Party Line

Leif Garrett stars as a crazed serial killer who kills men that his sister lures back to there home through a party line. Sometimes entertaining mystery/horror film with an intriguing premise, is ruined because of slack direction and a sleazy script not to mention a bad ending. The cast tries its best. Rated R; Violence, Sexual Situations, Nudity, and Profanity.

Thats what this movie really takes. A big piece of cheeze. This movie is about a sister and brother Bonnie and Clyde type of duo that creates their own party line in order to lure their victims in and trap them and kill them. But for what reason? Just for the fun of getting away with it? In comes Richard Hatch who comes across as a wishy washy ladies man. A real BAD version of a ladies man. And he gets involved with finding who's behind all the killings across LA. He finally meets a teenager who helps him find the killer and rest is for your fun and amusement. But there are parts in this film that really get me going like the scene with Lief Garret dressed in his mothers wedding gown acting like a sissy in front of his sister telling her that he needs her and can't live without her and watching as she slaps him across the face dominateing him. I can't believe that was Lief!!! Well, I guess I could. But it's worth watching but only to see one of Garrets worst films that he ever did.

I watched this movie this past week. I picked it out of a line up of "old horror/ thriller movies." I wanted a good laugh, so I picked this up, along with "Fade to Black" and "The Slumber Party Massacre Number 2." Boy was I in for a surprise. The plot was too extreme to even be believable. (Why would a brother even want to take part in sexual escapades with his biological sister?)

I have to admit that some of the scenes were pretty funny in slow motion, i.e. when the babysitter's employer dropped the babysitter off, and the babysitter slapped the employer in the face- the face he made, was too funny for words. A must see. Leif Garrett must have been desperate for work. However, the film makers were even more desperate to have this film released. And I mean, "film makers." If you want to call them that.

Rating by TaxiDr: 2 1/2 for laughter, and 1 for taking a chance in the movie industry.

Party Line has the weirdest killer couple I've ever seen. They're pathetic brother (Garrett so funny here, and we even see him get to wear a dress) and hot sexy sister (Weatherly) who lures her victims in through a sex hotline. The men, or any man would go crazy for this bit of trim, make out with her and we leave it up to good old Leif, mentally controlled by the sister, to do the killing. Hot on an obsessed tail with another case, cop, Hatch (Ghettoblaster) is teamed up to his disliking, with a woman on this new case, that killer hotline involved. As with these macho cop characters, here's just another one, a rule breaker, who thinks he has style, low key actor, Hatch, so cool in this. In spite of other negative reviews, this movie is a lot of fun, and plays out as not a bad quality b thriller, and Leif and our sultry hot Shawn who may'be love each other a bit too much, are just priceless. A chubby and cute babysitter, an intended victim, helps out our two cops, after the last male victim was an acquaintance of the babysitter, in more ways in one, as trying to come on to this cute girl, sexually. The middle aged guy, should of known better,in both case. One film, worth a watch (don't believe the bad hype) I found, in a quite surprisingly, if quizzical, bad light.

A strange case, this movie. It's at its best when it explores the perverse (past and present) family ties that bind Leif Garrett and Greta Blackburn (and she's has a powerful, sexy presence). But the script keeps intercutting their story with that of a misfit cop (a real Dirty Harry wannabe) and an ambitious female assistant DA who are searching for the killer that is slashing his/her victims' throats with a razor. As you have probably already guessed, the film has too much plot, too many supporting characters (what's Richard Roundtree doing here?) and too many plot coincidences. You could do a lot worse, though. (**)