The Ghost Dance – 1982, US, 96m. Director: Peter F. Buffa.
Just Before Dawn – 1981, US, 91m. Director: Jeff Lieberman.
The Slasher… is the Sex Maniac! – 1972, Italy, 88m. Director: Roberto Bianchi Montero.
THE GHOST DANCE (1982) An archeological dig on Native American land releases a malevolent spirit that possesses a local man (Henry Bal) and turns him into a bloodthirsty killer. Bal cuts his wife’s throat before turning into a Rottweiler and tearing his neighbor to pieces. More murders threaten to shut down the excavation, which is overseen by anthropology professor (and Judith Light lookalike) Julie Amato, whose close attachment to the project makes her the perfect puppet for Bal’s mind games. Bal takes the form of a cat and sneaks into Amato’s home to watch her disrobe. Amato’s colleague (James Andronica) figures out what’s going on and is stabbed in the back (literally) by Bal before he can warn others. Amato’s boyfriend (Victor Mohica) seeks help from a medicine man/exorcist whose past experiences makes him the perfect candidate to ward off the evil entity. The Ghost Dance might lack substance but the filmmakers put more thought and characterization into the screenplay than you’d expect from a slasher vehicle. In fact, up until the predictable ending, The Ghost Dance is fairly taught stuff with good acting and clever makeup work. B
JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981) Backpackers venturing into deep Oregon wilderness are stalked by a machete-wielding madman and his equally demented twin brother. The friends turn a blind eye to hostile locals and signs of impending danger and—like the pompous city folk of Deliverance—move forward with their camping until they suffer a fate worse than death. The massacre begins with a hunter getting impaled through the crotch (in an especially gruesome moment, the serrated blade comes out the poor guy’s rear end). One of the newcomers is stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out while his friend is descended upon by the psychotic brothers in an intense scene. A mountain girl tries to help the remaining characters by flagging down a forest ranger (George Kennedy), but it’s the mild-mannered camper (Deborah Benson) who, in the midst of terror, transforms into a fighter and takes matters into her own hands, literally. Just Before Dawn contains the normal amount of stalk-n-slash cliches, but it’s too effectively made to write off as just another Friday the 13th clone. In terms of tone and atmosphere, the film actually has more in common with The Hills Have Eyes, and builds to a genuinely unsettling ending. Foreign prints run 102 minutes. B
THE SLASHER… IS THE SEX MANIAC (1972) (AKA: Penetration; The Slasher; So Sweet, So Dead) Unfaithful housewives are turning up maimed by a serial killer who leaves behind photos of the deceased having sex with their lovers. Detective Farley Granger refers to the victims as “whores” and immediately becomes Prime Suspect No. 1, as well as losing sympathy votes with the audience. Several married women discuss the crimes while lounging nude at a day spa. In one of the most obvious red herring subplots of all time, Granger discovers the local coroner is a weirdo who takes pictures of his female clientele. Granger’s professor friend (Chris Avram) suggests the killer is either homosexual or impotent, but taking anything seriously in this incredulous movie would be a mistake. In a completely tasteless move, Granger allows the maniac to carve up his cheating wife before unmasking the killer and shooting him dead. Whatta hero! An uninspired Italian slasher that reeks of misogyny. Graphic scenes involving porn king Harry Reems were apparently inserted into the American release, but I doubt even hardcore nudity could liven up this dead turkey. D