Day 7: The Next Victim

     In the 1980's Thriller Video took episodes from a 70's British television series entitled Thriller and released them in their video catalog. The Next Victim is an episode from the final season of that series. It follows a woman who is confined to a wheelchair and left alone at her apartment as she is stalked by a psychotic strangler.

     As a made for television film from the 70's, you can probably guess that this isn't going to be a gore heavy slaughter fest. The Next Victim has to rely on suspense and tension to draw the viewer in. The problem is that it's not very tense or suspenseful. The final 15 minutes kind of pick up. But even then, you'll probably have a hard time caring.

    Carroll Baker does a decent job in this. But her character isn't really interesting. The only character that really grabbed my attention was the head detective on the strangler case. He's a complete asshole! He'a constantly insulting his partner or falling asleep on the job.

     The Next Victim is totally awful. It won't be drawing any comparisons to Hitchcock, however. If you're looking for something a little more suspense driven to fulfill your blood lust, you should probably look elsewhere. Word on the street is that earlier seasons of Thriller actually had some great episodes. Maybe check there.

Body Count:3

SideNote: I'm not sure how many Thriller episodes Thriller Video released. I own One Deadly Owner. Hopefully it's better than this. , 

Day 6: The Tempter

      In 1973, William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty released the Exorcist. It was one of the most influential horror films of all time. To this day it is still being ripped off and paid tribute to. So of course around the time following it's release it would be followed by a string of possession movies to cash in on it's popularity. The Tempter (AKA The AntiChrist) is an Italian film that does just that.

     At the young age of 12, Ippolita was involved in a car accident that took the life of her mother and left her unable to walk. Now confined to a wheelchair, Ippolita and her family hope to find a cure for her partial paralysis. They turn to a psychiatrist who believes her paralysis is a symptom of the mental trauma she endured from the accident. He attempts hypnosis to cure her. But as treatment proceeds she becomes vulnerable to possession by an ancient ancestor of hers. A witch.

     While the premise is very similar to The Exorcist, there is a little influence thrown in from Rosemary's Baby as well. This film lacks the tension and genuine frights that The Exorcist boasted. It makes up for it with genuinely shocking, obscene, and over the top moments. There were moments in The Tempter that even had me in disbelief!

     The Exorcist is still the obvious king of possession films. The Tempter doesn't come close to matching that quality of film making. It's still very much a low budget horror film. But as far as rip offs go, The Tempter at least tries to up the ante and does so to a certain extent. Horror fans will definitely enjoy the sacrilegious imagery and truly shocking moments. This is definitely worth a look. 

Body Count:2
Side Note: The version of this movie I saw was cut down to 96 minutes from the full 112 minute cut. I'm wondering if it was mostly dialogue or perhaps even more shocking scenes!

Day 5:Deadly Possession

      A music student is attacked by a mysterious assailant and hurled out of a second story window. Her neighbor and fellow classmate begins an investigation to uncover the identity of the attacker. But as she gets closer and closer to uncovering the truth, more people are being executed. Finally she comes face to face with the masked killer in a tense climactic encounter.

     Deadly Possession (AKA Symphony of Terror or Coda) sports some pretty good direction and cinematography. A lot of that is due to the fact that several shots are borrowed directly from Hitchcock or John Carpenter's Halloween. That's not unusual in the slasher genre. But rarely is it as obvious as it is here. Still, its exquisitely shot and the chase and murder sequences work because of the influence.

    The plot is a pretty basic whodunit without enough red herrings to keep you from guessing the killer's actual identity. That probably wouldn't be too terrible if the pacing wasn't such a drag. The film plods along like a snail as the female lead goes from location to location trying to solve a mystery the viewer has likely solved already. In another obvious nod to Hitchcock, the ending is a direct rip off of Psycho.

     While it's not the most exciting or original slasher film you'll find, Deadly Possession still has it's moments. One particular katana murder scene is wonderfully executed. This scene kicks off the much stronger final quarter of the film. We're also treated to a surprisingly tense final chase scene that is sure to please any slasher enthusiast. Had the director opted to add some more slashing and less investigating, we could be looking at a much stronger film. Instead we're left with a very mediocre entry with some very high points.

