Judgement Day (1988) Poster

(1988)

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5/10
a devil movie
tnman266 November 2001
I rented this some time ago ...the front of the box showed the devil on it and from there it caught my attention ...the movie was shot in Mexico..the location was great..and then when night rolled around it got downright creepy..some reviewers said this movie had a low budget and no suspence...while the budget is low compared to other films..i have disagree with the suspence part...any time when you have a movie with two normal people trapped in a place that they wish the could get out of...thats suspeneful..i recomend this movie.
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not as bad as that
frentzen10 March 2002
JUDGEMENT DAY is not inept, except that the title is misspelled. There are some scenes of good suspense and Gothic atmosphere, and some of the performances (especially Monte Markham) are decent. Four college kids become trapped in Santana, a cursed town in which each year the ol' devil returns to claim some new souls. The college kids are not typically dumb movie teenagers, either, so they try to escape with the help of a priest. You won't find this movie in too many top-10 best film lists (but you won't find The KEEP on these lists, either).
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2/10
Stupid and just plain laughable!
lthseldy120 September 2004
This movie is so stupid that I want my $2.99 back that I paid for!! First this movie starts off with a bunch of wooden actor geeks with fill in talent like they got picked off the street somewhere because the "real" actors either did not show up because of the laughable script or they just couldn't get anybody desperate enough to do this movie! The music in this movie is enough to put you to sleep, flute music made for faerie's dancing in the wilderness wouldn't even be good enough for this movie! And the guy dressed up as Satan looks like he's all dressed up in a K-Mart Halloween special costume! There are no dead scenes except a few lame scenes. When I saw what the terrible killers looked like in those bath robes with Nosferatu faces I just laughed! This is what the whole town is supposed to be running away from once a year! This movie is one of the worst demonic movies I have ever seen. Avoid this one!
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1/10
I've seen middle school plays with better acting
ykjdh6 April 2023
Back in the 80s low budget movies graves the video store shelves across America. I remember seeing the vhs cover but I wasn't allowed to rent it because I was like 11 years old.

Fast forward some 25 years later and this comes across TUBI streaming.

Glad mom said no because I didn't miss anything with this trash. The idea was interesting with two guys backpacking and ending up in a mysterious town. This idea was done better by the Wings Hauser movie Dark Shadows, aka Mutant, which I recommend over this. Everything is bad in this movie. Terrible acting, low budget soundtrack that sounds like it was made with $30 Casio keyboard. Even the make up effects comes across as cheap Halloween masks. The idea might actually work in another horror film with better talent and production values. This one looks like it was filmed with hand held video camera from Walmart.
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7/10
I love this movie...
nyspooky14 April 2006
This movie is so cool. I saw it in my adolescence, and now I wish I could find a copy to own and cherish. I loved the idea for this movie so much, that I plagiarized the story for my seventh grade creative writing class and received an 'A' on it! There's something about the cinematography and scenery that just captures the oppressive heat and humidity of the area that lends the overall film a very sinister undertone. My buddy and I rented this flick from a little "mom and pop shop" in our small town over summer vacation. It was so hot that summer and my parents didn't have air conditioning, but the basement was always cool and damp. So I'd rent all these great cheesy horror flicks to get out of the heat. I'd sit in my darkened basement and my buddy and I would just get the biggest kick outta these movies. Judgement Day was one of my favorites. A couple others that I have fond memories of are: The Curse of the Blue Lights, Spookies, 9 1/2 Ninjas, Popcorn, The Howling, and Dolls. What can I say? I love this movie... And I can't wait to get a copy of this... I can almost feel the preteen hormonal excitement rushing over me again in a nostalgic euphoria. Definitely check out this movie if you're so fortunate as to come across it.
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2/10
Half a point for the music, half a point for the ending, and a full point for the smile it puts on my face
She-Ra4222 June 2005
This movie is... horrible and wonderful at the same time. I first saw it when I was about 13 or 14 years old, so it has a great deal of nostalgic value for me. In this movie, Cesar Romero actually plays the character of Octavio, the man who "discovered" Santana. There are also two other actors, Monte Markham (plays Sam, who is trying to save his daughter) and Peter Mark Richman (plays the priest), who have large filmographies, and these are the only performances that are okay. The rest of the acting and the movie itself have all of the B-film qualities that some of us cherish.

