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There's a lot of charm in House of Death (or Death Screams depending on which version you watch). The film feels like a homespun passion project where all local community theatre performers and fame struck locals came out and had a good time trying to make a movie. Charm will only go so far and, while House of Death excels in creating a believable and quaint small town atmosphere, it fails at supplying any memorable chills. Some of the death scenes are inspired such as a moment where a young woman is attacked on a deserted merry go round or when another unfortunate soul is sliced in half after falling through a rotten staircase, but the killer's big reveal happens so quickly and is lit so dark that you'll have to rewind to figure out who they were.

"My God, why"?! "I don't know"?

The above exchange between two characters are the last few lines of dialogue in the film, which might explain how you could feel after watching this one.

One of the strangest and vaguest 1980's (although it looks more late 70s) low-budget slasher films I've ever witnessed. Not that there's anything surreal and to tell the truth it's a very run-of-the-mill fare. It's more got to do with how everything goes onto pan out. Nothing seems all that connected and scenes/actions are very random and plain loopy. At best very unconventional in its story threads.

After the obligatory opening death scene, the thirst three quarters slowly plays focal point to small town atmospherics, carnival traditions and teen dramas/fooling around. As if it was trying for character development and mystery building with its numerous characters. However the latter doesn't work with an incoherent script. Like it was trying for a "Halloween" vibe, especially in how it was shot and early on it has the killer slowly stalking his victims in the background. Their attempts in building suspense from those moments were lacking. While the music score sounding like a grandstand band was just overkill. There's one or two more death scenes sprinkled throughout to remind that you are watching a horror film. One of those needs to be seen, to be believed, because of how bizarre and stupidly it plays out.

But it really doesn't come into its own until the confined hysteria-laced backend, as the teens (although they do look much older) start partying; boozing, skinny-dipping, making out by a lake late at night then moving onto a cemetery to tell spooky stories. This is when the FX and dismemberment of the cast begins to occur. Sadly some of it happens off-screen, but there are unpleasant moments or two with mild, but charming low-rent make-up effects involving machete hacking and a head explosion. I just wished the carnival setting could have been put to better use.

We only get to see the killer's arm and machete throughout, until the final reveal. I don't think it's hard to guess the killer, but the motive behind it is told through a bogus flashback before meeting their demise. The sheriff character on the scene is a lot more switched on then you would expect... although he sure does take his time on this particular investigation and stumble across many things. Although he does show he's a shoot first, ask questions later guy. You know playing it safe, as if he's watched too many horror films. I thought the cast was acceptable for such an outing. Susan Kiger made an agreeable heroine of sorts and Susan Kiger added some life with her floozy character.

"Death Screams" aka "The House of Death" is an oddball, if at the same time unimaginative rough-around-the-edges slasher.

This early 80's slasher effort should receive some kudos for being somewhat original. Unfortunately, it's not original in any way that makes it especially effective or good. The movie does a good job of establishing a bucolic small-town setting (perhaps, it's not a coincidence that the director is the grown-up David Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriet" fame). There is also a lot more character development than usual, but regrettably the characters are still the usual annoying teen stereotypes. The murders are few and far between until the very end when the bodies start to stack up in a hurry. They're pretty low-tech (they obviously couldn't afford Tom Savini), but they try to make up for by being bizarre. The first victims are strangled simultaneously somehow while having sex on a motorcycle. Their bodies are thrown in a river where, as a running joke, they are seen floating down at various points throughout the movie. Another victim wanders away from the town carnival and is struck by an arrow, but instead of screaming for help or anything, she staggers over to an abandoned carousel and sits down so the killer can (somehow) finish her off with a plastic bag.

