Rocktober Blood

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.

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.

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.

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.

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......