Death Screams

This is by no means a good horror flick, and one too many times teeters on being an incoherent, stupid mess. But it does have a few things that redeem it from being a total loss. The story focuses on a small town festival and a group of "teens" who want to hang out in the local cemetery and tell ghost stories to celebrate the last day of the town carnival??? You're guess is as good as mine. Anyhow, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess that a mysterious killer lurks in the shadow who is p****d about one thing or another and decides to take his frustrations out with a machete. Slow moving at first with some ridiculous death scenes--example: a girl at the local carnival gets viciously attacked and shot with a bow and arrow by the killer, but instead of running back to carnival or to anywhere where people are at, the dumb broad seeks refuge on an old merry-go-round where she is prime meat for the killer!! The redeeming qualities come at the end of the film when the group finally gathers at the old cemetery. From that point on, the murders happen very rapidly and are quite graphic. However, the every ending then becomes even more confusing as the killers identity is revealed with really no explanation of his motive. I also love how the sheriff shows up, sees the killer but has no idea that the guy really IS the killer, and just blows his head off for the hell of it?! But like I said, not a total waste..if you like machete murders, the last 20 minutes of the films should satisfy you. 4 out of 10.

This early 80's slasher effort should receive some kudos for being somewhat original. Unfortunately, it's not original in any way that makes it especially effective or good. The movie does a good job of establishing a bucolic small-town setting (perhaps, it's not a coincidence that the director is the grown-up David Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriet" fame). There is also a lot more character development than usual, but regrettably the characters are still the usual annoying teen stereotypes. The murders are few and far between until the very end when the bodies start to stack up in a hurry. They're pretty low-tech (they obviously couldn't afford Tom Savini), but they try to make up for by being bizarre. The first victims are strangled simultaneously somehow while having sex on a motorcycle. Their bodies are thrown in a river where, as a running joke, they are seen floating down at various points throughout the movie. Another victim wanders away from the town carnival and is struck by an arrow, but instead of screaming for help or anything, she staggers over to an abandoned carousel and sits down so the killer can (somehow) finish her off with a plastic bag.

The actors are all ridiculously over-aged considering they're supposedly high school students, but this is actually a good thing considering the male protagonist is a "coach" who apparently both parties with and dates his students (which they tend to frown on in real high schools). The goody-good female protagonist is played Susan Lynn Kiger, who had an interesting career going from hardcore porn to "Playboy" to more legitimate acting. While it is nice to see a young woman in Hollywood have the opposite of the usual career trajectory, Kiger's talents unfortunately were probably better suited to her earlier career choices. Kiger stays dressed, but there is some gratuitous nudity, of course, including the girl on the motorcycle, a girl who showers with her bra on (which quickly becomes so transparent you wonder why she bothered), and a pretty blonde girl who goes for a full-frontal skinny-dip (which ALMOST keeps you from contemplating the absurdity of why anyone would go skinny-dipping in a RIVER).

I don't want to imply this movie is in anyway good, but it sure is weird.

(** out of *****) The titular `house' only appears in the last ten minutes or so of this overly familiar, early-'80s horror flick. That detail aside, this movie isn't the worst of its kind (that would be "Hell High"), but it's also far from the best. If you can make it past the interminably long carnival scene -- with a group of young, vacuous girls and hunky, meat-head guys walking around making jokes and playing games -- you'll get a few so-so chills and thrills (and mostly off-screen machete murders) once the gang winds up in the cemetary to tell ghost stories (the lead heroine tells a lousy version of the classic urban legend about the girl who's home alone and thinks that's her dog under the bed licking her hand.) Other than a decapitated head or two, there's more nudity than gore, including an interesting, role-reversal shower scene in which a man is stalked in his apartment while taking a shower. There's some minor backplot and attempts at character development, but there are also gaping plot holes and a weak attempt to make the killer's identity a mystery (you should have no trouble figuring it out.) The film quality's pretty crummy, and the out-of-place, Sesame Street-sounding soundtrack is one of the worst I've ever heard.

HIGHLIGHT: Speaking of the soundtrack, if you do happen to run across this movie at the video store, go ahead and rent it solely for the opening credits sequence -- the music that plays over this sequence is so hysterically over the top that you will not believe it. Listening to this ludicrously epic music play over slow-motion scenes of dead bodies floating underwater was a surreal experience. I had to rewind it and watch it over three or four times. Seriously, some underground techno or indie-rock band needs to find this movie and sample the soundtrack. It blew me away. Of course, drinking helps.

