DEATH VALLEY (1982) In an era when Hollywood was trying to cash in on the slasher boom, Universal released this gem about an 8-year-old boy (Billingsley, A Christmas Story) who, while on vacation with his divorced mother (Hicks) and her boyfriend (Le Mat), stumbles upon the aftermath of a murder and is subsequently pursued by the killer (McHattie). A good change of pace with brainless teens replaced by a smart child protagonist and his sympathetic single mom (an element later borrowed in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), this gets big points for concentrating more on characters and suspense, and in doing so creates a good little movie. The cast is excellent, including Billingsley in his film debut. B+ d: Dick Richards. c: Peter Billingsley, Catherine Hicks, Stephen McHattie, Paul Le Mat, Wilford Brimley
EYEBALL (1975) Shades of Argento are cast over this flamboyant Italian slasher from Euro-exploitation auteur Lenzi, about a group of American tourists in Barcelona being stalked by a killer who enjoys cutting out the left eyeball from each victim. As with many giallos of the ’70s, this functions as a whodunit, and for most of its running time works well enough with colorful, if unsympathetic, characters and several juicy murders. The pacing sometimes lags and the screenplay gets too caught up in its melodramatic subplots, but it’s never dull, offers some beautiful Spanish countryside locations, and the identity of the killer is genuinely surprising. Apparently this is one of Tarantino’s favorites. B– d: Umberto Lenzi. c: Martine Brochard, John Richardson, Ines Pellegrini, Andrés Mejuto
HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II (1987) Jettisoning the story from the 1980 Prom Night, Part 2 spins a new tale about the vengeful ghost of bad girl, Mary Lou (Schrage), who in 1957 died as the result of a prank gone awry, just after being crowned prom queen. Things get complicated when nice girl, Vicki (Lyon), becomes possessed by Mary Lou and starts doing the prom queen’s deadly bidding. Although Hello Mary Lou relies a bit too heavily on its Nightmare on Elm Street inspirations, this is a much better movie than its reputation suggests, with some extremely imaginative set pieces, including a chalkboard that turns into a swirling pool of black water, and a nice sense of humor (“It’s Linda Blairsville!”). It also has a good cast, including Ferreira (Saw IV) and Ironside (Scanners), and a climax that could give Carrie a run for its money. Worth a re-look. B d: Bruce Pittman. c: Wendy Lyon, Louis Ferreira, Michael Ironside, Lisa Schrage, Richard Monette
MANIAC (1980) The infamous shocker starring Spinell as serial killer Frank Zito, a man with a serious mother fixation who goes around the streets of Manhattan hacking up prostitutes and models, scalping them, and using their hair to dress the mannequins he keeps at home for company. Lustig directs the film with a grittier eye than most slasher movies of the time, creating a heavy, claustrophobic atmosphere that more “important” films (i.e., Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) would later rip off. Spinell’s off-the-wall performance and Savini’s ultra-realistic FX work (including the ultimate gunshot gag) make this a sleazy classic. B+ d: William Lustig. c: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munroe, Abigail Clayton, Tom Savini