Drowning Ghost – in Swedish: Strandvaskaren – is a 2004 Swedish slasher film directed by Mikael Håfström and written by Lars Yngwe ‘Vasa’ Johansson and Håfström. It stars Rebecka Hemse, Jesper Salén and Jenny Ulving.

Plot Teaser

The traditional Hellestad Boarding School is celebrating its centenary, and the students are planning a big party. However, there is a dark legend about a brutal murder of three students at a local farm a hundred years ago. The killer drowned in a lake nearby and his body has been not found. One year ago, the disturbed intern Rebecka committed suicide during the anniversary speech of the arrogant dean, and her deranged father escaped from the mental institution where he was lodged. The student Sara is preparing a composition about the tragic legend, and finds new evidences compromising the name of a traditional local family and top contributor of Hellestad. Meanwhile, two new arrivals, Leo and Felix, become close to Sara and her roommate Therese, and students and staffs are vanishing in the place.

Drowning Ghost won awards for best director and best soundtrack of the year at the Screamfest Los Angeles Horror Film Festival.

Reviews

“The character was ultra cool and the myth was well scripted, but to relive the 90′s again was painstaking and unforgiving- there was never a worse time for horror in the history of film- and now people actually want to bring it back? Drowning Ghost can sink all the way to the depths of hell for all I care- burn in hell you evil, evil film!!” Bloody Disgusting

“While this one didn’t exactly wow me, it wasn’t all that bad either. The production values were good, the story somewhat congested and confused but easy enough to follow if you paid attention. I wish the heroine had been… well… more interesting, but hey, not every horror heroine can be as spunky and endearing as you’d like.” Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

‘A haunting rhyme for bedtime’

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning; Momma’s Boy; Nightmare Maker; Thrilled to Death; The Evil Protege) is a 1982 exploitation horror film directed by William Asher and starring Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson (Sweet 16) and Jimmy McNichol. It was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.

Plot teaser:

Bigoted homophobic police detective Joe Carlson(Bo Svenson) tries to frame high school basketball player Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol) for the murder of a television repairman when he becomes convinced that the killing was the result of a homosexual love triangle. Unbeknownst to the detective, Billy’s aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell) is the real killer; having harbored incestuous fantasies towards Billy for years, his impending graduation has caused long dormant homicidal urges to resurface. Joe’s continued plaguing of Billy causes Cheryl to become progressively more unstable, ultimately jeopardizing the lives of everyone around her…

In the UK, the film was released on the Atlantis VHS label in April 1983. It made the list of banned video nasties by November of the same year. It was dropped from the list in December 1985. It was submitted to the BBFC in 1987 with cuts as The Evil Protege but remained banned and remains unreleased in the UK to this day. In 2014 a Code Red DVD was released in the USA.

Reviews:

“Night Warning is leagues better than most of the flicks to come out in the Golden Age of Slasher Films, and if you call yourself a slasher film aficionado, than you have to get your hands on it.” Slashers, Splatters and Giallos

“Too mediocre as a thriller to wholeheartedly recommend but too fascinating as a psychological time capsule to dismiss, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is never the least bit suspenseful but will keep you entertained with its bizarre melodramatic subplots involving both incest and homophobia.” B-Movie Detective

“While the film itself could be considered a by-the-numbers thriller with some horror elements, it is still worth viewing for the absolutely amazing performance by Susan Tyrrell.” Video Junkie

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘He chose his weapons… he selected his victims… he picked his nose…’

The Nostril Picker - aka The Changer –  is a 1993 American horror film in the slasher genre. It was directed by Mark Nowicki from a screenplay by Steven Hodge, It stars Carl Zschering. Edward Tanner and Laura Cummings. Despite its title, the film plot does not directly revolve around a man who picks his nose.

Plot teaser:

Joe is an ugly loser, incapable of picking up women. But when he’s taught a magical power, capable of transforming him into anyone he pleases and then back to his normal self, he decides to use it to live out his perverse fantasies.Initially content just watching them shower, Joe soon tires of mindless nudity and gears up to take his ultimate revenge against womankind: luring them to his shabby apartment, violently killing, and even eating them!

Reviews:

“Rhinotillex enthusiasts, I’m afraid, will whine endlessly about the overall level of on-screen nose-pickery; other than a few uncomfortable scratches during the first twenty minutes, there’s very little correlation between the movie and its slightly misleading moniker. That said, The Nostril Picker is ultimately a thoroughly engrossing little project despite being completely pointless. Unless you’re a hardcore fan of nonsensical no-budget nutiness, you’d do well to cross the street and run far, far away.” The Film Fiend

The Nostril Picker montage:

“This is a zero-budgeter like never before. It’s like a home movie gone wrong. The picture quality is horrendous. There’s scratches and grain on every shot and it looks like it was bleached of any colour. I honestly refuse to believe that this was made in 1993 – it looks absolutely terrible. Did someone leave the film print out in the sun all day or drop it down the toilet? It’s got to have been made back in the 70s and was just sat around in someone’s garage since then.” Popcorn Pictures

“But this isn’t even one of those “So bad they’re good” flicks – it’s just plain bad. Seriously, watching retarded shit like this can’t be good for you. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to recommend a film with a title like The Nostril Picker. A rate seems pointless, but I give it one point for originality and one point for the title, and there’s a part of me that (believe it or not) thinks you should see the film, allthough I didn’t like it – you know, just to see it. Especially if you have a soft spot for amateurish, low-budget B-movies. The crappier the better, right?” Rare Cult Cinema

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

StageFright -Aquarius- aka Stage Fright, Bloody Bird, Deliria is a 1987 Italian horror film directed by Michele Soavi. The film stars Barbara Cupisti, David Brandon and Giovanni Lombardo Radice. Written by Anthropophagous actor George Eastman (as Lew Cooper), the story combines elements of the giallo and slasher film genres. Joe D’Amato served as the film’s producer. It was Soavi’s first feature film as director; he had previously worked as an assistant director for Joe D’Amato, Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava and had previously directed the music video “The Valley” for Argento’s Phenomena as well as the documentary Dario Argento’s World of Horror.

Plot teaser:

A group of young dancers rehearsing in an old theatre is accidentally locked-in for the night – but not alone. In the shadows, someone is watching, waiting and selecting victims at his demented leisure… tonight, deranged serial killer Irving Wallace has escaped and is about to put on his own real-life horror show!

The scene where Brett bows in front of the mirror to reveal Wallace standing directly behind him is a homage to Dario Argento’s film Tenebrae (1982), for which Michele Soavi was an assistant director.

During a screening at the Fantasia Film Festival fans threw white feathers from the theater balcony which showered down on the audience in a homage to the haunting finale of the film.

Stage Fright is showing at the 2014 Mayhem Film Festival in Nottingham.