    

Body Count:4

Side Note: I can't state enough how much shots are taken directly from Halloween and Hitchcock films. It kind of needs to be seen to be believed.

Day 4: Crystal Force

      The Crystal Force is about a crystal that is seemingly inhabited by a demon. The crystal is sold to an unsuspecting girl by a mysterious antique salesman for an insanely low price of $25. When she brings the crystal home, she begins having nightmares. Upon bringing a psychic into their home for some harmless readings with her friends, the demon grows stronger and eventually manifests itself in the physical world to reign terror on the girls.

    The Demon looks absolutely abysmal. The effect is created with a man wearing a creature suit that look similar to the one is The Terror Within. There is also always some sort of crazy camera effect whenever the creature appears in an attempt to hide how awful it looks. The shot will either get extremely stretched and blurry or distorted in some way. The shoddy effects obviously do little to cover up the low quality monster suit.

     So whats the big deal? Terrible monster suit? That's usually a great thing when it comes to cheese filled obscure horror gems. Well, this film completely ignores the fact that it has awful acting, a low budget, and a terrible monster. Instead it opts to take itself seriously. The characters are all very uninteresting and the script is even worse. I found myself constantly looking for things to distract myself. Try as I might, this snooze fest could not hold my attention.

      There are some redeeming factors but they hardly make this worth a full viewing. The film is riddled with sex scenes. It's almost soft core pornography at certain points. The monster even gets a sex scene!! Crystal Force's final 10 minutes are also worth a peek. After finally physically manifesting itself, the demon starts picking off girls left and right. He even has a fist fight with a police officer. It's laugh out loud funny. But the other hour and ten minutes will have you wondering what to make for dinner....tomorrow! Movies like Crystal Force are the reason why the Fast Foreward button was invented.

Body Count:7
Side Note: One particular scene shows the monster appearing in a toilet. Exactly where this movie belongs.

Day 3: The Last Slumber Party

      In 1982 Slumber Party Massacre hit theaters and has since gone on to have a pretty large cult following. It's still one of the most talked about slashers not named Halloween, Friday The 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street, 6 years later, The Last Slumber Party was likely released direct to video. Nobody has really spoken of it ever since. 

     There isn't really much to say about the plot. A mental patient escapes and begins stalking and killing unsuspecting teenagers who are having a slumber party. Its pretty standard stuff for the genre. This time the killer is clad in hospital scrubs and a surgeon mask. He also likes to break the fourth wall by turning his head to look right at the camera after he murders his victims.

     Part of the intrigue of a slumber party film is the idea of seeing the female participants remove their clothes. Even the cover of the movie has the girls very scantily clad. Those expecting several sex scenes, pillow fights, and nudity will be disappointed. This is one of the tamest slumber parties of all time. Sure, they are sneaking in boys (who all end up being the most entertaining characters in the movie). But they seem to always make out with these guys for about 10 seconds and then inexplicably leave the room. As you can guess, our male meatheads are killed seconds later.

     The cinematography is abysmal, the acting is laughable, and the gore effects are pathetic. Even the final chase completely lacks any sense of urgency. It'd be one thing if the killer was just slowly stalking his final victim. Yet even the final girl just slowly plods along as she tries to escape her pursuer. But this film is actually kind of fun to watch with a group of friends. That's probably the only way you'll be able to sit through the entire thing.  

Body Count:10 (kinda, there is a cop out "everything was a dream" ending)
Side Note: The one thing that I can actually say that this film does well is it's soundtrack. Original music by "Firstryke" will have you headbanging every time they're played. Which is a lot.

Day 2: Sisters of Satan

      After the death of her parents, Justine joins a convent where she meets a young girl named Alucarda. The two hit it off immediately and begin a relationship that borders on lesbianism. After meeting a mysterious band of gypsies, the two girls unwittingly release a demonic spirit that possesses them and begins to wreak havoc.

      Everything that I've just described all takes place in the first 15-20 minutes of the film. Yeah. Sisters of Satan (AKA Alucarda) is a bit of a wild ride. Complete with nudity, lesbianism, satanic rituals, blood, exorcism, anti-christian imagery, and burning nuns (Yes, burning nuns). This film doesn't hold much back after it gets going.