I recently spent 2 years trying to acquire a copy of this movie, and it is almost nonexistent. I am assuming that it was discontinued very shortly after its release. But I did eventually find a copy and paid a pretty penny to acquire it. If you happen to come upon Judgement Day in a video store (unmistakeable with a cheesy green "satan" on the cover), count yourself among the blessed who live near one of the few video stores that still has a working copy. A must see for those of you who like to laugh at cheesy attempts at a scary movie.
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10/10
This One Was Great
NJJeffNJ2 April 2001
O.K., not big budget here, but that's what makes it so good. I thought that many scenes were creepy, although the movie isn't really scary. I also thought that the filming location was excellent, and some of the scenes were shot perfectly. Also, great ending.
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7/10
A great (yet not so frightening) devil story!
Adriano_Lessa20 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Wow, i mean, this is a great, classic-type Satan story; of course, the acting is bad (except for Mr. Romero and Mr. Richman's); the boys playing hide-n-seek are some of the worse actors; but this, in the end, doesn't matter: this movie has, ultimately, a good plot, and some of the scenes are pretty cool; it IS a B-type-of-movie, but so what? It's fun to watch and a soft-horror, sorta speaking. Actually, nowadays is getting kinda common making movies of American tourists that fall into some kind of trap, on their way out looking for girls and easy sex on foreign lands. Hostel and Turistas explore that theme, although the latter is almost a BOMB and Hostel is a great movie. This one is very naive compared to both of 'em, but it has a good story. The original cover for the VHS is very very cool though. The thing is, this movie DOES show the Devil. While some good movies, very good, as Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Omen and Angel Heart never show the Prince of Darkness per Se, with Horns and all. By The way, the devil's portrayed in this film by Richman, and not Romero as the other user has said. I'll give it 3 stars out of 5.
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3/10
Satan's claws are coming to town.
mark.waltz16 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
You better not pout. You better not cry. After all, it was your idea to follow the witch like character that guides them away from the tour bus that leaves them in a small town in the middle of nowhere in a foreign land where they have been warned. The leading characters played by Kenneth McLeod and David Anthony Smith are the epitome of the dumb and dumber young American tourists, singled out to remain in town for the once a year day return of Santa Claus to town, a day when the townsfolk lock their doors and warn dumb strangers lkld McLeod and Smith.

Guest appearances by Monte Markham, Cesar Romero and Peter Mark Richman gives this film its only touch of class, even though this is the type of film where you want the script writers to get just as much fundament as the leading characters in The film. This is set in a Latin American country in modern times, but the music is definitely of the Renaissance type. I didn't find it scary or even suspenseful, but the location footage is pretty, even if the prettiness in the film is limited to the negative kind.
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10/10
My feelings for this marvelous film
Babysealfurcoat13 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was a tour de force! I'll remember it always! Hail Satan!!! Other than that I really liked this film. Especially the crappy piece of poop made out of cheap wax model of Satan. The use of pentagrams was very special. I loved the old hag at the beginning that kind of just walked around clad in some crappy robe thing. What the hell did she have to do with anything? Regardless, this movie was fun. 2 thumbs up! I don't understand why this isn't on DVD and available at the Wal-Mart nearest you. It's so special, you'll be reaching for the hardest alcohol in your house to numb the fun out of watching it. You're all going to love it.
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* out of 4.
brandonsites198121 August 2002
Group of college kids visit a small foreign village unaware that Satan (Cesar Romero) returns to the village once a year to claim souls and they just happened to arrive on that very night. Tame thriller features a good turn by Romero and some nice cinematography, but is flawed and ineptly directed. A weak underdeveloped script with a ending that feels out of tone with the rest of the film burdens it even further.

Rated PG-13; Nudity, Profanity, Violence.
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Low-budget horror flick about a town where Satan comes once a year.
bodach7628 August 2002
This movie to many people is a cheesy low budget piece of trash. The concept however, is what saves this picture in my eyes. The ending while considered predictable by some will still throw a few people. It has it's strong points. Ceaser Romero adds something to the movie. It's more or less a fun no brainer with a twist. Not award quality, but a good late night creature feature.
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SAW this my first semester in college
eightbitsofhorror9 November 2005
good idea, poor delivery and even worst acting. but like so many cult movies this one has a rather unique script, focusing on a day of the dead like celebration that two college kids find themselves trapped in....I will say this it take a true horror fan to watch this movie, much of what you see on screen is laughable at best as far as effects are concerned, but there is something disturbing about the town and premise of the movie. there are much scarier 80's movies, but unlike the other commenter i like the grainy footage (which is mainly due to VHS quality and shaking camera they add somewhat to the mood of the movie.it has been at least ten years since i have seen this movie so i can't remember all the details, but if someone can get it for you cheap or free you should check it out....

http://www.vidxden.com/10tny280e0kq

FOUND IT FINALLY HERE ^^^^^^^^
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Tecically Inept horror film. No Suspense.
eddy-2813 August 2000
At the dawn of the great movie THE KEEP, This movie hit bottom when it was released into theaters around the same time. With having THE KEEP Being rated R and this movie PG-13 There is found to be no scares and poorly special effects. Especailly Ceaser Romero's wasted performance as Satan. What people had in mind when it was viewed was nothing new, and 'Judgement Day' is so terrible no suspense can be found here.

Sank like the Titanic.
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Cheesy horror... at its worst
witchy_mac4 December 2000
Ugggggghhh.

That was my reaction to this movie. My friends and I surmise that it was created on a budget of maybe $100, filmed on a personal camcorder, and was (stupidly) taken way too seriously during the filming. They actually thought that this was scary?

Well, at least it gave me a different physical interpretation of "Satan," at least... instead of the red guy with the cute tail that has a little spade on the tip, you get a mixture of vampire, devil, and your worst hair day ever all blended into one.

On my list of the best flicks to rent for a marathon of sucky movies, this one is #1!!
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