Rockill

A Los Angeles metal band loses its vocalist after he goes mad in the studio. Two years later the new group is successful with a female singer (Donna Scoggins), but the specter of the former vocalist haunts them... literally. Could it be that he's still alive and their lives are in danger?

"Rocktober Blood" (1984) mixes horror and heavy metal in the mold of the great "Trick or Treat" (1986), the entertaining "Shock 'Em Dead" (1991) and the decent "Black Roses" (1988). It's not quite as good as those, but it's the first of its kind and definitely superior to Jon Mikl Thor's "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" (1987) (which has to be cut some slack since it only cost a paltry $53,000).

The opening 25 minutes and ending 25 minutes are quite entertaining for this type of flick, but the entire midsection - about 40 minutes - needed better writing/suspense to keep the viewer's interest. As it is, it's just boring stalking scenes in the woods or in a house with a phone ringing, not to mention the obligatory dig-up the grave sequence.

The singer of the band is actor Tray Loren, who looks like Mike Reno of Loverboy. He lip-syncs songs written by the real-life group Sorcery, the members of whom appear as drummer, bassist and two guitarists of the fictional band Headmistress. Sorcery can also be heard/seen in the 1978 flick "Stunt Rock," but I think their material for "Rocktober Blood" is superior to their older stuff, at least the songs "I'm Back" and "Killer on the Loose," which are top-of-the-line for this style of early 80's hard rock/metal.

The Pat Benatar-like Donna Scoggins is not only the protagonist, but also the focus of the camera in regards to feminine allure with the exception of her two aerobics work-out pals. She's a'right (and appears nude a couple of times), but IMHO she's easily the least appealing of the three.

While this isn't quite on the level of "Trick or Treat," "Shock 'Em Dead" or even "Black Roses," it's decent enough if you're in the mood for colorful early 80's slasher meshed with 80's metal. It's way superior to "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" and must be given props for being the first of its kind. Just persevere with the tedious midsection.

The movie runs about 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Hollywood and Lake Tahoe.

GRADE: B-

A true 80's slasher classic with all the trimmings. The over the top absurd kills (an iron held to the throat) with lots of nudity and even aerobics in leotards. It doesn't get any better than this.

If you watch the DVD version there is a part after the movie which shows how the director and his wife rescue Greyhounds now.

Filmmaking couple Ferd and Beverly Sebastian tap into the then-hot idea of combining heavy metal and horror, with fair results. Tray Loren stars as "Billy Eye" Harper, leader of a band who goes on an insane killing spree. The testimony of his lover / backup singer Lynn Starling (Donna Scoggins) helps get him convicted and executed. Two years later, she's now the leader of his band, and she believes that he's returned from the grave to kill all of his former associates. Naturally, nobody believes HER, thinking that it's time for her to return to psychiatric care.

"Rocktober Blood" has a good title, but it's basically adequate at best. Obviously done on a limited budget, it doesn't look or sound great. The acting is passable right across the board, although some of the sexy ladies do get undressed for the camera, and Loren does look like he's having fun as the psycho antagonist. Director Beverly builds up some okay atmosphere, but the pacing is overall on the plodding side, and this goes on longer than it really should. The theatricality of the band is generally amusing, and the gore is decent if not spectacular. The ending is not terribly satisfying.

On the plus side, the songs are actually pretty good. If you're a fan of the metal genre, you may catch yourself banging your head in appreciation.

This is not one I would recommend you go out of your way to see, but it yields okay entertainment for any slasher completist.

Six out of 10.

ROCKTOBER BLOOD, one of the myriad of glam metal horror flicks from the mid-to-late-'80s (BLACK ROSES, ROCK 'N' ROLL NIGHTMARE, HARD ROCK ZOMBIES, etc.), is possibly the worst out of all of them. It's a D-level slasher with only one saving grace: the rockin' soundtrack.

Basically, the set-up is the singer of a hair metal group goes nuts and kills some people (only two on-screen, but later on, they say 25??). He gets sent to the electric chair, and the singer's ex-girlfriend starts the band back up again. Only trouble is, the '80s-handsome singer is still out to get her... even though he's dead! The acting is painfully bad, especially the mumbling, uncharismatic killer character. 45 minutes in the middle consist only of a woman swearing Billy "Eye" is back from the dead and people telling her she's crazy. No other characters do anything the entire film, and the body count is surprisingly low. The first 70 minutes are honestly really hard to get through.

If you make it to the end, you're treated with a killer performance scene by Sorcery (better known for STUNT ROCK), some fun kills and some catchy hair metal tunes. But ten good minutes out of ninety is not enough, and I would recommend all but the biggest '80s metal/horror fans give this one a hard pass. Check out TRICK OR TREAT or ROCK 'N' ROLL NIGHTMARE to see this sub-genre done right.

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......