I look forward to every one of these. Arrow has this knack for unearthing the most oddball, obscure and/or forgotten slashers in existence. I've discovered so many good ones through them, that I had otherwise never heard of. Then there's Death Screams.
Death Screams is clearly a local (made in NC) cash-in to the Friday the 13th craze in the early 80's. I will give you one guess as to what this killer's weapon-of-choice is. Not that there's anything wrong with doing a slasher during this era, hell, everyone else was! Problem is, this was one of the most incompetent ones I've seen.
First of all, kills range from nonsensical, to off-camera, to weak, to what has to be the result of MPAA meddling (though it's never mentioned in the extra, it's fairly clear any gore was chopped out, judging by some brief glimpses). The Making Of extra is essential viewing, if only to clarify what the hell was going on in this movie. Also, it was fun to see the writer's bewilderment at some of the choices made in terms of changing the script (he was not allowed on set).
Premise: There's a bunch of "kids" (I LOL'ed when one of them, who HAD to be in his 40's, said it was time to go back to school!), and someone is killing them. Will I care who? Will I wonder who? Will this film give me a reason to care who? Will it all make sense in the end? The answer to all those questions, is a resounding NO.
The first kill is so incompetently done, staged, filmed, I had to watch it twice, then throw my hands up. A couple kids are having sex on a motorycle... In a tunnel, or a cave, or on a stream... How they got the motorcycle in there? It's said they're near train tracks... and the thrill is? They show a train, then they show them. The two are never put together, so I've got no context, or sense of place. Scenes go: Couple making out, train is coming, couple has something around their neck, strangling them... BOTH? No assailant is even alluded to. Then the invisible assailant pushes the two of them plus their motorcycle(!) out of the cave and into the river. That's some Jason-like strength! (Wait til you see the killer). Oh, that's just the first one.
I'm not going to break down all of them, but the second one is equally as ridiculous. Chick gets shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Cut to her running down the hill, bleeding, sans arrow. She stumbles her way to a carousel, and... Gets on a horse? Mystery assailant wraps a clear plastic bag around her head... and the woman clearly has a hand free! Tear the bag! Jeez. No, another colossally puzzling death. The writer had a good laugh over both these scenes.
This movie has a cancer running through it, spreading his disease in every scene he appears in, until they kill him off (agonizingly late in the movie), and he goes by the name of Diddle (John Kohler). I've never seen a guy try so hard to be so violently unfunny. Actually, I wanted to punch myself in the face whenever all 3 of these guys (the ladies seemed unfazed by their shenanigans) were all hamming it up. The humor in this movie falls somewhere around the lamest Police Academy sequel possible.
Bear in mind, I remembered (actually took note of) one name in this movie. There's a whole mess of characters, some suspicious, then forgotten by the second half! Why would anyone be suspicious? Because they're a jerk? Not a lot of motives in this murder mystery. At one point, the town fox/town slut, Ramona (Jennifer Chase) shows up at one of these losers' houses, and tries to seduce the guy in the shower. Mind you, her perfect breasts are on full display. Guy will have none of this, throws her in the shower, then out the door. Extras reveal a couple Playboy Playmates were hired for this movie. One of them was Jennifer Chase. Way to go, dude!
Once the killer was revealed, it was met with confusion, then again the other half of me didn't care. I had to think about who this character even was (within a cluttered cast), then thought... didn't this guy die? I have to again refer you to the stellar Making Of extra, where they explain what happened, and let me tell ya, you've gotta have a REAL keen eye while watching Death Screams.
I can see where this movie would have its fans. It has a small town, no budget charm, quirky, bizarre (and GRATING) characters, some bad acting, and does not take itself too seriously. However, I was just annoyed.
Death Screams is clearly a local (made in NC) cash-in to the Friday the 13th craze in the early 80's. I will give you one guess as to what this killer's weapon-of-choice is. Not that there's anything wrong with doing a slasher during this era, hell, everyone else was! Problem is, this was one of the most incompetent ones I've seen.
First of all, kills range from nonsensical, to off-camera, to weak, to what has to be the result of MPAA meddling (though it's never mentioned in the extra, it's fairly clear any gore was chopped out, judging by some brief glimpses). The Making Of extra is essential viewing, if only to clarify what the hell was going on in this movie. Also, it was fun to see the writer's bewilderment at some of the choices made in terms of changing the script (he was not allowed on set).
Premise: There's a bunch of "kids" (I LOL'ed when one of them, who HAD to be in his 40's, said it was time to go back to school!), and someone is killing them. Will I care who? Will I wonder who? Will this film give me a reason to care who? Will it all make sense in the end? The answer to all those questions, is a resounding NO.
The first kill is so incompetently done, staged, filmed, I had to watch it twice, then throw my hands up. A couple kids are having sex on a motorycle... In a tunnel, or a cave, or on a stream... How they got the motorcycle in there? It's said they're near train tracks... and the thrill is? They show a train, then they show them. The two are never put together, so I've got no context, or sense of place. Scenes go: Couple making out, train is coming, couple has something around their neck, strangling them... BOTH? No assailant is even alluded to. Then the invisible assailant pushes the two of them plus their motorcycle(!) out of the cave and into the river. That's some Jason-like strength! (Wait til you see the killer). Oh, that's just the first one.
I'm not going to break down all of them, but the second one is equally as ridiculous. Chick gets shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Cut to her running down the hill, bleeding, sans arrow. She stumbles her way to a carousel, and... Gets on a horse? Mystery assailant wraps a clear plastic bag around her head... and the woman clearly has a hand free! Tear the bag! Jeez. No, another colossally puzzling death. The writer had a good laugh over both these scenes.
This movie has a cancer running through it, spreading his disease in every scene he appears in, until they kill him off (agonizingly late in the movie), and he goes by the name of Diddle (John Kohler). I've never seen a guy try so hard to be so violently unfunny. Actually, I wanted to punch myself in the face whenever all 3 of these guys (the ladies seemed unfazed by their shenanigans) were all hamming it up. The humor in this movie falls somewhere around the lamest Police Academy sequel possible.
Bear in mind, I remembered (actually took note of) one name in this movie. There's a whole mess of characters, some suspicious, then forgotten by the second half! Why would anyone be suspicious? Because they're a jerk? Not a lot of motives in this murder mystery. At one point, the town fox/town slut, Ramona (Jennifer Chase) shows up at one of these losers' houses, and tries to seduce the guy in the shower. Mind you, her perfect breasts are on full display. Guy will have none of this, throws her in the shower, then out the door. Extras reveal a couple Playboy Playmates were hired for this movie. One of them was Jennifer Chase. Way to go, dude!
Once the killer was revealed, it was met with confusion, then again the other half of me didn't care. I had to think about who this character even was (within a cluttered cast), then thought... didn't this guy die? I have to again refer you to the stellar Making Of extra, where they explain what happened, and let me tell ya, you've gotta have a REAL keen eye while watching Death Screams.
I can see where this movie would have its fans. It has a small town, no budget charm, quirky, bizarre (and GRATING) characters, some bad acting, and does not take itself too seriously. However, I was just annoyed.