Buy Stage Fright on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Soavi’s direction is solid, displaying a keen visual eye for audacious giallo-styled frissons that bolster the production with a classy elegance all its own. In true Italian style, Soavi pulls no punches either when it comes to his marvelously gruesome murder setpieces, even managing to generate some well-handled tension along the way to the obligatory twist ending. Clearly derivative, but eminently unforgettable.” Sex Gore Mutants

“Here’s a maniac that finally seems to be having a grand old time, without disrupting scenes with endless one-liners (like that Krueger guy). All in all,Stage Fright is the last truly great slasher, maintaining the integrity of the form while making it leaner and even more cinematic, and spinning it with a self-reflexive twist.” Cinema Gonzo

“Stage Fright is far from perfect, of course. The acting is variable, the dialogue terrible and there are several moments that are likely to induce unsolicited laughter. There’s no escaping the fact that the owl mask is ludicrous, though once you get used to it, it becomes more effective. And it’s certainly an exercise in style over substance, all effort doing into making the film look great rather than hold together as a story. But it holds up rather better than you might expect for a film so wedded to Eighties imagery. It might ltimately be little more than fluff, but it’s entertaining fluff.” David Flint, Strange Things Are Happening

“The first two acts of the movie has some very stylish shots, but there’s no doubt that the pedestrian nature of the story (killer chases people) keeps things a tad neutral. However, the last 30 minutes are the movie’s saving grace, as the production design and Soavi’s interesting set-ups combine to create a slasher film with a very unique look. Also, the movie is able to create some actual suspense, which is actually rare for a movie of this genre.” DVD Sleuth

Wikipedia |  IMDb

WH

‘It’s cleavage vs. cleavers and the result is delta delta deadly!’

Sorority House Massacre II - also known as Sorority House Massacre 2: Nighty Nightmare – is a 1990 slasher horror film by Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall; Not of This Earth; Piranhaconda) from a screenplay by Mark Thomas McGee, James B. Rogers and Bob Sheridan. It stars Scream Queens Melissa Ann Moore and Gail Harris (credited as Robyn Harris), plus Dana Bentley, Mike Elliot, Stacia Zhivago, Barbii and Bridget Carney. Beyond the title, it bears no relation to the 1986 film Sorority House Massacre.

Hard to Die followed the same year. It featured many of the same cast and a similar story line to Sorority House Massacre II.

Plot teaser:

Five women, Linda (Gail Harris), Jessica (Melissa Moore), Kimberly (Stacia Zhivago), Suzanne (Barbii) and Janey (Dana Bentley) buy the old Hokstedter place for their sorority house They get it cheap because of the bloody incidents from five years before committed by Hokstedter. They decide to stay in it for the night so they can meet the movers in the morning, despite the electricity and the phones not working. Janey tells the group of the murders years before (depicted with clips from The Slumber Party Massacre), putting the group on edge.

As it turns to night, a storm rolls in and the girls are creeped out by they neighbour Orville Ketchum (Peter Spellos, also in Freddy’s Dead) who recalls the night of the murders, and how Hokstedter was defeated. He gives them the keys to the basement before returning home. The girls decide to explore the basement, and find Hokstedter’s tools and also a ouija board Meanwhile, Lt. Mike Block (Jürgen Baum) and Sgt. Phyliss Shawlee (Toni Naples) set out in the storm to get to the Hokstedter house after they receive a disturbance call from the house, and also suspect Orville had something to do with the murders, although Mike was unable to pin anything on him at the time. After taking showers, the group decide to use the ouija board to contact Hokstedter…

Buy the Massace Collection on DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Just about every female in the cast disrobes, with some of it being more gratuitous than the intentionally over-the-top shower scene in Slumber. There’s a wonderful bit where they all run out in the rain in their underwear (no one wears actual clothes after the first 20 minutes or so) and stand around getting soaked while they argue their next move, allowing them to have see through nighties for the rest of the picture. Needless to say, the movie was directed by Jim Wynorski.” Horror Movie a Day

“Yes, it is pretty bad, an exercise in sloppy film-making from beginning to end (in one scene you can see the shadow of the squeezy bottle someone is crouching and holding ready to squirt blood up the walls!); there is an absolutely pointless sub-plot involving two cops who only seem to be there so we get a protracted pole-dancing scene (er, that’s not with the cops, BTW);

and to cap it all those flashbacks to Slumber Party Massacre, where Wynorski has the audacity to invent some spurious legend which has nothing to do with that film. However, there was a certain tongue-in-cheek campiness which made it just about watchable for me.” Hysteria Lives!

Buy The Slasher Movie Book by J.A. Kerswell from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

“Stock footage of lightening informs us that a storm is brewing and so naturally the girls change into nighties and grab a Ouija board. Hilarious hijinks and horrible hook murders ensue. It’s often said that a cult movie mustn’t be in on the joke to be any good and here’s proof that theory is full of hot air.” Kindertrauma

Buy Crab Monsters, Cave Men and Candy Stripe Nurses book from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Gail Thackray

Choice dialogue:

“Well, what did you expect? Buckingham Palace!”

“This place would give Boris Karloff the creeps.”

“Oh my God! Our clothes are upstairs.”

Wikipedia | IMDb

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‘It’s driller time … and this bits for you!’

Slumber Party Massacre III - also known as Slumber Party Massacre Part III and originally titled Night Light –  is a 1990 American horror film and the second sequel to the original 1982 slasher film The Slumber Party Massacre. It was directed by Sally Mattison, written by Bruce Carson and produced by Catherine Cyran alongside uncredited producer, Roger Corman, who oversaw the first sequel in 1987. It stars Keely Christian, Brittain Frye, Michael Harris, David Greenlee, Brandi Burkett, Hope Marie Carlton, Maria Claire and Maria Ford.

Plot teaser:

A group of teenage friends are playing volleyball at a Los Angeles beach. Jackie is sitting with Diane talking when an intense-looking young man dressed in black appears and and stares at the girls. Duncan walks up to the weirdo and tells him to keep his eyes to himself. Duncan then mentions to Diana and Jackie about a party, but they tell him that it is a slumber party and guys are not invited. Juliette goes to get the volleyball and talks to her boyfriend Ken. As they are leaving, Jackie goes back to for something and drops her address book. When Sarah gets into her car, she is grabbed by an unseen person and a drill is run through her stomach from behind the car seat, killing her.

Frank drives Jackie home and they kiss for a minute. When they approach the front door, they see that it is wide open. Inside the house is Morgan, who though it was an open house since Jackie’s parents are moving. Jackie says that he can stay and look around for a while. After Jackie listens to a mysterious voice on her answering machine, an apparently nervous Morgan finally leaves.

Later, Jackie’s friends arrive for the slumber party and telling her that Sarah did not answer at home and suggests that she may have flaked out on them.

