Category: *80’s Slasher Throwback

80’s Slasher Throwback: “Prom Night” (1980) Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

MPW-17439

Yesterday I saw Prom Night (1980) for the very first time, also as part of the ‪#‎80sHorrorWeek‬. I did see the 2008 remake by name only and I absolutely hated that movie. Well I’ve finally seen the original Prom Night and I must say I liked it. The movie begins interesting but the middle act is very slow and drags a lot. The story is well thought out however with developing the characters and setting up the story. Performances were all around modest to great, the standouts definitely were Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Eddie Benton, Casey Stevens and Michael Tough. Not all characters were exactly likeable or given some sort of backstory but the cast did a great job none the less. The screenplay felt fresh even though one can easily call it a rip-off from classics in the horror genre like Carrie and Halloween. The death scenes were very creative and one particular chase scene was very well executed.

The final act was truly brilliant and very fun to watch. The disco scenes were perfect yet hilarious and the soundtrack was easily one of the stronger and more memorable aspects of this 1980 slasher. The killer felt very human (read: imperfections) even though he could’ve been more menacing. The reveal of the killer was surprising and gave the movie a shocking but dramatic twist ending. For me the ending worked good as it ended like a drama and is just an extension of the high-school drama setting most of the film carries. The first hour of the movie plays more like a mystery/crime but the final act definitely gives slasher fans in particular something to chew on and then some. Paul Lynch did a great job directing this film, the detail to color is stunning and the 80’s style looks terrific. Its really flawed at parts and there needed to be more tension in the middle act but I still appreciated and enjoyed this 1980 slasher for what it was.

Some of the police scenes should’ve been left out as they lead to nowhere and only added to the running time. Also more detail to the dialogue would’ve had been pleasant. Still this 1980 slasher is MUCH better and superior in every sense of the word to the godawful 2008 remake by name only. I highly recommend Prom Night (1980) to the die-hard slasher fans, this is one slasher you have to have seen at least once in your life. The movie doesn’t come without its problems but the positive outweigh the negative. I’ve seen much better slashers though…

–Ferdi Akkulak

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80’s Slasher Throwback: “Don’t Go in the Woods..Alone” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

I have been a HUGE fan of “Don’t Go In The Woods…Alone” since I was thirteen years old. I first rented a tarnished VHS copy from my local video store. Being a fan of low budget, independent horror films, I fell in love with this movie immediately. Just a heads up, if you can’t handle a low budget movie with bad acting, and no real storyline, then this movie isn’t for you.

The plot is about four campers that enter the woods and soon discover they have invaded a madman’s territory. Sound familiar? Although there are only the four main campers, about every 8 to 10 minutes a random new camper will appear just to add to the films body count.

This movie truly contains more cheese than the entire state of Wisconsin. This no-budget b-flick is so cheesy it should have been sold with a bonus box of saltine crackers. The soundtrack is indescribable. I have no clue how they made some of those sounds, and sometimes the music plays at odd times when nothing is really happening.

The acting in “Don’t Go In The Woods…Alone” well…I recall one actress that spoke these lines: “I can’t believe my eyes! It’s over.” She utters these lines as if she is asking for a cup of tea, not as though in relief that the nightmare she has just endured is now over. Also how can we not
forget the characters “Dick” and his wife “Cherry?” When I first watched this, I literally thought Cherry was played by a guy. I was wrong. The dialogue between these two is so horrendous, you honestly have to stop and think for a minute, what was James Bryan thinking?

Don’t expect the production values of even a “Friday the 13th” film. Don’t expect any production values at all. Believe it or not this film has generated a fan base. This is definitely one of those films I can say “It’s so bad, it’s good!” I own the 25th anniversary edition dvd that Code Red put out in 2006. I also have the original 27 x 40 movie poster hanging proudly on my wall.

Bottom line, this movie is a lot of fun. It has some really good gore scenes too. The acting is horrendous, but in the end it all seems to work.

Check out “DON’T GO IN THE WOODS…ALONE” tonight! Recommended!

–Douglas D. Conner

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80’s Slasher Throwback: “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers”

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

After a ten-year coma, Michael Myers awakens and returns to Haddonfield in deadly pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, killing anyone who gets in the way. It is up to Dr. Loomis (who also strangely survived the brutal hospital explosion in the finale of Halloween II) to save the child and send the possessed face of evil to hell.

