MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE (1983) Crazy old Evelyn (Anna Chappell), recently released from an institution, is trying to live a normal life with her teen daughter deep within the Louisiana bayou at the Mountaintop Motel. After she discovers the young girl practicing witchcraft, Evelyn accidentally kills her in a fit of rage, snaps, and goes on a rampage, murdering the motel’s patrons with poisonous snakes and other instruments of death. This strange slasher has good atmosphere (its rainstorm-night setting and camp-like cabins remind of Friday the 13th) and likable characters, and although Evelyn is just a Norman Bates clone, Chappell sells it with a subtle performance. Mountaintop might be too slowly paced for some, but this is decent stuff and not the cheap exploitation flick its title would suggest. B
THE TOOLBOX MURDERS (1978) A seminal piece of sleazy ’70s exploitation, this cheap quickie features a Los Angeles apartment complex targeted by a sadistic murderer who uses hammers, screwdrivers, and nail guns to kill his mostly female victims. When the police don’t take a teenage girl’s disappearance seriously, her older brother (Nicolas Beauvy), who believes she was kidnapped by the killer, takes it upon himself to find her. As with most slasher movies that carry notoriety, Toolbox Murders is better than its reputation suggests, but that’s not to say it’s good, either; the story is hackneyed and the middle half drags considerably. But, it’s watchable hokum, contains a wacky performance by Cameron Mitchell, and features a fairly taut final 10 minutes. C+
INTRUDER (1989) A great bookend to the 1980s slasher cycle, this energized splatterfest is written by Tarantino’s future producer, Lawrence Bender. Closing time for a rowdy group of supermarket employees turns into a nightmare when a madman breaks in and begins hacking them to pieces. Is the culprit the obsessed ex-boyfriend of cute cashier, Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox), who earlier made threats against several of her coworkers? Although the plot is routine and textbook of the subgenre, Intruder fires on most cylinders because of an excellent cast, punchy characters, and terrific direction by Scott Spiegel (co-writer of Evil Dead II). While slow to start, this picks up speed and tension, skillfully structured to build to a slam-bang finale pitting Final Girl Jennifer against the maniac. A worthy entry in the late ’80s slasher cannon and featuring some superb KNB FX work. B+