El fantasma del rock

Man,oh man did we (a friend and I) strike gold with this piece of cinematic treasure! A plot analysis (lol): Billy the rockstar decides making bad metal songs aren't enough so he kills off most of his friends, save his girlfriend who manages to escape (something I am glad I did not try to do from this film). She gets poor Billy executed for the crime and starts over.. as the new front woman of his terrible band! Of course, Billy boy returns from beyond the grave to kill again and laugh a bunch of times in a very ridiculous manner. Is there more to this than meets the eye? I don't remember-I was laughing to hard. This is definitely a movie you need to take a few alcoholic beverages in with a few friends before hand to fully enjoy, but make no mistake about it, enjoy it you will!!!

My review was written in October 1986 after watching the film on Vestron video cassette.

"Rocktober Blood" is a 1984 horror picture, now available in home video stores, that fits into the unsuccessful genre of films that tried to combine this genre with rock music (e.g., "Terror on Tour", "Blood Tracks").

Tray Loren portrays Billy Eye, a rock star in the KISS vein, who goes on a bloody rampage one night at the recording studio and is executed for his murderous crimes. Two years later, his protege Lynn (Donna Scoggins), who testified against him in the muder case, is a successful rock star with the group Rocktober Blood. She is terrorized repeatedly by a mysterious figure who she thinks is Billy Eye back from the grave. Mystery is resolved on stage at the climax of the group's' tour.

Pic is standard slasher fare, with a diverting music track, the usual flow of blood and little in the way of originality. Made by the filmmaking team of Ferd and Beverly Sebastian, "Rocktober" has Beverly taking a solo directing credit, which they usually share.

This film has one good thing about it, the rock band Sorcery did the sound track and appears at the end of the flick.

The movie is filled with plot holes and not easy to follow. The acting leaves alot to the imagination as far as talent goes. The best part of the picture is the music, played, in part

by the rock band "Sorcery". Released as a lp back in 1984. Now, the soundtrack is a collectors item!! It's almost impossible to find anywhere. I recently saw an ROCKTOBER BLOOD lp(not vhs) available on e-bay that went for$89!!! Great music, movie ok......

At the movie's best scene the killer is stabbing dancing girls on stage with a sword/mic stand. He even cuts off a girl's head and throws it into the crowd! Unfortunately this action comes after a lot of dull and not scary stalking. The most unexciting and unoriginal moments include a series of phone calls with no one on the line and the obligatory digging up the killer's grave in the night to see if he lives.

The rock music is great and full songs are played several times. If the viewer does not go for power metal or 80's rock videos, they may not be wild about this flick. In a creative scene, the hero is chased by an unseen menace while metal music is played backwards on the soundtrack.

A great movie for metal fans with patience for mediocre horror.