native American artifacts. Despite the warnings of DJ (Jo Ann Robinson), the class disturbs the ancient Indian burial ground and unleashes the vengeful spirit of Black Claw. After possessing Randy (Richard Hench), Black Claw hunts down the others with an arsenal of stone-age weapons.

Fred Olen Ray, a low budget icon, tackled the slasher genre with his second film, Scalps. On a technical level, Scalps is a bad movie. Scenes change from day to night then back to day at random and some scenes are out of focus. Also, the editing is a mess with scenes shown out of order. Images are thrown at the viewer for no particular reason and give away the ending.

But nobody watches a film like Scalps to learn about the filmmaking process. It’s all about the gore, baby. Despite the low budget, Scalps has some pretty impressive deaths, a little too realistic some may say. The actual scalping scene is just as good as Savini’s in Maniac. Listen for the slurping sound when the scalp is pulled away from the skull. Slit throats and severed heads gush fountains of blood. These death scenes are made more powerful by the screaming, moaning, and thrashing of the actors.

Scalps is easily one of Ray’s darkest movies. A combination of desert landscapes and sinister soundtrack gives Scalps a gritty, nihilistic atmosphere. Only a couple of unintentional laughs break the oppressive mood. “Valuable” finds are tossed around like baseballs among the students. The other laugh-riot is Lionman, a muppet with attitude. I don’t know why he’s in the film but you can tell he’s excited to be on camera. One expects Lionman to sing the alphabet or explain the advantages of drinking milk.

Gore hounds will get more enjoyment from watching Scalps than the casual slasher fan. There’s never any great mystery as to the killer’s identity or the fate of the characters. The end credits promise a sequel called Scalps 2: The Return of DJ but it was never filmed. Maybe one day Fred Olen Ray will take slasher fans back into the hills for another tale of grave robbing and revenge.

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Rocktober Blood (1984) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Heavy metal rocker Billy “Eye” Harper (Tray Loren) goes on a killing spree and snuffs 25 people before being captured and executed. The only survivor of Billy’s rampage is Lynn Starling (Donna Scoggins), back up singer and part-time groupie. Two years after the murders, Lynn is preparing her new band, Headmistress, for the Rocktober Blood Tour. But the fans aren’t the only ones waiting for Lynn’s return to the concert stage. Billy Eye has come back and he’s ready to slay the audience with a bloody encore.

Rocktober Blood is the film offspring of the Sebastians, Beverly directed and co-wrote the screenplay with husband Ferd. A heavy metal slasher sounds like a great idea but this baby has a major case of brain damage. Moments of tension are quickly killed by insane bits of dialogue or unintentional laughs. A slow death by dismemberment, which should be disturbing as hell, is interrupted with a close up of Scoggins boney white ass as she gets ready for a bath. A scene playing the old “the calls are coming from inside the house” bit changes from creepy to ridiculous when the killer utters the line “I want your hot steaming pussy blood all over my face.” Ick. Even worse, the Sebastions never capture the excitement of life in a rock band or the terror of being stalked by a deranged lunatic.

I don’t know what acting schools Tray Loren and Donna Scoggins attended but they should sue for refunds. Neither has the charisma to pull off performances as rock stars or villain and heroine. Loren spends much of his screen time going through an over acting tour de force. The guy comes across more like Rocky Horror than Rock and Horror. Scoggins is a little better at acting but fails to make Lynn into a sympathetic character. The most amazing thing about Scoggins performance is her willingness to get naked early and often during the film.

The gore killings, while pretty basic, still pack a punch. There’s a really nice impaling and a pretty good decapitation. Throw in some eviscerations during the concert and you have a surprising amount of blood and guts by the end of the film. One weak spot in the special effects department is a cheesy skeleton posing as a disinterred corpse. Putting a cheap wig on the damn thing and covering it with worms does nothing to enhance the illusion.

Watching Rocktober Blood is like opening a time capsule from the early 1980’s. Nostalgia fans can ride a tidal wave of memories with the assorted images of ancient arcade games, wild fashions, bad dance fads, and men using more make up and hairspray than women. Fans of no budget wonders will also find plenty to laugh about with the horrible dialogue and terrible acting. Serious slasher fans might want to skip over Rocktober Blood. Really, how can you be scared of a killer who dresses like he’s going to see Lover Boy in concert? This film is similar to Terror on Tour but has a better soundtrack. Look for a cameo by Jack Daniels during the opening credits.

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