The opening to this continuation of the Myers character is so sinister in tone that it is nearly impossible for the film itself to match up to its disturbing atmosphere. It is all about the setting while the beginning credits are pouring onto the screen; an overcast of red-orange leaks across the Haddonfield sky, while shots of ramshackle farmhouses and plow equipment are doused with traditional Halloween decorations and pumpkinhead scarecrows. The eerie and faded sound of disturbing autumn wind vibrates about, and then the story is given birth to.

Return is in essence very similar in premise to the first film, from beginning to end. While there are some new elements added, a big part of this is rehash. It works for fans that really wanted the Myers character back, because he does go on an insane extravaganza of death after his ten-year hiatus. And if the first two installments of the series did not guarantee enough that this maniacs strength is beyond that of a normal human, this one inflicts it strongly.

This sequel also tries to keep real to its foundation in terms of somewhat solid character development, with mostly everyone in the Haddonfield universe. Even the souls that aren’t overly important are authentic feeling, as is the city itself. Director Dwight H. Little and cinematographer Peter Collister do an astounding job of bringing Haddonfield back to life. Return succeeds in giving that picture postcard feel that the first film has (more so than Halloween II), making the territory fun and familiar. Also, it really does feel like the season in this picture, even if the Jack-O-Lanterns are in truth, painted squash. Although, the feeling of Halloween could have been laid down even thicker; and it would not have hurt a bit.

Ellie Cornell is enjoyable as Jamie’s stepsister, whom at first glance comes off as a self-centered bitch, but later on does many gallant deeds to save the little girl from the hands of evil. Danielle Harris really showed promise as a young female lead, and it is a shame that she is not a stronger power in the horror industry as of late. She truly carries her own, even alongside Donald Pleasance. As for the late genre icon, he dishes his performance as if this film was made a day after the first two entries. He never skips a beat. A favorite moment in the film is when a drunken priest picks him up after his car is blown into a ball of flames at the hands of The Shape. The conversation between the two about Armageddon and damnation is another part of the movies success at creating a helpless and dark ambiance.

George Wilbur is a less than thrilling Michael Myers, but he’s not all at fault. The re-imagining of the Shatner mask looks as if it was made to be emotionless, but it just ends up looking unnatural and only effective in a few ample scenes. It is absurd that he would immediately go looking for a mechanic uniform and similar mask in the first place. Same goes for the way Wilbur presents Myers, the character feels less machine-like, and many moments he just looks down right frivolous. Towards the end when he is blasted into a water well by a mob of angry Haddonfield cops and drunken townsfolk, Myers plummets in the most ridiculous looking manner possible, almost like he’s dancing at a rave while having a seizure on his way down to his temporary burial.

It is a shame that FX artist John Carl Buechler did not work on the entire film, because the two deaths he was brought in to create (due to the film being too tame) are definite high points of Return. Unfortunately, the first one takes place not ten minutes into the movie, and the next one is about five minutes away from the end. However, Myers is given much to do, such as snapping a victims neck like a twig, throwing Bucky the geeky electrician into the electric probes at the town plant (causing a total power outage), shoving a shotgun through the sheriffs daughter and a few more.

So, I am actually one of the saps that really enjoyed Season of the Witch, more so than this film. However, as far as bringing back the iconic Myers into the picture, this is probably the most favorable in respect to what Carpenter originally unleashed; I dare say it does not get better further down the line of unnecessary sequels.

-Eric King (RoboCopsSadSide)

To buy from Amazon: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (Special DiviMax Edition)

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80’s Slasher Throwback: “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

“Dream Child”, the next Freddy adventure, wants to perfectly illustrate commercialism and do it without any contempt for its audience. The previous movie had sealed Freddys fame and this sequel wants to suck the money from you and hopes its faults will be forgiven. Not so.

The movie can easily be spotted as having potential. Stephen Hopkins is aboard this time around and as Robert Englund once stated, what made him continue with the series was the directors and their creative juices flowing. The same can be said for me (at least up until this point). The movie looks quite Gothic and polished; the audio once again delivers, the lighting and SFX look stunning, and the camera angles are kinetic. The film also has the respect of continuing off of 4 and returning the Dream Master Alice, her boyfriend Dan, and her ex juicebag father. Thanks for the small favors.

The mythology (which is given the once over) has potential as well, and still somewhat tries to evolve from the previous entry. It seems Freddy lost all of his souls and is powerless, but is reborn in a dream and instead of using Alice, he’s using her unborn fetus (?!) as the new bearer of souls.

