Grotesco

This has to be one of the most bizarre and stupidest movies I've ever seen, I mean what the hell were the filmmakers going for with this confusing mess (I suspect drugs were involved). The plot centres on a family and the daughter's friend taking a vacation at a cabin in the mountains where soon a gang of crazed punks breaks into their home and slaughters the entire family, except for one hell-bent on finding the supposed secret stash which turns out to be something more than they've bargained for.

On paper the movie might sound like an interesting concept with the director and writers not keeping the story within one horror subgenre as it starts as a home invasion flick, then morphs into a slasher movie and then it turns into a revenge flick towards the end. All of these elements might sound like it's a unique combination of styles, but in fact it's a muddled mess with these abrupt changes becoming more jarring than interesting.

Everything's just half-baked in this horrible mess of a movie, even the twist which in the hands of more capable filmmakers could have worked. Despite having several familiar faces in the cast such as Linda Blair whose charm couldn't save this mess, Donna Wilkes, Tab Hunter and Robert Z'Dar, each of them deserve far better than this. The overacting by the supposed punks isn't entertaining enough for me to sit through this ever again.

Overall 'Grotesque', well it's a fitting title as everything about this fits that title, but not in a good way.

I first saw this in 1990 on USA Network's "Saturday Nightmares" program block. I recently found my home recorded copy on VHS and decided to revisit it. Honestly... after all these years Grotesque is still a fun movie.

The premise/plot is crazy, the acting is over the top and the make up effects are crude.But hey...that's all part of the charm. As an avid punk rock enthusiast in the 80's this movie was a campy must see for my circle of friends. Granted it's more of a "made for TV" kind of vibe as opposed to say Repo Man, Return of the Living Dead, Dudes, Class of 1984 or heck even Valley Girl but it still fits. Grotesque is one of those flicks you put on when you get home after an evening of partying and hanging out with friends and just want to space out. My friends watched it for Linda Blair but personally, I always watched it for the actress that played "Shelly". Michelle Bensoussan was absolutely beautiful AND bad ass! Oh and it also featured featured Robert "Maniac Cop" Z'Dar!!!

Check it out if you get the chance otherwise...I guess you had to be there.

Grotesque (1988) is a truly weird slice of cheesy 80s horror that suffers from something of an identity crisis: the film doesn't adhere to a single sub-genre, but is a strange concoction of home invasion horror, monster movie, and revenge flick, all topped off with an absolutely insane double-twist ending. The result is far from what you would call brilliant film-making, but it is definitely loopy enough to provide an entertaining time for those who actively seek out B-movie strangeness.

Director Joe Tornatore quickly sets the unpredictable tone for his film, beginning with a film-within-a-film prologue, after which he introduces us to close friends Kate and Lisa (B-movie favourites Linda Blair and Donna Wilkes) who, while driving to visit Kate's parents at their remote mountain retreat, run into a spot of bother with a gang of punks (assorted rejects from Class of 1984 and Mad Max, whose number includes the unmistakable Robert Z'dar) before hastily making their escape.

During the night, however, the punks find their way to the house, break in, and slaughter the occupants, mistakenly believing there to be a fortune hidden somewhere in the property; what they find instead is hideously deformed man-child Patrick (Bob Apiza), the family secret, who understandably ain't too happy to see the uninvited guests. Angry Patrick goes on the rampage, tracking down and killing the punks one by one, but before he can take care of their leader Scratch (Brad Wilson) and his bitch Shelly (Michelle Bensoussan), the ugly oaf is shot dead by a posse who believe him to be the one responsible for all the dead folk back home.

At this point the film feels like it has reached a natural end, but it ain't over yet: Kate's Uncle Rod, a successful plastic surgeon, turns up on the scene and, after a spot of very dull and inefficient police procedure that allows Scratch and Shelly to walk free, decides to take the law into his own hands. This insane revenge finale, which packs a neat surprise, sees the film bouncing back in fine style, and then to cap it all, Tornatore tacks on a completely loopy ending featuring—believe it or not—Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman!!!

As you can probably tell, Grotesque is utterly bonkers trash from start to finish, but with its atrocious punks, some half decent violence (best bit: a punkette having her spine snapped against a tree), cool vengeful freak Patrick, unpredictable action, and a jaw-droppingly silly finale, it's just too much fun to ignore.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb (although it would have been a fully-fledged 7 or higher had Wilkes or Blair shown some skin!).

Hilarious looking over-the-top 'punkers' terrorize and kill an innocent family, only to be stalked by a vengeful deformed son who was being kept in a secret room of the house. Just when it seems that this film is rolling into its conclusion, Tab Hunter makes an out-of-nowhere entrance, marking the starting point of twenty more excruciating minutes. GROTESQUE, which to this point was merely somewhat painful, now crosses the "near-lethal" line.

Throwaway horror bunkum, and a sad example of how its once-promising star, Linda Blair, was somehow reduced to being a fixture in sub-B material.

3.5/10

My review was written in October 1988 after watching the movie on Media Home Entertainment video cassette.

Various low-budget filmmakers team up for the forgettable "Grotesque", a horror exercise aimed primarily at the video trade.

Awkward structure has Linda Blair fronting for the first few reels, driving home for a family reunion, accompanied by pal Donna Wilkes. Her dad Guy Stockwell is a super makeup effects expert, treated to a dose of gore when a gang of punkers (who've had a run-in with Blair on the road) invade the house and start killing everyone.

Blair escapes in the snow and is saved when an overgrown, slow-witted relative is set free from his secret room by the punkers and goes on the rampage. Cops led by Charles Dierkop (of tv's "Police Woman" series) believe the punkers' story blaming the relative for all the trouble.

Though surviving and hospitalized, Blair is written out of the film at this point, with Tab Hunter taking over the lead role as her plastic surgeon uncle. He takes he law into his own hands and predictably avenges his family's massacre by surgically mutilating the punkers' faces in yucky fashion.

Makeup effects here are unimpressive. Credits include many familiar names from indie pics, ranging from composer Bill Loose to "The Love Butcher" co-director Mikel Angel. Luana Patten, absent from the big screen for two decades, has a small role as a gothic old lady in an opening film-within-a-film segment.

Hunter attacks his unsympathetic role with some relish, but Blair, who previously toiled for helmer Joe Tornatore in reshoots on "Nightforce", has little to sink her teeth into.