The Backlot Murders

I found this film in a DVD bargain bin at a Walgreens of all places. Seeing that Priscilla Barnes was in it, I decided to give it a whirl...it was to be a decision I would regret for some time to come.

First, the good points. Barnes is EXCELLENT in an over-the-top performance. What made her characterization of Stephanie so appealing is that she was the only performer in the film to not take this mess seriously. It's obvious she's having fun, and that she knows what a stinker this film really is. I can't go into much detail on her role without giving the, uh, plot away so I'll move on.

This film plays out like a nightmare version of Baywatch. Big-breasted women and only moderately attractive fellows run around and scream. Okay, we've seen that before.

The funniest part, however, is in the doco included on the DVD where the director calls this a "thinking man's slasher film." Actually, the direction is just fine, he's just let down by his actors. I've enjoyed the director's other work and will not hesitate to see more of it...providing he is given a bigger budget for better talent. The idea was great, the sets amazing, but something just misses in the execution.

Good job Priscilla Barnes, shame on you everyone else.

I love low budget B horror movies ..this one takes the cake. Campy, predictable and funny. What more could you want in a B movie? You even had Elvis... I thought Nikki (Played by Playboy model Nancy O'Brien) was super hot. The scene when she took her red bra off was awesome..only to see her boyfriend get speared to death. When is the last time you saw a serial murderer kill someone with a spear?...awesome.

I saw this movie (because I want to see everything that LoriDawn Messuri does!) even though she was only in a small part of it. Well, she delivered a great performance as usual, actually one of the more believable performances in the film. She was a bit over dressed, however, but it was true to the character she was playing. *Snicker*

I think the concept of using the Universal Studios back lot was a cute & creative idea. So, chalk up one good idea to the writer. The dialog was lacking on the most part and was high on the cheese. Charles Fleisher was actually quite funny in this film... I imagine that he did a fair share of improv!

If you are in the mood for goofy, bloody fun... rent this one!

An up and coming rock band (one of its members is played by Corey Haim!) gets together on a back lot one night to shoot their first video. But somebody is stalking and killing off the cast and crew. Could it be the psycho band member they fired 6 months earlier?

This movie definetely has its moments--Priscilla Barnes is quite good and funny as a bitchy agent, there's a few good in jokes for horror fans (like me) and some of the murders are good and bloody. But that's about it.

Most of the murders are not shown or bloodless and dull; I wasn't scared once; the acting (except for Barnes) is horrible (Brian Gaskell is the worst offender--I don't care how cute he is!); there's sick, homophobic jokes; cheap, needless nudity and an endless stalking sequence at the end. Really not worth seeing.

If you do see it, there are some funny outtakes during the closing credits.

Call me crazy because I know my summary doesn't make any sense to you but it does to me.What I mean by this is the movie had awful acting,terrible dialog,no plot and stupid big breasted bimbos who were rather pretty.(Heaven forbid they cast a flat-chested ugly girl.)This is the kind of movie(for reasons unknown)I enjoy watching.The killers mask was rather original.This is one of those movies I do not recommend to everybody,just to people who enjoy watching cheesy cardboard characters running from a serial killer.This is solely amateur night.

P.s. Pricsilla Barnes acting was not very good,so don't watch it just because shes in it.