Morgan calls the girls (while he is spying on them through a telescope from his house across the street) and he asks Jackie if he can look at the house again…

Buy Slumber Party Massacre III on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Although it was made in 1990, way after the subgenre’s heyday, and despite the smorgasbord of clichés, Slumber Party Massacre Part III still throws enough curve balls to keep you guessing (and is refreshingly free of the self-referential treatment that became so popular later in the decade) … a mixed bag: occasionally quite gruelling, whilst still laying on a the cheese with a trowel (it scores points in the unusual weapons stakes, with both death by real estate sign and a battering with a polo mallet!). Considering this was made in the slasher movie’s wilderness years you could do much, much worse.” Justin Kerswell, Hysteria Lives

“The body count also seems to be higher than the others (especially if you go with the theory that II was all in her head), with a couple rather anonymous victims and more girls to boot (more guys too, actually). And while the drill may be getting a bit old, there are still a few new gags with it, such as when a girl grabs it while it’s turned off and then he revs it and chews the shit out of her hands. He also employs other weapons besides the drill; one girl is electrocuted with a vibrator (one that plugs into the wall, for some reason), and he takes out another guy with the stake part of a “For Sale” sign.” Horror Movie a Day

Buy The Slumber Party Massacre Collection on DVD from Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb

Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents is a huge (528 pages) tome by musician and author Stephen Thrower (Eyeball Compendium; Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci; Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco and Horrorpedia.com contributor) that analyses American exploitation cinema with a focus on horror. First published in May 2007, this seminal book was reprinted for a fourth time in a hardback edition with a poster by British-based FAB Press in September 2014.

Publisher’s blurb:

Between 1970 and 1985, American exploitation movies went berserk. With censorship relaxed, and the gate to excess wide open, horror – the Exploitation genre par excellence – offered a vibrant alternative to the mainstream of American cinema. Luridly titled wonders like The Headless Eyes, Scream Bloody Murder and Hitch Hike to Hell were everywhere, from the drive-ins of Texas to the grindhouses of New York, touting a combination of mind-bruising violence, weird sex and drug-soaked delirium. Massively popular around the world, American exploitation movies added immensely to the richness of the nation’s cinema, but they have remained persona non grata in most serious studies of American film. Until now…

Built on five years of research, Nightmare USA explores the development of America’s subterranean horror film industry, spotlighting some of the wildest films imaginable from an era unchecked by censorship or ‘good taste.’ Ranging from cult favourites like I Drink Your Blood to stylish mind-benders like Messiah of Evil and ultra-violent shockers like Don’t Go in the House, Nightmare USA goes where no other in-depth study has gone before, revealing the fascinating true stories behind classics and obscurities alike.

Stephen Thrower, author of Beyond Terror, the definitive book on Italian gore maestro Lucio Fulci, has explored the attics and cellars of American cinema, delved beneath the floorboards, peered between the walls, searching for the strangest, most exotic cine-lifeforms… Nightmare USA is the reader’s guide to what lies beyond the mainstream of American horror, dispelling the shadows to meet the men and women behind fifteen years of screen terror: the Exploitation Independents!

This massive overview of the Horror genre’s development through the 1970s and 1980s features:

• In-depth interviews with twenty-five grindhouse movie makers, many of whom are discussing their work for the first time ever in print, including David Durston (I Drink Your Blood), Robert Endelson (Fight for Your Life), Frederick Friedel (Axe), Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains); and Joseph Ellison (Don’t Go in the House).

• Over 175 individual films reviewed, with full cast and crew credits compiled by world-renowned cinema archivist Julian Grainger.
• Vast quantities of previously unpublished stills, posters, press-books, plus behind-the-scenes photographs from the filmmakers’ own collections.

Section One: The Exploitation Independents
A 25,000 word essay charting the rise of Exploitation Horror: from Herschell Gordon Lewis and George Romero to the Slasher phenomenon of the 1980s.

Section Two: Essays on Films and Filmmakers
Dirty Games in Hollywood – the career of James Bryan (Don’t Go in the Woods)
The Frozen Scream Is a Clean Machine – Renee Harmon (Frozen Scream)
The Fiend from Prime-Time – John Peyser on The Centerfold Girls
Carolina on My Mind – the films of Frederick Friedel (Axe, Kidnapped Coed)
It Came from New Jersey! – Douglas McKeown on The Deadly Spawn

Let’s Play Nasty – the films of Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains, The Love Butcher, The Forest)
Louisiana Screamin’ – James L. Wilson on Screams of a Winter Night
Satan Was an Acid-Head! – the films of David Durston (I Drink Your Blood, Stigma)
Don’t Make Me Do Anything Bad, Mother… – Joseph Ellison on Don’t Go in the House
If You Go Down in the Caves Today – Mark Sawicki on The Strangeness

The Vigilante of 42nd Street – Robert Endelson on Fight for Your Life
The Living Dead at the All-Night Mall – Willard Huyck on Messiah of Evil

Hollywood After Dark – the films of John Hayes (Grave of the Vampire, Dream No Evil, Garden of the Dead)
What Really Happened to Tony Vorno’s Victims? – Daniel DiSomma on Victims

If At First You Don’t Succeed… – the films of Tony Malanowski (Night of Horror, Curse of the Screaming Dead)
Punished By the Sun – Marc B. Ray on Scream Bloody Murder

Growing Pains – John Ballard on Friday the 13th: The Orphan
Blood Relations – the films of Irv & Wayne Berwick (Hitch Hike to Hell, Microwave Massacre)

Mind Before Matter – Robert Allen Schnitzer on The Premonition
Spawn of Venice Beach – Stephen Traxler on Slithis
Beyond the Black Room – the films of Norman Thaddeus Vane (The Black Room, The Horror Star)
Robert Voskanian and Robert Dadashian – Raising The Child
Who’s the Ghostest with the Mostest? – the films of Fredric Hobbs (Alabama’s Ghost, Godmonster of Indian Flats)
To Sleep, Perchance to Scream – George Barry on Death Bed: The Bed That Eats
— supplemented in the text by a further twenty interviews with cast and crew members.

Section Three: Reviews
Reviews of a further 120 films, with additional notes and commentaries on the reviews by Roger Watkins (director: Last House on Dead End Street), Walter Dallenbach (writer: Psychopath), Jeremy Hoenack (director: The Dark Ride), Christopher Speeth (director: Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood), John Wintergate (director: BoardingHouse), Wayne Bell (composer: Death Trap), Michael Gornick (cinematographer: Martin), Don Leifert (star: Fiend)

Buy Nightmare USA hardback with poster from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“Cultural archæology of this kind is increasingly important in our throwaway world, particularly for those of us trying to gain a better understanding of the fringes inhabited by fortean phenomena. The drive-ins, grindhouses and VCRs that beamed Godmonster of Indian Flats or Frozen Scream into the churning collective unconscious of America’s youth are the forge of future forteana, urban folklore and moral panics. These are the cinematic equivalents of Fort’s “damned data”. A final note on the lavish production values – Nightmare USA may be pricey, but it’s all sizzle and all steak, with the text complemented by coffee-table-sized colour pages of rare photos, posters and lobby cards from the filmmakers’ own collections.” Mark Pilkington, Fortean Times

