El motel del terror

Synopsis: What do you get when you put a boozing preacher, an out of work carpenter, a just hitched couple, a `record executive' and some cousins wanting to make their mark on Nashville and throw then into a secluded motel in the woods during a dark and stormy night that is run by an ex-mental patient. You get this film that's what. Evelyn has gone off the deep end one last time and we are going along for the ride.

Acting: The acting is not bad. But it isn't anything to write home about either. It pretty much runs straight down the line with as much pizzazz as the one dimensional characters could be. The cast is a bunch of amateurs so don't expect great things.

Direction / Writing: The direction is good. Not too much visual flare but has the occasional interesting light set up. The writing is a little bland but passable. The characters lack detail and definition and rely heavily on bugs and beasties for scares, so as a result no suspense is generated for their predicaments. Very by-the-numbers set them up for the kill characters.

Photography / Editing: The photography is of the dark and stormy type. I kept thinking of Identity (2003) because of similarities. It does get a little claustrophobic toward the end during the final battle but is straight-forward and even a bit stale. The editing is where the production could have picked up the slack of the other departments. But they didn't. They should have cut another ten minutes off this one so it doesn't drag as often as it does.

Cheesiness: The cheesiness factor could have helped this out quite a bit but the dialogue for this most part is cut and dried. Seeing that most of the cast had southern accents a little redneck humor could go a long way. The synth score does add a little atmosphere though.

Sex / Nudity: None to speak of. You see some bare backs and a little wet t-shirt action for the guys. And some jockey action and shirtless chest action for the ladies. No sex involved. That is unless you consider the snake bite scene sex.

Sleaze: No sleaze to report here. Which is pretty amazing for an early ‘80's slasher?

Overall / Parting Remarks: A by-the-numbers and rather uninteresting slasher with an interesting location but no suspense or scares. Corny dialogue would have help and some more interesting kills would have been nice. Overall the film is just plain bland.

Anna Chappell stars as the elderly Evelyn, who's let out of a mental hospital and starts running the Mountaintop Motel, a scuzzy string of run-down shacks out in the sticks that would have me sleeping in the nearest ditch. She snaps again and on a dark and stormy night kills people stranded at her hotel. Guests include a honeymooning couple, two reverends, a record executive and a pair of Barbara Mandrell clones who don't wear bras (a rainstorm and flimsy white shirts help to prove this).

Funny sounding cosmic music plays whenever Evelyn is up to something devious. She lurks around in underground catacombs spying on victims with her bulging eyes, hears her dead daughters voice, sneaks snakes, roaches and rats into rooms and hacks people up with a sickle. This is no PSYCHO, just a silly regional concoction from Louisiana with a few laughs and some blood. Larry Buchanan fans will recognize Bill Thurman as an alcoholic reverend.

Score: 4 out of 10

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs.

The old lady's face, her sadistic smile n the creepy music stayed with me for a long time.

Revisited recently.

The movie is a bit boring n the effects ain't good.

Apart from the creepy music n the old lady's facial expressions, the movie has oodles of atmosphere.

The isolated hotel, the woods n the constant rain, all add up but in the entire movie we never get to see any mountain.

Now lets talk bah the lol moments.

How conveniently the old woman comes up from the basement without Prissy noticing her inspite of being in front of the mirror.

How she was able to take the body down into the basement all by her self is beyond me.

Later she pulls the tall n heavy built Reverend.

The movie has one very brutal scene, a scythe piercing thru d cheeks.

The big built cop gets beaten by the old lady.

Now some irritating moments.

Lots of titillating scenes but not an ounce of nudity.

They shud have reversed Hitchcock's Psycho by making the mad lady keep the dead body of her daughter.

I feel Keanu Reeves' Knock Knock borrowed the element of two stranger gals n one man on a rainy nite stuff from this movie.

I also feel that John Cusack's Identify too borrowed from this movie.

Complete strangers coming together on a rainy nite in a motel n later getting killed off.

When I go to see a movie, I want to see a good one. This one is totally opposite this subject. Mountaintop Motel Massacre really sucks. It says on the case that it is approximately 94 minutes, well, this movie seems like it lasts for 5 hours. I kept on having to get off the couch and stop the movie. I agree with one reviewer who said in his or her review that the movie is only for people who get drunk. I own this movie and trust me, the next yard sale we have (which I hope is soon), I will sell this for a penny.

I hate this movie.Don't waste your money on it. Watch a horror movie like POLTERGEIST or THE EXORCIST. I'll say it once, I'll say it twice. This movie is crap!

There must have been hundreds of these things made in the early '80s.If you are familiar with this type of film and New World Pictures you almost know what to expect.

Typical "B" drive-in slasher film shot in the woods of Louisiana for about $5.27.Falls a bit short on the sleaze and gore you might expect such a film to have,but is still interesting enough to keep your attention.Although I found it watchable,it's just not that interesting.As a "B" film it has a cast and crew are a little too good to make fun of in a "so bad it's good" way.To me this takes away from the fun that can be had looking out for the mistakes that make low budget films so enjoyable.I love bad movies,and this one wasn't bad enough.It falls flat right between too bad to be good and too good to be bad.Recommended for lovers of drive-in cheeze,New World Picture fans,and folks who just can't get enough of the early "80s slashers only.

5/10 on the Drive-in-Freak-O-Meter