Destroyer

For some reason every slasher from the late 80s has to have a quirky, wise-cracking killer, even though a mindless killing machine is usually a whole lot scarier. Our Freddie Krueger rip-off du jour (played by steroid-enhanced NFL star Lyle Alzado) ends every sentence with "bitch", laughs maniacally at his own non-jokes ("I just want to talk you...hahahahaha", did he forget the punchline?) and worst of all is on screen far too long. That whole trope with the villain trying to be funny works when there's actually some decent writing involved and the finale doesn't last forever ("Scream" would be an obvious example of doing it right). In this one the killer plays cat and mouse with the final girl for almost half an hour, the pacing of this movie is very weird. You have a very slow build-up, a somehow even slower third act, and somewhere in between everybody dies (mostly off-screen at that) in a span of ten minutes or so. There's one scene though that almost redeems the film, not too surprisingly it's the one scene that has an on-screen kill. It's the only scene that really warrants the coveted so bad it's good label, and I was hoping to see more of that. Unfortunately, the rest is just stale and generic.

My review was written in October 1988 after watching the movie on Virgin Vision video cassette.

"Destroyer", previously titled "Shadow of Death", combines two recent horror genres to tiresome effect and very little in the way of novelty.

Former football star Lyle Alzado is well-cast as a man-mountain convict on death row for murdering 24 people. Odd touch in the electric chair opening scene has a prison filled with tv monitors showing a gameshow while Alzado fries.

Not surprisingly, alzado is not so easily dispensed with, coming back to kill folks one by one when a locationing ifl crew lenses at the prison for a women-in-stir epic some 18 months after a riot closed down the facility.

This combo of suc recent fright pic's premises as "Prison" and "Return to Horror High" provides few thrills as Alzado digs peeping at the filming of the requisite shower scene for "Death House Dolls", but is busier offing the cast in gory fashion. Anthony Perkins, Clayton Rohner and Deborah Foreman as the film-within-a-film's director, screenwriter and stuntwoman respectively, have perfunctory assignments.

Just prior to a disappointing, inconclusive ending, pic reaches its nadir of silliness when a burned-up and blown-up Alzado confronts Foreman one more time and calmly pulls off what's left of his ear and eats it. This may have been intended as a horror movie gross-out effect, but it comes off as macho posturing carried to the extreme.

Destroyer is a prime piece of forgettable 80's horror schlock. Lyle Alzado (YES!) stars as a brutal inmate who somehow survives his execution, Shocker style, and mysteriously disappears. Soon after, the prison closes and a while later, the place becomes the shooting location for a women-in-prison (WIP) film, directed by none other than a lively Anthony Perkins. (Yes, they do shoot a shower scene.) Of course, slasher horror hilarity ensues. Yeah, I knew what I was getting into…the cover shows a buff, gleaming Alzado holding a big jackhammer with a mounted scope! Memorable line: "Could you hang on a second, Officer Callahan? I gotta peepee."

'Destroyer' is a late 1980's prison slasher that features a solid cast, some cool kills and a fantastic setting, but suffers from poor pacing and a weak climax. The movie is well-shot with decent production values and some impressive camera work. The combinations of both action and horror elements was a fun idea, but neither of these elements were explored enough to make this more enjoyable.

The plot begins with prisoner Ivan Moser (Lyle Alzado) whose about to be executed for the murder and rape of 23 victims, he avoids death due to a freak accident when a prison riot breaks out and he seemingly disappears presumed dead. 18 months later a film crew uses the prison location to shoot an exploitation flick, until one by one they meet a grisly end.

The movie has first glance has all the makings for a great slasher flick and while there some fun moments to be had such as the awesome effects, cheesy yet entertaining set pieces and interesting characters, but the movie squanders a lot of its potential by lacking any real atmosphere and could have done with a tighter script and the sluggish pace. Plus there was way too many off-screen kills and no attempt at any real suspense despite having an awesome killer, but even he wasn't developed in the slightest.

The cast is what saves this from being a total misfire, Anthony Perkins lends some credibility to this flick as the sleazy director, he's fantastic in the role and steals every scene he's in. Deborah Foreman makes for a reliable final girl and a strong leading lady. Clayton Rohner is also decent as the boyfriend and very charismatic, then Lyle Alzado is fun as hell as the killer, he's got the hulking physical presence and chews every scene he's in with such delight.

Overall 'Destroyer' is not terrible by any means, it has some fun moments, but it is a little lacklustre in its execution (pardon the pun).

This movie is worth watching (and buying) for one reason: Lyle Alzado!! Of course he plays a maniacal killer-who would expect otherwise? One of his best lines: Girl about to be killed-"Why?" Alzado (with a confused, quizzical look)-"Why not?" Another great scene is when Alzado clothes-lines the guy off his motorcycle, smashing the windscreen for effect! Classic! OK it's not fine cinema, but it is entertaining and interesting if you are an Oakland Raiders fan. Compare to John Matuszak in North Dallas Forty, Caveman, and Weird Science. Too bad those two never worked together on film, they could've provided some over-the-top bad guy scenes in plenty of B action flicks.