“Time and time again, studies are done on some of the great and historical films of our time, but Thrower has jumped into waters that no one else has dared to tread and creates a new perspective for movie lovers. The retail price maybe considerably high, as it runs for close to 60 dollars on Amazon.com, but for hardcore movie aficionados, it’s a purchase you won’t not be sorry that you made.” Anthony Benedetto, Retro Slashers

“Never, in all my days on this slowly decaying planet Earth, have I read a book that made me feel so minuscule in my knowledge of horror, cult, and exploitation films that I simply had to pause for reflection and come to the realization that I simply had no idea how much I truly had to learn about truly cool movies. Reading this book, filled with lengthy chapters covering specific films and specific directors most may never have heard of and giving them the rock star treatment and care as if Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, or Stanley Kubrick were the subjects at matter, is one component to Thrower’s book that sets it apart from the rest.” Shu-Izmz

Film Threat interview with Stephen Thrower

Stephen Thrower’s reviews/articles on Horrorpedia: Black Swan | The Body Beneath | The Brains of Morphoton – Doctor Who monsters | The Bride aka The House That Cried Murder | Don’t Look in the Basement | Don’t Open the Door | Hierro | Inferno | Images | Keep My Grave Open | The Last House on the Left (2009) | Lokis | Mire Beasts – Doctor Who monsters | Scum of the Earth aka Poor White Trash, Part II | The Synth of Fear: Horror Film Soundtracks with Synthesizer Scores | Women’s Camp 119

US One Sheet

Mardi Gras Massacre is a 1978 American horror film written and directed by Jack Weis and starring Curt Dawson, Gwen Arment, William Metzo and Laura Misch Owens. It is an unofficial semi-remake of the 1963 splatter film Blood Feast.

Plot teaser:

In New Orleans a serial killer wearing a welder’s mask strikes during the Mardi Gras festival. He goes into a bar and asks for the “most evil” prostitute he can find. He then takes her to a basement where he ties her up and cuts off her limbs and genitals. He then kills more prostitutes to get their hearts to sacrifice to an ancient Aztec goddess. A policeman who uses a prostitute as a lover and source of information then hunts down the killer based on her tips…

The film was on the British Government’s list of Video Nasties in the 1980s and has not been resubmitted to the BBFC for a certificate since.

Buy Mardi Gras Massacre on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“On the surface at least, Mardi Gras Massacre offers everything the fans of exploitation find so immensely appealing. Graphic gore, excessive nudity, a masked maniac and the added bonus of a ‘video-nasty’ disqualification – it’s all here for the taking baby! But scratch beneath that glossy veneer and what you’re left with is a vial of tedium-drenched campiness that is so beguilingly awful that it almost defies description.” A Slash Above

“Mardi Gras Massacre has far too many faults and shortcomings to recommend as a good movie, but as a trashy slasher to be watched for only laughs, I do think it has slight merit. If you can get through the tedium of the kills and the sleazy feeling that oozes from nearly every line of dialogue, I think there is a tiny amount of cheap fun to be had with this one. Not nearly enough, however, for me to actively recommend to someone.” Oh, the Horror!

“Mardi Gras Massacre is amusing as all hell in a nostalgic way, and should almost satisfy jaded gore-hounds who – despite their best efforts – haven’t yet seen it all. As an almost more-inept version of H.G. Lewis’ Blood Feast, this massacre simply massacres any notions of suspense, disgust, or engaging storytelling. With skanky, naked hos, beyond repetitive gore, and mucho stock footage of a Mardi gras parade, the movie certainly satisfies the need for those cruddy intangibles, just be aware that the tags for this movie include: plodding, cheap, boring, and stupid.” DVD Talk

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

‘By sword By pick By axe Bye bye’

The Mutilator is a 1983 slasher horror film written, directed, and produced by Buddy Cooper, and co-directed by John S. Douglass. It was originally titled Fall Break. The special make-up effects were provided by Mark Shostrom, Anthony Showe and Ed Ferrell.

The film was released in 1985 on VHS and Betamax in both cut and uncut versions. VIPCO released the film on DVD in the United Kingdom, although it cut but 7 seconds, and Dragon Video released the film in Germany, uncut.

Plot teaser:

While cleaning one his father’s rifles as a birthday surprise, young Ed, Jr. accidentally shoots his mother. Ed never forgives his son for this, and the two become estranged. Years later, while Ed and his friends are trying to think of something to do for their college’s fall break, Big Ed calls, and demands Ed come to his beachfront condo, and close it up for the winter. Ed’s friends convince him to accept the job, and take them with him, so it will be finished quicker, and they can spend the rest of their break hanging around the condo.

Ed’s group arrives at the condo, which Big Ed is passed out drunk in the basement of, having dreams about killing his son. After dinner, everyone goes for a walk on the beach, and Mike and Linda go skinny dipping in the pool. Big Ed discovers the two, drowns Linda, and uses a trail of her and Mike’s discarded clothes to lure Mike back to the condo, where he disembowels him with an outboard motor. A police officer stationed on the beach then stops by the condo, and is killed when Big Ed decapitates him with an axe…

Reviews:

Spoiler alert: “The death scenes are a decent mix, some are off-screen but the on-screen ones make up for it, including a pretty fun decapitation of a would-be red herring and the infamous gaff hook scene (which includes another decapitation). I also loved the insane final kill, where the killer, bisected but still alive, slices off the leg of a cop who was trying to help, while laughing as if he had won despite the fact that his legs were a few feet away.” Horror Movie a Day

“The Mutilator is a rather savage entry in the 80s slasher canon, as it lives up to its name by showcasing some tremendously realistic and grisly gore effects. One of them is a bit undercut by the silly reaction of one of the victims, but, otherwise, The Mutilator is the real deal for gorehounds. While Cooper doesn’t prove himself to be the most gifted of storytellers, he understands Chekov’s gun pretty well, so when you see a giant fishing hook early in the film, you can rest assured it eventually serves as one of the film’s signature moments. In fact, the movie is ultimately so unflinchingly violent that the silly, light-hearted tone really betrays its eventual ruthlessness.” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

“The Mutilator may be profoundly lacking on the surface (and truth be told unwatchable for many) and yet somewhere in its murky crevices strongly beats the heart of genuine horror. Hollywood can throw as much money as it wants at a project, nothing beats the power of one possibly insane but obviously sincere creative mind. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this movie is as dumb as a lamp post but a surprisingly vicious lamp post with a really awesome decapitation scene up its sleeve.” Kindertrauma

“All in all, whilst it may not be the most satisfying of slashers, Cooper deserves praise for adding such sadistic kills into his movie, whilst the special effects (courtesy of Mark Shostrom, who would work on A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge’s impressive transformation scene the same year) steal the show. The Mutilator is a sick and twisted little gem and one that every slasher fan should enjoy.” Christian Sellers, Retro Slashers

Cast:

• Matt Mitler as Ed, Jr.
• Ruth Martinez as Pam
• Bill Hitchcock as Ralph
• Connie Rogers as Sue
• Frances Raines as Linda
• Morey Lampley as Mike
• Jack Chatham as Ed, Sr.
• Bennie Moore as Cop
• Trace Cooper as Young Ed, Jr.
• Pamela Weddle Cooper as Mother

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Seven strangers. Trapped. Hunted. Carved.’

