Evil Laugh

An on-the-cheap, shot-on-video and quickly made 80s slasher that's enthusiastically pitched and made the more interesting for being made by Dominick Brasica (which Friday the 13th fans would pick up as being the memorable first death in "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning") in what feels like a labour of love. It might not be ranking up their with the best the 80s had to offer and could be seen as just another slasher, but the quirky "Evil Laugh" had its moments. Even some creativity, as some elements actually reminded of Wes Craven's 90s slasher "Scream". Plenty of self-knowing quips feed the shonky script (mainly from a horror-buff character) and there's a plethora of references to other horror mediums (horror magazine Fangoira to "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"). The story is simple, as it builds up the standard conventions and its over-the-top macabre (which includes some dancing while cleaning and jittery music score) where a group of young medical students decide help out a friend re-open an abandoned orphanage, although they don't know of its terrible past which saw ten years ago the custodian murder the residents. But this weekend is not going to be any ordinary weekend, as people start disappearing and find themselves at the mercy of a jump suit wearing killer with a mask and beanie. Yeah, sadly the murderer doesn't live up the illustration on the artwork and naturally the heroine points out the horror fan for being the murderer. The execution does match the budget, as it's a slapdash of blood, nudity and humour. Sometimes things would happen off-screen, but other times we get flashes of tatty gore. The random performances are acceptable with Kim McKamy making a solid heroine and a decent Steven Baio (who also produced and co-wrote). Nothing new, but it's full of spontaneous energy.

"No legend is going to scare me".

Evil Laugh isn't particularly original or special but it's entertaining enough for a slasher film and has some decent death scenes. I think the lack of originality was what spoilt it for me, it's the same old routine of having a bunch of people in a house where they get killed off one by one. There's some amusing moments though, one example being at the beginning of the film when the killer takes out a mans heart, which later gets used in a meal that his friends eat. There also seems to be a bit of slasher film 'self referencing' going on too, with mentions of Halloween and Friday the Thirteenth. Some slasher fans like that sort of thing, but personally I think it brings the film down as it seems too self-conscious.

Overall a good addition to any slasher fans collection, but there's still much better out there.

There are three types of bad movies: (a) the ones that are so bad they're boring, (b) the ones that are intentionally bad in order to be funny, and (c) the ones that are so bad they are hilarious. No one wants to watch the first one. The second type has no value since the only reason for watching a bad movie is to laugh at its "badness" and if they do it on purpose, what is the point? So, it leaves us with the third type. If you enjoy this third type of bad movie, you will love Evil Laugh. I've seen a lot of unintentionally hilarious movies, and this is one of the best, right up there with Gymkata. The plot is as follows: a bunch of friends meet at a dirty old house. People start getting killed by a masked person with an evil laugh (just wait until you hear the laugh). My favorite scene: the killer drags a guys head into a microwave, but can't close it since it's still attached to the body. So he pushes start, and magically the microwave starts working, which is followed by the requisite head explosion. Oh, and then there is the Breakfast Club-like cleaning scene to cheesy 80's music. See this movie! If you go the video store, I can pretty much guarantee that no one else has checked it out.

Yeah, it's dreadfully bad, but in it's infinite badness is an enjoyable film, which one can watch with friends on a friday night and laugh your ass off. The dialogue is ridiculous, the acting is horrible, the death scenes are hilarious (one guys gets his head cooked in a microwave) and everything else is just lazy. I can't think of a funnier movie.

this movie is not the greatest horror film, but if you are in a 80's retro feel, evil laugh is for you. one thing that is positive, that the efforts of director and producer demonstrated that the 80's was not bad for independent movies in America. Steven and Dominick have great insightful commentaries on the DVD release of this flick.

they often commented about how easy it was to collaborate and seek sponsor from their families and businesses. they even talked about giving McDonald's breakfast to their crew! and always they got a small percentage, and thy traveled with the film in japan and the USA.

Dominick kept on ranking how this film was revolutionary, before Wes craven's scream movies. there is a character who is a horror film buff!