The movie could have been a worthy entry, but the movie has only one interest, to make money. The production was given 4 weeks of shooting, and 4 weeks of editing, the script was the least of anyone’s concerns as constant rewrites were done and everybody was faking it the whole time, but as long as there was deaths and Top notch SFX, hopefully it won’t show.

Alice is also given different things to do this time around and comes off as more mature and graceful than ever, you can clearly see how she will grow into a wonderful mother with amazing skill. Despite our heroine returning, the movie adds a bad contrivance that Alice has made a batch of new friends that aren’t even half as endearing as the ones in 3-4. What’s with the characters in this one? Why doesn’t anyboy care about all the deaths from 4??? How long has it been since part 4? Surely no less than a year? Hanging out with them is akin to chewing baseball card chewing gum for 3 days. Bland and cheap and leaves a horrid tatse in my mouth. The movie knows the characters fates and sleepwalks them to their destinies without a seconds thought. So much for suspense. I couldn’t care less about anyone here, even as a young kid!!! What’s up with Dan’s bitch of a stepmom and all the legal jargon she brought to the tale? (Which lamely is never addressed again once it’s brought up, kind of makes you wish it never was written in the first place)

The death toll is three this time around, and besides the motor bike death (one kick ass scene), the creative flow was on a low burner. The comic book world was abysmally lame (I ALWAYS get that red hot flush of embarrassment during Super Freddy), and the model eating herself was fun but cut short and barely leaves any effect on me. So what are we paying to see exactly? Although the deaths had bizarre imagery they were too few and not at all gory and two of them happen in the first 30 mins! Leaving not much to relish afterwards.

Freddy is another awful disservice, his demeanor is too uneven, he wants to be the jokester but the script gives him the worst lines of the movie (some might say the entire series, tv show, reboots, etc). Once again he was more tolerable and well balancedin 3-4, if he’s not hostile and scary (like 1), mean and nasty(like 3) or funny and demented(like 4), than what do we have? A lame curiosity I’m afraid.

The score by Jay Ferguson was too overbearing as well, at times when it was low key and dreamy it worked (like the opening theme), but then it got too loud and theatrical, it didn’t support the images too well. Where’s Angelo (from 3) when you need him?

The movie also has a mess of an ending where you can see the rewrites quite clearly (although one writer is credited there is evidence that 5 or 6 pissed in the pot), No momentum, and it seems like no one had any ideas left by that point in the movie. I’m sorry, but tarantulas and spiked baby carriages aren’t my idea of intense conflict of good vs. evil. The ending also confirmed my suspicions that the movie had no desire to be original, and recycled in a cheap way the ending of 4. I’m not sure what the hell was going down but it seemed rehashed from part 4 in a cheap way, once again bizarre looking but lame. Someone also was heavily inspired by Salvador Dali and even Labrynith in the endings set design, too bad it comes off as kind of cheap and tacky.

We then cut to credits and have to endure one lame rap song after a predictable ending, which just seals the fate of the movie for me.

If it wasn’t for Stephen Hopkins and Alice, I’d say it’s a waste of celluloid. The movie is just a big mess of a painting, with no thought to texture, idea, feelings, purpose, or respect. It’s by the numbers filmmaking, and is certainly a pivotal low for the series. I still watch it here and there, but for me the party ended with 4. The movie shouldn’t have been rushed and halfbaked for the saga it had become, it’s that simple. I certainly want to like any horror sequel, as I’m a big fan, but when the intent on the filmmaker’s part is to simply take your money it unfortunately rubs off on me, making the obvious contrivances more insulting and the resolution of a horror icon a tedious joke.

And it only gets more dreary and insulting with Freddy’s Dead!

–Vince Fontaine

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Happy 25th Anniversary “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors”!

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

In order to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors”, Slaher Studios wanted to share with our fellow horror fans something extra special. Well, we think we found it. There is nothing that we love better than seeing a really cheesy ad promoting one of our favorite slashers from the 1980’s. A wave of nostalgia rushes over us as we sit there grinning from ear to ear taken in by the great wonderment of 80’s cheese. Just hearing the cheesy narrator describe how amazing the slasher movie is going to be gives me goosbumps. The following is one of my ultimate favorites. Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger describing to video store owners just how many copies “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” is going to sell and just what is in store for Nightmare 4. Plus a chance to win a movie role in Nightmare 4?!? Sign me up!

Don’t forget, make sure to crack open a couple of beers and watch “Dream Warriors” tonight…Freddy wouldn’t have it any other way.