Fall Down Dead is a 2007 horror/slasher film directed by Jon Keeyes (American Nightmare; Hallow’s End; Nightmare Box) from a screenplay by Roy Sallows. It stars Dominique Swain (Dead Mary; Nazis at the Center of the Earth; Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre) Udo Kier (Flesh for Frankenstein; Exposé; Blade) and David Carradine (Death Race 2000; Q: The Winged Serpent; Evil Toons), Mehmet Günsür.

The population of a metropolitan city are gripped by fear after rolling blackouts bring out a serial killer dubbed “The Picasso Killer”. One night, in the middle of a blackout, seven strangers trapped in an office building are targeted by the killer as he seeks out the one that knows his true identity…

Reviews:

There are literally hundreds of slasher movies available, and probably around half as many serial killer films. Fall Down Dead (which sounds like the title of a DTV Seagal flick, no?) may not be the worst of either genre, but it’s certainly one of the most criminally botched. When you have interesting performers and a fairly unique concept, there is no excuse for a movie to be this lackluster. Horror Movie a Day

All in all though, Fall Down Dead isn’t a bad movie at all. The gore is plentiful without being over the top. The killer is maniacal without being Jack Nicholson whacko. All the characters are believable, though the killer, in traditional slasher fashion, has an uncanny knack for being everywhere at all times… This movie is worth viewing. Bruce Kooken, HorrorNews.net

… a low-budget slasher flick that’s pretty much everything you’d expect from a low-budget, straight-to-DVD slasher film. It’s a review that I’m sure you’ve read a dozen times by now. There’d be that paragraph where I talk about the derivative plot that rips off better films like Silence of the Lambs and Identity, the paragraph about the painful pacing problems that plague the film, the one about the amateur-level acting and the pathetic cash grab of casting washed-up genre actors (Udo Kier and David Carradine if you’re curious) and then the conclusion where I question why this film exists and tell you stay clear and bemoan the stupid twist ending. Angelo, Bloody Good Horror

Buy Fall Down Dead on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk

Choice dialogue:

“I shall cut off your tongue and use it to dab your blood on the canvas.”

Wikipedia

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The Carpenter is a 1988 Canadian horror film directed by David Wellington from a screenplay by Doug Taylor. It stars Pierre Lenoir, Lynne Adams, Wings Hauser, Beverly Murray and Barbara Ann Jones.

The film was released on DVD by Scorpion on November 11, 2011.

Plot teaser:

After being released from the institution she was placed in after suffering a mental breakdown, housewife Alice Jarett relocates to the country with her husband Martin, a professor. The house the couple moves into was never finished, so Martin hires a cheap construction crew to complete it.

One night, Alice is awakened by hammering in the basement, caused by a carpenter she had not seen with the rest of the crew. Unlike the other workers, this one has a pleasant demeanour and good work ethic, and while Martin is away one night, he stops another carpenter from trying to rape Alice by cutting the man’s arms off with a circular saw, sending the dazed Alice back to bed, and cleaning up the mess afterward…

Reviews:

“Wellington and company throw a lot of shit at the wall in an effort to see what sticks here — part comedy, part Lynchian absurdist nightmare, part gorefest, part low-grade soap opera, The Carpenter confidently, and nearly seamlessly, blends genres left and right in an effort that some may call haphazard, but others will appreciate for its sheer bravado and for the consistently ethereal tone it maintains throughout these numerous changes.” Trash Film Guru

“Those coming in expecting a balls to the wall slasher won’t be completely satisfied, but Ned does off his victims in gruesome ways (and takes out a few rats with his nail gun). Wings Hauser is fantastic in his role, playing a goofy psychotic spouting off one-liners when dealing with his foes, but being gentle and kind towards Alice. Their brewing romance could have been hokey, but the two had tremendous chemistry and it worked out well.” The Gentlemen’s Guide to Midnite Cinema

“Even though it wasn’t a blood-filled slasher flick with a ton of wicked death scenes like I originally thought it was going to be I still dug The Carpenter. I thought that it was different and just a very good movie in general. The only thing that I didn’t really like about it was the ending as I thought that it seemed really rushed and was poorly written…” Todd Martin, HorrorNews.net

” … this isn’t some long lost amazing gem that everyone has to see. But it isn’t another direct to video pile of steaming shit either. It’s a unique flick that doesn’t easily fit into most of the 80’s cliche sub genres. And for that reason it simply isn’t going to appeal to everybody. But if you’re like me and zombie flicks have grown stale and slashers are damn near a bore then I recommend The Carpenter. It’s a film that isn’t easily pegged and it’s got Wings Fucking Hauser in it.” Uncouth, Brutal as Hell

Wikipedia | IMDb

Sweet Home is a 2015 Spanish slasher film directed by Rafa Martinez from a screenplay he co-wrote with Teresa Rosendo and Ángel Agudo. It stars Ingrid García Jonsson, Bruno Sevilla. The Julio Fernandez produced film is being distributed by Filmax Entertainment (the [REC] franchise, Summer Camp).

Plot teaser:

A couple decide to spend a romantic evening on a floor of a semi-abandoned building. During the evening they discover that a hooded murderer is the only tenant left in the building and they have become the killer’s next target….

Hazard Jack is a 2014 American-made film directed by David Worth (Poor Pretty Eddie; House at the End of the Drive) and starring Amanda Maddox, Alison Lani and Macauley Gray. The film avoids the trappings of many recent horror films and focuses squarely on the 1980’s slasher aesthetic.

Pity poor Jack. Returning from serving his country and suffering with a particularly bad dose of post-traumatic stress disorder, he then finds he has been let go by his employer, the only source of comfort and routine he had left. Seeing little option but to roam around an abandoned hospital, biceps bared but face shielded by a large welders-type visor, he awaits trespassers to take out his anger on. Luckily for him, a group of alleged teenagers decide it would make the ideal venue for their annual paint-balling contest. There are three distinct factions within their number; a gaggle of vacuous, lust-crazed airheads; a couple of quieter more thoughtful types; two homosexual characters, leaving only someone in a wheelchair out of the catch-all demographic.

A sniff of alcohol is all it needs for these three groups to split up and for the dumbos to commence a game of strip target practice with the paint guns, a sequence which seems to take up half the film. The two young ladies comprise of so much plastic, they’ll be keeping cockroaches company in millenia to come, whilst the blokes both wear bandanas – they aren’t the most endearing types. Slowly, Jack (Quincy Taylor), offs the offending and offensive youths one by one, using an array of tools he presumably used to use in his day-job, including a nail-gun, flamethrower (!) and a power drill.