The actors are all ridiculously over-aged considering they're supposedly high school students, but this is actually a good thing considering the male protagonist is a "coach" who apparently both parties with and dates his students (which they tend to frown on in real high schools). The goody-good female protagonist is played Susan Lynn Kiger, who had an interesting career going from hardcore porn to "Playboy" to more legitimate acting. While it is nice to see a young woman in Hollywood have the opposite of the usual career trajectory, Kiger's talents unfortunately were probably better suited to her earlier career choices. Kiger stays dressed, but there is some gratuitous nudity, of course, including the girl on the motorcycle, a girl who showers with her bra on (which quickly becomes so transparent you wonder why she bothered), and a pretty blonde girl who goes for a full-frontal skinny-dip (which ALMOST keeps you from contemplating the absurdity of why anyone would go skinny-dipping in a RIVER).

I don't want to imply this movie is in anyway good, but it sure is weird.

Just when you think you struggled yourself through all the lousiest and most pointless slasher the 80's decade had to offer, you allow yourself to be fooled by yet another one. One that may even be lousier than all the others. "House of Death" is a totally sordid and fatigue effort, and the worst thing of all involves having to acknowledge that the whole premise actually had potential and a handful of sequences were even marvelously staged. The opening sequence, for example, is close to genius as it seems to be a clichéd situation but turns out surprising and original. It's almost depressing to watch a movie that never at one point succeeds in surpassing the quality level of its very own prologue. We're in a random little American town, inhabited with stereotypical teenager and dumb overweight redneck coppers, and there's a vicious killer at large. The only problem is that nobody seems to care about the menace of any killer. Teen boys and girls vanish without a trace, but the whole town is too busy attending the annual carnival or trying to score with the hot new coach of the junior baseball team. But why should they care about a killer, honestly? The script never once reveals any clues regarding his/her identity, let alone hint at his/her motivations for prowling around town with a machete. There's zero tension throughout the entire movie, the lamentable attempts to insert comedy elements fail miserably and all the characters are uninteresting and empty-headed losers. One notable exception, though, is one of the teenagers' grandmother. Granny hates everything in town and makes cynic remarks about everyone who approaches her or her granddaughter. Too bad even granny can't save "House of Death" from complete boredom and irredeemable stupidity. The last 15 minutes are good, stuffed with gory massacres and explicit make-up effects, but it's too late by then. Besides, why the hell is it called "House of Death"? Did you see a house? I sure didn't.

This flick came out in the glory days of the slashers, David Nelson, the director, is not known for me and with this rare flick he surely won't become famous. It is already hard to find, it never had a proper release and went straight to video rental shops. So if you want a copy you will have to hunt down some video rentals in the US. Because it never came out in Europe. And then for some it's still a problem due the NTSC issue. Nevertheless, I go hunting sometimes in the US via the internet and bring them home into my collection. I'm happy that I have seen this flick. Indeed, there are some strange things going on. Just when the flick starts a couple is being killed while making love on a motorbike. Try to do that one! Once you have taken this they are thrown into a river, were they are floating and shown into the flick at several times without a reason. Of course David Nelson knew what to add to have a real slasher, nudity. And there's a bit of it in it, the first minute it's already bare naked breasts, there is even some full frontal nudity when one of the girls goes swimming in the noticed river...at night...without somebody watching...naked, guess what's coming next. Going back to the beginning, after the first killing the opening credits come on and man, you really have to hear the over the top score used while the dead bodies are shown in slow motion going under water. Further on, one of the girls is being put with her bra in the showers, but why does she has to wear them? They become wet after a few seconds showing everything...The first killings are so strange, one with an arrow but watch the girl go running to a merry-go-round. Unbelievable. It takes really an hour before the house of death is shown. Before that you will have to take a lot of talking especially at the fair. But watch the girls' clothes...so sexy and typical seventies even as it was made in the eighties. But it is the last 10 minutes that things really go wrong and decapitations happen, slashing, hanging and even a head is blown to pieces. A strange flick to watch for different reasons. for example, one of the actresses is Susan Kiger, Playmate to do a hardcore porno feature prior to posing for "Playboy": she appeared in the 1976 X-rated outing "Deadly Love" and subsequently became the Playmate of the Month in the January, 1977 issue of "Playboy." So some do hunt it down for that reason. Even as it has some boring moments you still keep watching.