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You Bring the Pizza, I’ll Bring the Drill: “Slumber Party Massacre” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

Trish Devereaux (Michelle Michaels), an 18 year old teen decides to throw a slumber party while her parents are away and their neighbor Mr. Contant (Rigg Kennedy) is given the job of checking in on the girls during the night. That morning, she gets up, dresses and heads to school. Meanwhile, a mass murderer with a fondness for power drills, Russ Thorn (Michael Villella), has escaped from prison, killed a telephone repair woman (Jean Vargas) with a power drill and steals her van. Trish meets up with her friends Kim (Debra Deliso), Jackie (Andree Honore) and Diane (Gina Hunter) and the girls on her basketball team. The new girl, Valerie Bates (a sweet Robin Stille) is invited by Trish, but refuses after hearing Diane talking cruelly about her.

Russ Thorn watches the girls leave school from the van and a girl named Linda (Brinke Stevens) goes back inside the school to retrieve something, but is attacked by Thorn and murdered with a power drill. That evening, the party and the bloody decimation begins of the girls, as they smoke pot and talk about boys. Valerie lives next door conveniently and is babysitting her younger sister Courtney (a refreshingly innocent if slightly annoying Jennifer Meyers). Diane’s boyfriend John (Jim Boyce) and two other guys from school Jeff (David Millbern) and Neil (Joe Johnson) who spy on the girls undressing. Thorn kills Mr. Contant, drilling through his neck, and meanwhile, Courtney is begging Valerie to go crash the party, but Valerie protests. All hell is about to break lose at this party.

Probably the best known of the popular “girls have a sleepover and get murdered one-by-one” subgenre of horror movies. “Slumber Party Massacre” is fun, a little bit cheesy, and quite outdated. The film moves at a snail’s pace throughout the first half and when the killer is reveled, he isn’t exactly frightening. This is a prime example of ripe 80’s cheese. That being said, this film is a blast. Sure it a bit slow but the deaths are pretty damn interesting and it is nice to see a final girl who is actually willing to fight back. At a lean 75 minutes, this is the kind of meat and potatoes horror movie that Hollywood simply doesn’t make anymore. “Slumber Party Massacre” has the breasts, the blood and the beauties. What else could you want from an 80’s slasher flick?

Interesting Facts about SPM:
* The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by New World Pictures in November 1982. It was later released on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment.

* Director Amy Holden Jones made a shot a promo film of the original script’s prologue for a $1,000 dollars so she could get a directing job from Roger Corman. Corman was so impressed by the promo that he asked Jones to make a feature length movie from the script.

* Andree Honore is the only cast member featured on the original theatrical one sheet poster. The blonde woman lying on the floor is late actress Jillian Kesner.

To order the box set: The Slumber Party Massacre Collection (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)

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Party til You Drop Dead: “Night of the Demons” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

On Halloween night, Angela Franklin and her friend Suzanne are throwing a party at Hull House, a local mortuary abandoned years ago after the Hull family was murdered by an unknown member of the family within its walls. They have invited the usual assortment of party guests, including the class reject – Stooge, the resident tough guy – Sal, the preppy – Jay, the token black guy – Roger, the virginal heroine – Judy, the quiet girl – Helen, and another couple – Max and Frannie.

On the way to the store the teens victimise an elderly gentleman in a Green Ascot flatcap calling him names and telling him to “Look in the mirror” flashing a moon out the window. The old man stands up for himself. He is then terrorised by one with a rubber rat and nearly punches the teen in rage. When Judy tries to help him with his fallen bags, he insults her by calling her nasty names. The seemingly harmless old man shows a true twisted dark side, intending to put razor blades in apples to give to Trick or Treaters with a disturbing laugh and a gleeful look in his eyes.

Deciding to skip the annual school dance, Jay convinces Judy to attend a Halloween Party being thrown at Hull House by a classmate of theirs named Angela Franklin. Reluctantly, Judy agrees. Judy’s younger brother Billy later answers the door to Sal, Judy’s ex-boyfriend, whom tells him that she is attending a party at Hull House. Soon after, Jay picks her up along with their friends Max and Frannie. Meanwhile, Angela decides to shoplift at a local convenience store for party food while the salesmen clerks are distracted by Suzanne bending over, revealing her panties. Once outside, Angela reveals the plan is to scare everyone who attends.