     Fans of possession or films with Satanic themes have plenty like here. There is a possession ritual in this film that is so insane it's hard to follow. Girls are bleeding, kissing each other! There's some weird hunchback freak guy there. Some random Satanist girl dies for no explained reason? Even Satan shows up to the festivities! At least I think it's Satan. There's no telling what is actually going on here but its definitely a highlight.

     Even though there are a ton of great scenes, the film isn't without its weaknesses. The characters are poorly developed. As stated before, it hardly takes 20 minutes before these girls are possessed. We don't really have a reason to care about them other than their ultra rushed "love story". The rest of the cast consists mainly of nameless nuns and pastors who are virtually identical in appearance and personality. There is one nun who sympathizes with the possessed girls, but you can't even really identify her. The most interesting character in the film is a doctor who mainly appears in the second half.

     Despite its lack of characterization and poor pacing, its hard to fully write off a movie that's last act features dozens of nuns being set on fire. Its not a particularly good film but it has so much sacrilege that makes it a must see. Sisters of Satan is worth checking out at least once. Depending on your tastes, you may want to revisit it several times.

     

Body Count: 8
Side Note: This film is actually Mexican. Its dialogue was still filmed in English and thus the lip movements of the actors match of very nicely with the dubbed voice actors.

Day 1:Blood Rage

   
     Anyone that watches slasher films is familiar with the common holiday theme that a lot of these films have. There are a ton of Christmas slashers, Halloween, I believe a couple for new years, Friday The 13th of course, Valentines Day, and even one for April Fool's Day. So what ever happened to Thanksgiving? You'd think that it is an easy cash grab. Well, there's Blood Rage.

    Blood Rage opens in the 1970's at a drive in theater where Ted Raimi sells condoms as though they are an illegal substance. Todd and Terry are identical twins who are being dragged along on their mother's most recent date. But when the neglectful mother starts getting intimate with her boyfriend, the twins sneak off to cause havoc. Terry finds a hatchet (at a drive in theater) and proceeds to murder a teenage boy in the middle of intercourse. Todd witnesses the entire crime and goes into a catatonic state out of shock. Terry utilizes the opportunity to give Todd the weapon and blame the entire murder on him. 10 years later, Todd finally recovers from his catatonic shock escapes the mental institution. Terry decides that he can use the opportunity to kill once again.

     So is this the hidden Thanksgiving gem that slasher fans have been craving? Not really. The only thing that this film has to do with the holiday is that it takes place on it. Well, that and it's repeated attempts to really drive home the line, "Its not cranberry sauce." (Used 5 times exactly.) Blood Rage really could have taken place on any other day and it wouldn't have affected the movie. I don't think anyone is going to go out of their way to defend this as a Thanksgiving film.

     The film stands out among its other obscure slasher peers because of its superior gore effects and killer synth driven score. Most of these kills have ample blood to quench any gore hounds thirst and some really cool effects as well. One scene has an amputated hand still moving its fingers on the ground as blood pours all over. Another scene shows an up close and personal look at the brain matter of a split head. Its some great stuff!

     The acting is comically bad for the most part. Terry and Todd (same actor) can be pretty funny as they read the lines of this below par script. Their mother, however, just becomes irritating to watch as she descends into madness throughout the course of the film. We also have an entire cast of your stereotypical horn dog teenagers to provide us with laughs. There's definitely been worse acting in the genre. But this doesn't deserve any praise.

      Overall, Blood Rage is an above average slasher film that can be a lot of fun. It does find itself lacking any sort of suspense. It's  reasonable body count and awesome gore effects will still satisfy fans, Throw in some great synth and you have yourself a good way to spend 87 minutes. Just don't expect too much turkey talk.

Body Count: 9
Side Note: Originally filmed in 1983, Blood Rage wasn't released theatrically until 1987 under the title: Nightmare at Shadow Woods. This version was heavily edited to remove all the gore, but the VHS tape restored it. There are three versions of the film. All of which are now available on Arrows recent blu ray release.