This flick came out in the glory days of the slashers, David Nelson, the director, is not known for me and with this rare flick he surely won't become famous. It is already hard to find, it never had a proper release and went straight to video rental shops. So if you want a copy you will have to hunt down some video rentals in the US. Because it never came out in Europe. And then for some it's still a problem due the NTSC issue. Nevertheless, I go hunting sometimes in the US via the internet and bring them home into my collection. I'm happy that I have seen this flick. Indeed, there are some strange things going on. Just when the flick starts a couple is being killed while making love on a motorbike. Try to do that one! Once you have taken this they are thrown into a river, were they are floating and shown into the flick at several times without a reason. Of course David Nelson knew what to add to have a real slasher, nudity. And there's a bit of it in it, the first minute it's already bare naked breasts, there is even some full frontal nudity when one of the girls goes swimming in the noticed river...at night...without somebody watching...naked, guess what's coming next. Going back to the beginning, after the first killing the opening credits come on and man, you really have to hear the over the top score used while the dead bodies are shown in slow motion going under water. Further on, one of the girls is being put with her bra in the showers, but why does she has to wear them? They become wet after a few seconds showing everything...The first killings are so strange, one with an arrow but watch the girl go running to a merry-go-round. Unbelievable. It takes really an hour before the house of death is shown. Before that you will have to take a lot of talking especially at the fair. But watch the girls' clothes...so sexy and typical seventies even as it was made in the eighties. But it is the last 10 minutes that things really go wrong and decapitations happen, slashing, hanging and even a head is blown to pieces. A strange flick to watch for different reasons. for example, one of the actresses is Susan Kiger, Playmate to do a hardcore porno feature prior to posing for "Playboy": she appeared in the 1976 X-rated outing "Deadly Love" and subsequently became the Playmate of the Month in the January, 1977 issue of "Playboy." So some do hunt it down for that reason. Even as it has some boring moments you still keep watching.

"My God, why"?! "I don't know"?

The above exchange between two characters are the last few lines of dialogue in the film, which might explain how you could feel after watching this one.

One of the strangest and vaguest 1980's (although it looks more late 70s) low-budget slasher films I've ever witnessed. Not that there's anything surreal and to tell the truth it's a very run-of-the-mill fare. It's more got to do with how everything goes onto pan out. Nothing seems all that connected and scenes/actions are very random and plain loopy. At best very unconventional in its story threads.

After the obligatory opening death scene, the thirst three quarters slowly plays focal point to small town atmospherics, carnival traditions and teen dramas/fooling around. As if it was trying for character development and mystery building with its numerous characters. However the latter doesn't work with an incoherent script. Like it was trying for a "Halloween" vibe, especially in how it was shot and early on it has the killer slowly stalking his victims in the background. Their attempts in building suspense from those moments were lacking. While the music score sounding like a grandstand band was just overkill. There's one or two more death scenes sprinkled throughout to remind that you are watching a horror film. One of those needs to be seen, to be believed, because of how bizarre and stupidly it plays out.

But it really doesn't come into its own until the confined hysteria-laced backend, as the teens (although they do look much older) start partying; boozing, skinny-dipping, making out by a lake late at night then moving onto a cemetery to tell spooky stories. This is when the FX and dismemberment of the cast begins to occur. Sadly some of it happens off-screen, but there are unpleasant moments or two with mild, but charming low-rent make-up effects involving machete hacking and a head explosion. I just wished the carnival setting could have been put to better use.

We only get to see the killer's arm and machete throughout, until the final reveal. I don't think it's hard to guess the killer, but the motive behind it is told through a bogus flashback before meeting their demise. The sheriff character on the scene is a lot more switched on then you would expect... although he sure does take his time on this particular investigation and stumble across many things. Although he does show he's a shoot first, ask questions later guy. You know playing it safe, as if he's watched too many horror films. I thought the cast was acceptable for such an outing. Susan Kiger made an agreeable heroine of sorts and Susan Kiger added some life with her floozy character.

"Death Screams" aka "The House of Death" is an oddball, if at the same time unimaginative rough-around-the-edges slasher.