One of my favorite slasher-undead movies of yesteryear, “Night of the Demons” is a rousing, gory, razor-in-the-apple type of horror pick. The actors are terrible, the pacing sucks, and the cinematography is mediocre. Hell, sometimes it is hard to even see what is happening on screen. What makes this film work? The rousing energy from the cast and crew and some of the best gore effects to come out of the 80’s. You want to see eyeballs gouged out? A tongue ripped out? A tube of lip stick stuck through a nipple? It’s all here and in a spectacularly gory fashion. “Night of the Demons” was one of the few genuine horror hits of the late 80’s and observably so. This movie is a blast from beginning to end and I appreciate the amount of energy that went into this production. This movie has its share of problems but everyone looks like they had their hearts in the right place—right on the bloody screen where we can see them.

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80’s Slasher Throwback: “The House on Sorority Row” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

From the kid-friendly director of “Lizzie McGuire” and “The Perfect Man” comes one of the most acclaimed horror films from the slasher era? Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right? Well that somewhere in the early eighties was horror, specifically the under-appreciated slasher sub-genre. “The House on Sorority Row” began as writer-director Mark Rosman’s calling card in Hollywood, and it was for Stewart Hendler, who directed 2009’s deliciously nasty remake “Sorority Row.” That remake didn’t receive the respect it deserved from audiences or critics and is a fine tribute the world of 80’s slashers. Nonetheless, 30 years later how does the original revenge slasher stack up? Is “House on Sorority Row” worth pledging Delta Delta Die to attend?

The plot, like the plot for many an 80’s slasher, is quite simple. A group of girls staying at a sorority house clash with the house’s owner (the evil Mrs. Slater who sadly isn’t given anything really evil to do) who wants them out of the house. They decide to play a prank on her, but it goes awry and she winds up dead. The plan involving blanks, a pool, and the old lady’s cane is actually pretty lame and the details of the prank don’t make a whole lot sense even after watching the scene two time. Panicking, the girls try to hide the body, but someone (or something) witnessed the crime and begins to stalk them. Has Mrs. Slater returned from the dead for revenge or was she not even dead to began with? Cut to scary music.

“The House on Sorority Row” is an interesting addition to the slasher genre. Interesting in the way that for everything I really enjoyed about this film, I can think of at least something that I also didn’t felt worked at all. The prank, as stated before, is so badly directed that I had no idea what was even happening let alone what the prank was supposed to be. Also, it is hard to hate Mrs. Slater as she is only given two scenes before she is killed off. Also, speaking of killed of…how are the deaths here? Sadly, fairly lackluster. Yes, my fellow slasher fans, this is one of those movies in which almost all of the deaths occur off screen so the heroine can be surprised when she finds her dead friend. Love the reveal of the dead bodies but to do this for ALL of the deaths is a pretty easy way out. That being said, the story is fairly strong and the actresses are all quite good in their roles. If you are a fan of early 80’s revenge/college slasher films, you could do a lot worse than what is on display here. Sadly, it could have also have been a lot better with another rewrite or two.

Make sure to order your copy today. Only 2200 in print and once they sell out, they are gone: House on Sorority Row (remastered special 2 disc edition) (1982)

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80’s Slasher Throwback”: “Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II” Review

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

In 1957, seventeen year-old Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage) enters a church, where she confesses her sins to the priest (Jay Smith), claiming to have disobeyed her parents, used the Lord’s name in vain and had sinful relations with various boys. The pastor tells her that “these are great sins and she should prepare herself for the consequences.” Before leaving, Mary Lou tells the priest that she loved every minute of it and leaves her phone number in the confession booth along with a written message: “For a good time call Mary Lou.”

Later, at the 1957 prom at Hamilton High School, Mary Lou is attending with rich Billy Nordham who gives her a ring with her initials on it. Shortly after receiving Billy’s ring, Mary Lou sends him off to get punch while she sneaks backstage with Buddy Cooper, where the two are found making out by Billy. Storming off after Mary Lou claims she used him, Billy, while in the washroom, overhears two boys preparing a stink bomb and, when the boys abandon the bomb in the trash due to a teacher approaching, Billy grabs it. When Mary Lou is crowned prom queen, Billy, having snuck up onto the catwalk, drops the bomb on her before she is crowned. To the horror of Billy and everyone in attendance, the fuse of the bomb ignites Mary Lou’s dress and she dies after going up in flames, but not before seeing that Billy is the one who killed her.

