Sweet Sixteen

This was not generally a well-regarded slasher movie back in the 80's since it did not contain a lot of graphic violence or gruesome Tom Savini-type special effects. It is more of a murder mystery. And though the identity of the murderer is pretty obvious, it is nevertheless pretty effective. It has a great small-town setting (whereas most other slashers were set in suburbia) and an effective atmosphere. Parts of it are quite masterful like a scene near the end (prominently featured in all the promotional artwork) where the central girl and a male admirer go skinny-dipping at night in a lake lit only by a single cross-shaped key light. (It's unfortunate that most slasher movie fans are such gore-hounds that they don't appreciate the more subtle elements of horror movies like cinematography, setting, and atmosphere). The story is also a pretty different in that all the victims in this movie are young MALES rather than promiscuous young females. And they all meet a sticky end because they're sniffing around the new girl in town, played by Aleisha Shirley (but then it's kind of hard to blame them).

The adults in town are played by such stalwart character actors as Bo Hopkins (as the town sheriff) and Susan Strasberg (as the mother of the new girl). Dana Kimmel from "Friday the 13th Part III" plays the sheriff's daughter who befriends the new girl and eventually solves the mystery. For a long time Kimmel, a devout Mormon, was blamed for "Friday the 13th Part III" being so tame compared to the rest of the series (as if they couldn't have just replaced her with another actress). Fortunately, this ridiculous rumor has been discredited by several recent books on the "Friday the 13th" movies. Mormon or not, she's definitely good in these virginal "final girl" roles. Aleisha Shirley was not as good of an actress as Kimmel, but she was certainly effective in teen femme fatale roles (she also appeared in the pilot episode of the HBO series "The Hitchhiker" as a teenager who seduces her mother's boyfriend). She actually looks a lot more like "sweet 20-something" than "sweet 16" in this movie, but her frequent nude scenes allow the movie to make up in skin what it lacks in gore.

I'm kind of surprised they haven't re-made this, although I read about a movie in Gorezone magazine called "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" that seems to have a very similar plot (for some reason though it hasn't been released in the US yet, despite the presence of a currently hot actress, Amanda Heard, in the lead role). Oh well, the "original" is available on DVD now, so check it out if you get a chance

This is not a popular title, but I find it an interesting thriller-mystery. I don't know the cast, but I liked them all decently. It is a murder mystery that takes place in a small town where a sheriff investigates the recent brutal knife attacks with all the possibility angle. All the victims were teenage boys, who are associated with the new girl in the town. Definitely you will begin to predict the suspect, that much the film evolves a bridge between you and the contents.

It was a great story, I was stunned for its underrated status and for going unnoticed, but then it ended very cheaply. To me the conclusion ruined the rhythm, otherwise the rest of the film was amazing and worth a watch. I hope somebody would remake it with some changes, especially in the final act and its twist. Overall surely it was a fine film, a mix of the teen theme and the cop story, obviously excluding the bad ending.

6/10

Sweet Sixteen is a 1983 American slasher film directed by Jim Sotos and starring Bo Hopkins, Susan Strasberg, Dana Kimmell, and Patrick Macnee.

Melissa Morgan is new in town and meets Hank Burke and Johnny Franklin outside of a bar. Johnny winds up murdered the same night and murder and mystery seem to follow Melissa everywhere she goes.

This is a largely obscure and forgotten 80s slasher movie. Being a big fan of slasher movies myself, especially 80s. I knew I would get something out of the film. The film however is rather slow and meandering as a whole, the lead actress is especially uninteresting and doesn't bring much to the film in terms of charm or humour. I never found myself being especially involved in the plot of the film or how it ended, I enjoyed the film for what it was and I love the 80s aesthetic in general. It's worth a watch if you're into the genre, but otherwise you can take it or leave it.

A dynamite cast gives this minor thriller some real class. The story progresses in a logical manner as sheriff Bo Hopkins tries to figure out some very perplexing stabbing murders. Don Stroud plays the town heavy and Indian hater. Several "red herrings" are floated by the audience, any one of which would have proved more logical than the "out of thin air" ending. The ad lib conclusion is ridiculous and not believable. "Code Red" has done a good job quality wise with the DVD. Having an interview with Bo Hopkins on the extra features is another plus. I just wish someone had ditched that awful, confusing, and unsatisfying ending. - MERK

I won't post a long and detailed review of the movie, because it is a great little horror mystery film and there are several positive reviews already posted that said it better than i probably could have.

An interesting note is that this movie is actually on DVD in a couple of obscure "bargain boxsets". They are from BCI Eclipse, who release a lot of 10-Packs of old generic movies for a bargain price. The name of the boxsets are "Student Bodies" which is a 4-Pack, and also in a 10-Pack boxset called "Toga Party". The odd thing is the description on the boxes for these sets is wrong about the movie, it lists it as being some party movie...but it is not! It is indeed Sweet 16 from 1981 on DVD! The quality is pretty good for DVD too.