Helpfully, some of the teens have tied each other up in readiness for a spot of light bondage, the blindfolds they’re also wearing making Jack’s work somewhat easy. Despite the cavernous hospital literally spewing corridors and hidey-holes, the youngsters find themselves bumped off one-by-one by the ambling killer, preferring to hide in wall cavities than just walk out of the unlocked front door. A surprise pregnancy announcement, some interrupted fellatio which is being filmed on the male participant’s phone and some contemplation in the hospital chapel (!) bring us mercifully to the film’s ending, as well as our will to live.

Director, Worth, is probably best known for his 80’s fare Kickboxer and Bloodsport, the dialogue from which was seemingly ripped into tiny shreds and randomly reassembled to be used here. This is truly dreadful stuff, at no point offering any hope of suspense, violence or thrills, cheap or otherwise, rendering it as a disaster as both a film and, more specifically, a slasher. The ‘kids’ (average age approx 27) have absolutely no back stories of interest, the two gay characters throwing the LGBT’s work back several decades and the girls, the plastic surgery industry about the same. Jack himself, presumably a wrestler at some point, communicates in grunts for reasons left unsaid, hopefully the authorities stopped his benefits for using work tools for his own selfish means.

The spilled blood is of the squirty food-colouring kind and the slayings ultimately yawningly tame, despite the array of tools used and the odd heart ripped beating from its cavity. The sex and nudity is equally tiresome, not so much ‘soft-core’ as ‘padded’. There’s no reason why the slasher shouldn’t make a comeback but this is simply empty; no character, no scares, no excitement. If someone pointed to this as to why they didn’t like horror films, you’d be hard pushed to argue against them.

Daz Lawrence

‘Save the last dance… for Hell!’

Slash Dance – aka Slashdance – is a 1989 U.S. horror thriller written and directed by James Shyman (Hollywood’s New Blood). It stars Cindy Ferda, James Carroll Jordan, J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner, Jay Richardson, William Kerr, John Bluto, Dee Booher [as Queen Kong], Kelle Favara.

Plot teaser:

In Hollywood, a female cop goes undercover as a dancer at an old theatre to catch a serial killer who has been murdering women auditioning for a musical…

Reviews:

“There are a lot of red herrings tossed around, along with a lot of big hair, acid washed denim, horrible acting and downright retarded storytelling. This movie also tries to inject a lot of really unfunny, inappropriate humor throughout, which gives it a schizophrenic feel as it switches back and forth from wacky highjinks to musical montages to serious violence, all without batting an eyelash. The gore is at a minimum here, as well as the nudity, which is very brief at best.” Michael Monterastelli, CHUD.com

“Slashdance is an utterly avoidable effort that fails to deliver as a slasher, as a comedy or even as a dance movie. There’s really nothing to recommend here and its best avoided.” A Slash Above…

“Slash Dance is very bad, and I don’t really think it’s even much of a curiosity for slasher fans unless you really want to see shoot guns on a firing range, deliver dropkicks, and show off her high-heel throwing prowess. No matter how cool that sounds, it really isn’t. Trash it!” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

“It’s an absolutely horrendously bad film: it fails as a slasher flick, it fails as a crime thriller, and it fails as a horror-comedy – yes, there’s plenty of attempted intentional humor in Slash Dance. The intentional humor is so not funny that it totally travels full-circle and becomes funny again, which is very rare … Look, if you want a decent slasher set in the world of theatre, try Stage Fright or Curtains. But if you just want some fabulously bad direct-to-VHS ’80s-cheesy-style fun, I highly recommend Slash Dance, some friends, and a six-pack. Leotards are optional.” Final Girl

“Lots of dancing. Few thrills.” John Stanley, Creature Features

Choice dialogue:

“Ok, but if I end up looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame from sleeping on your couch, it’s your fault.”

“It’d like to tap dance, on his head.”

IMDb

Hell High aka Raging Fury is a 1986 (released 1989) U.S. slasher horror film directed and co-produced by Douglas Grossman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Leo Evans. It stars Christopher Stryker, Maureen Mooney, Christopher Cousins (Earth vs. the Spider; The Vampire Diaries), Millie Prezioso, Jason Brill (Office Killer).

The British PolyGram VHS release was cut 1 minute 36 seconds by the BBFC. The lurid sleeve artwork was later re-used for a Dutch release of Alice, Sweet, Alice. The U.S. Shriek Show DVD includes an enthusiastic commentary by Joe Bob Briggs.

Plot teaser:

A teacher still haunted by the death of two teens that she accidentally caused as a young girl goes beserk when four teens start harassing her and then attack her in her home…

Buy Hell High on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Director Douglas Grossman uses some interesting camera angles to give the murders more impact. One of the best involves a recently lobotomized victim staggering down a flight of stairs with his eyes rolling back in his head and a Number 2 pencil protruding from his temple. Leo Evans, along with co-writer Grossman, gives the characters in Hell High more layers than one would expect in a low budget slasher. With the exception of the nihilistic Dickens, the teen characters have ambitions for life after high school.” Thomas Ellison, Retro Slashers

” … it’s definitely a pretty good horror movie in general. For starters, there’s an AMAZING 80’s pop soundtrack, coupled with a truly memorable and creepy main theme and some Carpenter-esque cues during the horror scenes. Someone needs to get me this soundtrack ASAP. Also, it’s almost a shame that the mask wearing folks aren’t the killers, because two of the masks they wear are pretty awesome.” Horror Movie a Day

“There’s a great money shot that was used on most covers and marketing material and it sees the teacher running down the stairs in silhouette with a knife in her hand a la Norman Bates. In fact, the photography from Stephen Fierberg is by far the best thing technically about the picture. The scenes in the swamp are particularly gloomy and atmospheric and superbly lighted. Kudos to the producers for making the most of a low budget and Hell High shows no obvious signs of being lesser funded than the Friday the 13th sequel developed the same year.” A Slash Above…

“A decent little slasher that breaks the mold of the typical theme we’re all used to seeing from the 80’s. Worth a check if you can sit through the story, but don’t expect a lot of deaths or gore.” Upcoming Horror Movies

Filming locations:

Scarsdale, New York
Westchester, The Bronx, New York

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Everyone loathes a clown.’

100 Tears is a 2007 American independent black comedy slasher horror film directed by Marcus Koch (Rot; Snuff Perversions: Bizarre Cases of Death). It stars Georgia Chris, Joe Davison (who also produced the film), Jack Amos, and Raine Brown, and was distributed by Anthum Pictures with an NC-17 rating. An extended director’s cut was released on DVD by Unearthed Films on 22 July 2014.

Plot teaser:

After being accused of sex crimes he did not commit, a lonely circus clown known onstage as Gurdy (Jack Amos) exacts his revenge on those who unjustly condemned him. The act sparks something inside of him which he cannot stop and now, years later, his inner-demons have truly surfaced. Part urban legend, part tabloid sensationalism… he is now an unstoppable murderous juggernaut, fuelled only by hate.

