Luther the Geek, Maximum Overdrive, and Phenomena
LUTHER THE GEEK (1989) After 25 years inside, convicted murderer—and obvious psychopath—Luther Watts (Edward Terry), who uses homemade dentures to chomp his victims, is released for being a model prisoner. Minutes later, Luther viciously kills an elderly woman and then…
Parents, Puppet Master, Rabid Grannies, and Rawhead Rex
PARENTS (1989) Committing to neither the horror nor comedy aspects of horror-comedy, Parents is a curious movie that skates the border of its genres by being consistently weird. In the 1950s, a morose kid, Michael (Bryan Madorsky), moves into a…
Slasher Month: Don’t Go into Those Woods, 80s Style!
THE FINAL TERROR (1983) Unfairly criticized slasher/Deliverance hybrid about a group of twenty-something forest rangers who run up against a homicidal mountain man while on a weekend training excursion in the woods. Utilizing Oregon’s Redwood National Forest setting to its…
Slasher Month: Intruder, Mountaintop Motel Massacre, and The Toolbox Murders
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…
Bloody New Year, Daddy’s Gone a-Hunting, Killer Party, and More
BLOODY NEW YEAR (1987) Enormously stupid British slasher about a group of wankers left stranded on a small island after their boat capsizes. Seeking shelter from the chilly July sunshine, they find an empty hotel that’s seemingly stuck in time,…
Death Warmed Up, Galaxy of Terror, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
DEATH WARMED UP (1984) An inventive and highly energetic New Zealand splatter flick about a young man named Michael (Michael Hurst), who’s given an experimental mind control serum by fiendish Dr. Howell (Gary Day), which results in Michael killing his…
Return to Camp Blood: Part V
By Frank Pittarese The One with All the Easter Eggs When last we saw our snappy slasher, Jason was apparently transformed into a completely normal-looking human child, wearing his best underpants and shivering in the sewers of Manhattan. Remember that?…
Return to Camp Blood: Part IV
By Frank Pittarese The One with Telekinetic Tina They killed Jason. They brought him back as a murder-zombie. Friday the 13th fans have seen it all, right? NOPE! This time, the high concept is “Jason vs. Carrie.” In an endless…
80s: Girls Nite Out and Madhouse
In the tradition of House on Sorority Row, Final Exam, and other early ’80s college-set slashers is 1982’s GIRLS NITE OUT. After the DeWitt University basketball team wins big during a championship game, the players and their girlfriends celebrate by…