Thirty years later, high school student Vicki Carpenter (a slightly dull but still engaging Wendy Lyon) goes looking for a prom dress in the school prop room after being denied a new dress by her overly religious mother. While searching, Vicki finds an old trunk containing Mary Lou’s prom queen accessories (her cape, sash, ring and crown) and takes them, releasing Mary Lou’s Hell-bound spirit. After Vicki leaves Mary Lou’s clothes in the art room after school, Vicki’s friend Jess Browning (Beth Gondek) finds them and, after wedging a jewel out of the crown, is attacked by an unseen force. Hung from a light by Mary Lou’s cape, Jess is subsequently defenestrated. Jess’s death is deemed a suicide caused by her despair over her recent discovery that she was pregnant.

After Jess’s death, Vicki finds herself plagued by nightmarish hallucinations caused by Mary Lou and she confides in Buddy Cooper (Richard Monette), who is now a priest and, after hearing Vicki’s stories, believes Mary Lou may be back. Going to Mary Lou’s grave, where his bible bursts into flames, Buddy afterwards tries to warn Billy (now played by Michael Ironside), who is now the principal of Hamilton High and the father of Vicki’s boyfriend Craig (a bland Justin Louis); Buddy’s warnings fall on deaf ears, with Billy refusing to believe that Mary Lou has returned to reclaim her title as prom queen and to take revenge on those who wronged her. Hell is about to break loose.

“Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II” is everything the original “Prom Night” film wasn’t….entertaining, fun, and just an all around good time. Shades of “Nightmare on Elm Street” here and “Carrie” there do nothing to diminish the enjoyment of this guilty pleasure. This is one of my finest memories of watching Saturday Nightmares on USA Network. If “Prom Night II” was on, you knew that you were going to be having a good night. Throw in a bitchy girl played by Sailor Moon (yes, you read that right) and you have a pretty perfect supernatural slasher.

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80’s Slasher Throwback: “Humongous”

Slasher Studios*80's Slasher Throwback

Like all great horror movies, today’s overlooked 80’s slasher “Humongous” begins on a holiday. It is Labor Day weekend, 1946. Young, virginal Ida Parsons innocuously plays with her German Shepherds as her father hosts a raucous party inside their small island cabin. Amid the festivities, an older, drunken man named Tom Rice staggers outside and propositions Ida. When she refuses, he chases her into the woods and brutally rapes her; her dogs, hearing her muffled cries for help, break out of their pen and track her down in the woods, where they attack and fatally maul Ida’s rapist. As Tom lies dying, Ida beats him to death with a log.

The movie then picks up in present day (well…1982). Preppy brothers Eric and Nick are borrowing their father’s yacht to take their girlfriends, Sandy and Donna, on a weekend outing along with their sister, Carla. At the outset of the trip, Nick demonstrates his intent to be the “alpha male” of the trip, insisting that he be the one to pilot the yacht and at one point pulling a gun on Eric to demonstrate his authority. As the tensions rise between Nick and Eric, Donna and Carla engage in girl-talk, and geeky Carla silently laments that she is the sole member of the cruise who came along without a significant other.

That night, fog settles in; Eric and Nick, hearing cries out on the water, discover and rescue a shipwrecked fisherman named Bert. Bert informs them that he wrecked offshore Dog Island, the home of lumber baroness Ida Parsons, who has used her family fortune to hole herself up on the island for the past thirty-five years; now she only makes two annual voyages onto the mainland for necessary supplies, and has never spoken to anyone during these trips. Recovering from the onset of hypothermia, Bert tells the quintet a campfire story about the savagery of the wild dogs which roam Ida’s island, acting as her sentries. The story, coupled with the cries of wild animals coming from the nearby island, startle Nick enough that he runs on top of the yacht and tries to speed back to the mainland; instead, he wrecks it, damaging the fuel line and causing it to explode. Little do they know that once they get to the island, their problems have only begun.

“Humongous” is a fun, homage filled 80’s slasher that rips off a dozen other, better slasher films but still manages to be a lot of fun. Remember the scene at the end of “Friday the 13th Part 2” where Amy Steel pretends to be Jason’s mother? This film sure does as the exact scene is repeated here to lesser effect. That being said, the kills are fun and characters are a tad bit better developed than most of the other 80’s slashers out there. David Wallace is particular is quite strong as our lead twin Eric. Most of the time in 80’s slasher, guys are given nothing to do but not so here. He almost becomes the film girl by being smart, likable, and even given a chance to emote. Lead Janet Julian possesses similar qualities and has a lot of fun with her “last girl standing” appearance. This is a must watch for fans of the early 80’s slasher genre. I can’t say that everyone is going to enjoy the film as much as I did as the film is quite slow and repetitive at times. Nonetheless, it is one of the better examples from the under-appreciated genre.

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