And worse, when two tabloid reporters (Georgia Chris and Joe Davison) attempt to hunt him down, they find themselves trapped in his warehouse, hunted by him and his conniving daughter (Raine Brown), who already has a deceptive plan up her sleeve. It’s a gory, horrifying fight for their lives with no telling who will emerge alive…

Buy Extended Director’s Cut on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“The great thing about the movie is that it wastes no time in killing off a whole bunch of people, with our killer clown offing the entire population of a halfway house in the first ten minutes. And this isn’t some off-screen massacre – we see every one of the kills in their splatter-y glory, with numerous beheadings and eviscerations to applaud. It’s a perfect way to start off this sort of movie, but what makes it admirable is that it hasn’t blown its wad – there are still about twice as many on-screen kills to go!” Horror Movie a Day

“I’ve actually been racking my brain all day trying to think of that one tiny speck of coolness I liked about it and I came up with a big fat NOTHING!!! Yes, it’s way over the top gory (which is how I like my horror flicks) with victims getting beheaded, strangled with their own insistence and limbs cut off at every turn. In the first ten minutes alone, eight people get killed in bloody and gruesome ways but the F/Xs are done so badly and that it takes all the fun out of it.” Sfipress

“100 Tears worked because it really had a nice balance of blood-splattering gore and quick one-liners delivered with witty humor …The throbbing techno/industrial soundtrack really added some intensity to the scenes involving Gurdy the Clown as he hacked and chopped his victims with his over-sized meat cleaver in bloody fashion. But, I have to point out that the intro to the film had a very Leonard Cohen-esque sound to it, mixed in with a bit of carnival/circus music” Bryan “Shu” Schuessler, Horror Society

Cast:

• Jack Amos as Gurdy the Clown
• Georgia Chris as Jennifer Stevenson
• Joe Davison as Mark Web
• Raine Brown as Christine Greaston
• Kibwe Dorsey as Detective Spaulding
• Rod Grant as Detective Dunkin
• Norberto Santiago as Drago Villette
• Jerry Allen as Ed Purdy
• Jeff Dylan Graham as Jack Arlo
• Krystal Badia as Jill Bryner
• Leslie Ann Crytzer as Tracy Greaston
• Jori Davison as Roxanna
• Brad Rhodes as Ralphio the Strongman
• Regina Ramirez as Bookstore Patron
• Clayton Smith as Young Gurdy

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Through the looking glass and straight to Hell’

Alice in Murderland, also known as The Alice in Wonderland Murders, is a 2010 low budget American slasher horror film written and directed by Dennis Devine (Things II; Sawblade; Vampire Club 3D) for Top Cat Films. It stars Malerie Grady, Marlene Mc’Cohen, Kelly Kula and Christopher Senger.

In the US, the film was released on DVD on 8 February 2011 by Brain Damage Films. In the UK, it was released on DVD by Lions Gate on 23 June 2011.

Buy Brain Damage DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Plot teaser:

Alice Lewis is turning 21 years-old and is upset about it. Her sorority girlfriends want to cheer her up, and decide to hold a birthday party with an Alice in Wonderland theme at Charlene Glass’s house. Alice knows that in the basement of that house, her mother, Ann Lewis, was brutally hacked to death by a mask killer twenty years before. The girls set a rule that no cell phones and no boys will be allowed.

Everyone comes as their favorite character from the film. Someone who was not invited goes as the Jabberwocky (a fierce creature from the book) and starts murdering them one by one…

Buy on Lions Gate DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“The film falls apart in the amateurishness of its delivery on most counts. Most of the cast seem capable but they are let down by the flatness of their dialogue. Even the gore looks fake. On a level of production polish, the entire film seems only one step up from a home-made shot-on-digital film that some friends have decided to make. The most ridiculous scene is the one where Kelly Pulcinski is trying to kill Marlene Mc’Cohen as she is trapped with her ass stuck out of a tiny bathroom window.” Moria

“In short: the script is ludicrous, the acting is terrible across the board, the cinematography (especially the lighting in the indoor scenes, which is most of the movie) is well below the standards of competence, the choreography (in the catfight scene) is laughable… I could go on, but honestly, I can’t see a reason to. There is not a single redeeming quality to this movie, and I’m including the fact that the majority of the cast is made up of young, hot women who all got their costumes from the generic-sexy-costume shop.” Robert “Goat” Beveridge, Popcorn for Breakfast

“Usually the use of gorein a B-rated horror is where you can expect to laugh, but in this I think it just comes off as pathetic. In one notable scene a victim is gutted and their innards explode onto the surface without the evidence of a cut even been made. Speaking of cuts, there was a lot if stabbing and spewing blood, who actually got stabbed and where the blood came from is unknown. Now the girl glued to the toilet seat was pretty funny when she got her butt cheeks ripped off.” JP Hunt, Creepercast

Cast:

• Malerie Grady as Alice Lewis
• Marlene McCohen as Malory White
• Kelly Kula as Kat Glass
• Christopher Senger as Rene White
• Katie Loche O’Brien as Tiffany
• Heath Butler as Donna
• Kim Argetsinger as Sammantha Glass
• Gabrielle Abitol as Charlene Glass
• Elizabeth Lam Nguyen as Pima
• Jennifer Field as Dee
• Jennifer Kamstock as Aunt Lena
• Katie Hotchkiss as Ann Lewis
• Montre Bible as Andrew
• John Buco II as Matt

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Screams of terror… silenced only by the splintering of glass!’

Nightmares – aka Stage Fright – is a 1980 Australian horror film, co-produced and directed by John D. Lamond from a screenplay by Colin Eggleston (Long Weekend; Innocent Prey; Cassandra). It stars Jenny Neumann (The Girl in the Empty Grave; Hell Night), Gary Sweet (The Dreaming), Nina Landis (Komodo), Max Phipps (Thirst; Mad Max 2; Dark Age); Edmund Pegge (Scream – and Die!).

The Bernard Hermannesque score is by Brian May (Patrick; Thirst; Roadgames).

Nightmares was released in the US uncut and remastered on DVD by Severin Films on June 28, 2011.

Plot teaser:

A young girl named Cathy (Jenny Neumann) tries to keep her mother from making out with a man while driving one day, and she inadvertently causes her mother’s death in the ensuing crash.

Sixteen years later, Cathy is now named Helen and has become an actress. Since her mother died with a shard of glass in her throat, Helen begins hacking through the cast of her new play, “Comedy of Blood,” in similar fashion…

Buy Nightmares uncut and remastered on DVD from Amazon.com 

Reviews:

“Nightmares certainly lives up to its name. Unfolding like a delirious fever dream, its abrupt cuts and elliptical montages prevent rhythm and typical narrative coherency. It’s almost reminiscent of a female counterpart to Maniac in its study of obsession and psychological scarring, while its conflation of sex and death echoes the giallo tradition.

All of this, of course, makes it a twisted, demon spawn of Psycho, and Lamond wears that Hitchcockian influence on his sleeve in several shots. His take on the then-burgeoning slasher genre is a wickedly stylish tour-de-force of roving cameras and high-strung symphonic sound that often work in spectacular fashion.” Brett G., Oh, the Horror!