Did every film studio limit their output to just slashers in the early '80s? There are so many of them. Just when I think I've seen them all, I find another one I've never heard of. Still, it's not hard to see why Death Screams flew under my radar for so long: it's formulaic stuff that never tries to do anything out of the ordinary, from it's clichéd group of characters (obnoxious joker, nympho, goody-two-shoes final girl, town simpleton, fat bumbling sheriff) to its rain-lashed finalé in a rundown house by a cemetery.

The film opens with a pre-credits double murder of a young couple, but it's too dark to see what happens to them, director David Nelson seemingly more preoccupied with getting in the first shot of a topless girl than delivering an effective fright. Certainly, for much of the time, Nelson appears to be more intent on delivering gratuitous T&A than he does horror, focusing on the twenty-something victims-to-be as they go about their daily business--smoking weed, showering, chatting up the local baseball coach, making out etc...

All of the girls are attractive and several wear skimpy outfits, with buxom town tramp Ramona (Jennifer Chase) looking great in a bikini top and hot blonde Kathy (Andrea Savio) sporting short shorts. In a rare spot of gender-reversal, it is Coach Marshall (Martin Tucker) who takes the customary slasher shower, baring his butt, but he does manage to give randy Ramona a soaking in the process. The only other killing amidst all of this titillation is a girl shot with an arrow and suffocated with a plastic bag, a scene more notable for its silliness than scariness (instead of seeking help, the injured girl takes time-out on a merry-go-round).

As the film approaches its final act, sexy blonde Sandy (Jody Kay) goes skinny dipping (cue full frontal nudity) and winds up dead, and from this point Nelson ramps up the violence, eventually bumping off most of the characters in the space of a few minutes (including double decapitation and a girl torn in half). But while the sheer number of kills in a short space of time is admirable, the gore is extremely basic for the most part, and not very satisfying (the severed hands scene is hilarious). The best effect is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it bullet to the head (resulting in the face exploding) as the useless sheriff empties his handgun into the already dead killer (who had fallen out of a window while attacking good girl Lily, played by Playboy playmate Susan Kiger). Exactly what the psycho's motive was remains unclear: possibly something to do with being mentally scarred by his mother, who may have been a stripper. I really don't know. Or care.

This is by no means a good horror flick, and one too many times teeters on being an incoherent, stupid mess. But it does have a few things that redeem it from being a total loss. The story focuses on a small town festival and a group of "teens" who want to hang out in the local cemetery and tell ghost stories to celebrate the last day of the town carnival??? You're guess is as good as mine. Anyhow, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess that a mysterious killer lurks in the shadow who is p****d about one thing or another and decides to take his frustrations out with a machete. Slow moving at first with some ridiculous death scenes--example: a girl at the local carnival gets viciously attacked and shot with a bow and arrow by the killer, but instead of running back to carnival or to anywhere where people are at, the dumb broad seeks refuge on an old merry-go-round where she is prime meat for the killer!! The redeeming qualities come at the end of the film when the group finally gathers at the old cemetery. From that point on, the murders happen very rapidly and are quite graphic. However, the every ending then becomes even more confusing as the killers identity is revealed with really no explanation of his motive. I also love how the sheriff shows up, sees the killer but has no idea that the guy really IS the killer, and just blows his head off for the hell of it?! But like I said, not a total waste..if you like machete murders, the last 20 minutes of the films should satisfy you. 4 out of 10.

And I LOVED it! The other comments on this movie are ridiculous. Just by looking at the box you can tell what you are getting. A bad 80's horror flick with even worse acting and plot. One of my personal favorite types of film. Former Playboy Playmate Susan Kiger was the star...you can't expect a big budget thrill knowing that :-P I gave it 8 stars for high 80's horror camp at it's best.

House of Death gets by with a lot of regional charm and a few decent death scenes. There's not much of a plot to speak of besides a bunch of people are terrorized by a serial killer in the south who's killing without much rhyme or reason.