“It’s hilarious that Lamond plays it like a mystery. Not only does Helen have violent sexual hangups and a thing with broken glass, but after the alley couple are killed, her recurring nightmare starts featuring scenes from that murder. You know, because she did it. Yet even after this, the movie keeps the slasher’s face hidden from us till the very end, as if Lamond forgot he already told us who it was.” Eric B. Snider, Geek Nation

” … the film offers nothing to the genre, which is even sadder when you consider it came out before many of the other slasher films folks can name off the top of their head. In fact it’s almost more like a giallo at times, due to the loose plotting, excess of sex and assholes, and crazy flashback motifs, but it lacks style. If nothing else, a giallo should deliver some nice set pieces, but one of this film’s biggest issues is how shoddily constructed it is. There AREN’T any set-pieces, scenes just sort of come and go at random throughout the film, leaving the viewer without any clear indication of how much time has gone by since the last one (that they all fade in/out to black doesn’t help).” Horror Movie a Day

“Even if he may be an awful editor, as a writer, Eggeton excels himself and his hilarious dialogue and intriguing personas are brilliant. I’ve done quite a bit of theatre and can confirm that the featured characterisations are spot on. I once read that celebrities are some of the most non-confident people on the planet and the fact that they’re swimming in a pool of insecurities up on the world’s stage makes them self-centred and narcissistic.

The script most definitely touches on that and it means that we can have fun watching them get slashed. And get slashed they do. EVERY single one of them. The performances may not be earth moving and there’s no one really to bond with, but it’s still enjoyable enough to watch.” Luisito Joaquín González, A Slash Above…

“I also really enjoyed how the film, whether intentionally or not, provided an explanation as to why killers in slasher films tend to go after lovers in heat as their prime targets. It’s become a running joke that if you plan to get it on in a slasher flick, you’ll not likely to live long enough to achieve that happy ending. What Nightmares does is provide us with a backstory as to why Hellen hates sex and how she sees sexuality as the murderer of her mother and in order to avenge her she must eliminate any trace of it that she comes across.” Matthew Saliba, The Celery Stalks At Midnight

Interview with John Lamond on Mondo Stumpo!

Cast:

• Gary Sweet … Terry Besanko
• Jenny Neumann … Cathy/Helen Selleck
• Max Phipps … George D’alberg
• John Michael Howson … Bennett Collingwood
• Nina Landis … Judy

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Critical Condition

‘There’s no place like home. Bloody home.’

Next of Kin is a 1982 Australian horror film directed by New Zealander Tony Williams from a screenplay he wrote with Michael Heath. It stars Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt (Dark Age; Wolf Creek and sequel) and Alex Scott (The Abominable Dr. Phibes; Twins of Evil; The Asphyx).

The synthesizer soundtrack is by German composer Klaus Schulze.

The movie featured in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood where it was praised by Quentin Tarantino.

Plot teaser:

Linda Stevens (Jacki Kerin) inherits Montclare, a country mansion which was turned into a retirement home by her late mother and her sister, Aunt Rita. Strange events described in her mother’s diaries – lights and taps turning on by themselves, voices in the night – seem to be recurring. Linda suspects long-serving Montclare housekeeper Connie (Gerda Nicolson) and local physician Dr Barton (Alex Scott) of hiding details of Montclare’s finances and the death of Aunt Rita. Turning to boyfriend Barney (John Jarratt) for help, Linda attempts to unlock the mysteries of Montclare.

Reviews:

“Although it doesn’t quite deliver the full-blown terror the patient build-up promises, and the old folks in the house are used mainly for hit-and-miss comic effect, Next of Kin is a nifty little film with a consistently uneasy ambience and sturdy work by a cast including Jacki Kerin and a young John Jarratt of Wolf Creek (2005) fame. Technically polished and highly imaginative…” Richard Kuipers, Australian Screen

It sounds like a decent, suspenseful little movie the way I describe it, doesn’t it? Well don’t let me fool you. It should have been, but it is prevented from turning into one by a number of poor scripting and directorial decisions. First of all, what ought to have been the buildup, during which the evidence gradually accumulates that something is disastrously wrong at Montclare, never actually builds anything. The tone is so low-key during the first three quarters of the film that we in the audience can’t for the life of us understand why Linda is becoming so alarmed at the goings-on in the old mansion.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Surviving each floor is the name of the game.’

Steel Trap is a 2007 German slasher horror movie co-written and directed by Luis Cámara (Silencio). It stars Georgia Mackenzie, Mark Wilson, Pascal Langdale, Julia Ballard, Joanna Bobin, Annabelle Wallis, Adam Rayner, Frank Maier, Svantje Wascher.

Plot teaser:

Seven adventurous partygoers find themselves trapped in a sadistic game of death after accepting an invitation to a mysterious party. It’s New Year’s Eve, and a group of revellers are living it up on the roof of an abandoned skyscraper when five of the guests receive an intriguing text message. According to the sender, there’s an exclusive VIP party happening on the twenty seventh floor, and they’re all invited.

Once on the floor, however, the five guests and two party crashers quickly realize that they have fallen into a trap. The only way off of this floor is to follow a series of morbid clues left by a murderous psychopath. But who conceived these deadly games, and why have they targeted this specific group?

Reviews:

“The movie leans primarily on the Saw franchise in its layout with the occasional reference to things like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Carrie to spice things up and a twist in the tale that’s trying to be something along the lines of Scream. The problem comes in when it doesn’t deliver on the Saw premise like it was trying to, and the audience is left (more than a little bit) disappointed.” The B-Horror Blog

“Steel Trap is the kind of film that substitutes creepy locations for plotting, and the slightest smatterings of gore in place of anything suspenseful or scary. To call it derivative would avoid its obvious attempts at being different, and yet this is nothing more than the standard slice and dice from 20 years ago, dressed up in a decidedly uninteresting set of the emperor’s new clothes.” Bill Gibron, Pop Matters

“It’s also badly paced. There are only seven people, and you know it will come down to two of them, giving us a total of five kills. Well three of them occur in the film’s first 45 minutes, so the final 50 is primarily a series of boring arguments between the four survivors, one of which you’ve probably already figured out is the killer and one of which is the obvious last man standing. Occasionally they do things like look in computer monitors and see the “killer” … or run down a hallway or whatever, but it’s hardly exciting..” Horror Movie a Day

[Spoiler]: “What makes this go from a shitty movie to a SHITTY movie is the twist/”big reveal”. People I tell you this is one of the dumbest, most retarded reveals I’ve ever seen in a horror movie. Ok ok ok …. I’m gonna tell ya because this way I know for sure you won’t watch this.  The killer is one of the group members (as expected). Its the celebrity chef character and she assembled this group together and is killing them because they were all mean to her years ago when she was fat. That’s right; she was driven to murder and putting together more traps than Saw and The Collector combined because when she was younger she was a big ole fatty.” Anything Horror

Filming locations:

Cologne, Germany

IMDb