Since this has never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray, it's fairly dark and hard to tell what's going on most of the time, but there are a few daytime death scenes, which is a rarity among horror films. None of the characters have a lot of meat on their bones, but the special effects work is solid.

It's just a shame that most of the death scenes take place within a 5 minute span towards the end of the movie. It deprives the film of a lot of potential suspense and makes sure that the film is a bit too front loaded with not much going on until the end.

Despite the mysterious disappearance of a teen couple, Ted and Angie at the riverside in north California a group of the nearby-town teenagers goes having ghost story in the local cemetery. However the unnaturally sudden rain forces them to movie into an old wooden house in the cemetery. Then the not-well-motivated murderer begins to kill them one by one, and the cemetery becomes their own... I think the only one uniqueness this post-Friday-the-13th-Part2 film has is its expressive way of the first and silliest two victims, Ted and Angie who originally tried to have a woodland-****-on-a-motorcycle in the middle of the cold night. They are not simply cadavers; they are strangely cinematic bodies who have their own ongoing flowing expressiveness, and intermittently show something about their cadaveric existences. Although I find this coupled-bodies-with-their-coupled-expressiveness interesting I have to say the most of the elements of this film are nothing but those of a bad B-movie; Dee Barton's old-TV-movie-like easygoing music is entirely unsuited to the 1980's horror film especially to its horror scenes, and Worth Keeter's special effects are not only cheap but also unnatural, and so forth.

(** out of *****) The titular `house' only appears in the last ten minutes or so of this overly familiar, early-'80s horror flick. That detail aside, this movie isn't the worst of its kind (that would be "Hell High"), but it's also far from the best. If you can make it past the interminably long carnival scene -- with a group of young, vacuous girls and hunky, meat-head guys walking around making jokes and playing games -- you'll get a few so-so chills and thrills (and mostly off-screen machete murders) once the gang winds up in the cemetary to tell ghost stories (the lead heroine tells a lousy version of the classic urban legend about the girl who's home alone and thinks that's her dog under the bed licking her hand.) Other than a decapitated head or two, there's more nudity than gore, including an interesting, role-reversal shower scene in which a man is stalked in his apartment while taking a shower. There's some minor backplot and attempts at character development, but there are also gaping plot holes and a weak attempt to make the killer's identity a mystery (you should have no trouble figuring it out.) The film quality's pretty crummy, and the out-of-place, Sesame Street-sounding soundtrack is one of the worst I've ever heard.

HIGHLIGHT: Speaking of the soundtrack, if you do happen to run across this movie at the video store, go ahead and rent it solely for the opening credits sequence -- the music that plays over this sequence is so hysterically over the top that you will not believe it. Listening to this ludicrously epic music play over slow-motion scenes of dead bodies floating underwater was a surreal experience. I had to rewind it and watch it over three or four times. Seriously, some underground techno or indie-rock band needs to find this movie and sample the soundtrack. It blew me away. Of course, drinking helps.

--Death Screams, or House of Death as it is known here, is one of the most absurd horror films I've seen next to Drive-In Massacre. I had friends over while watching this movie, but afterwards I think they considered me their worst enemy after putting them through this trash.

--The first 40 mins. are so boring, I felt like ejecting the tape. Nothing happens, just some stupid dialogue at a carnival scene. The agony of sitting through this is too great. The most annoying character in this film is the grandma, she should have been the first victim. The true "suspense" starts in the last 10 mins. literally. Before that, just some cheesy killings.

--House of Death has the most funniest death scene that is the only "plus" side to this movie

** IF you get pierced in the shoulder with an arrow, go and scream for help. Surprisingly this girl with an IQ of 1 just moans and groans, falls down (you know the rest). She ventures onto an abandoned carousal and surprisingly, it starts moving. If a plastic bag is then put over your head, and your hands are free, poke a hole so you can breathe (or take it off). This one just groans until she is suffocated, yet never attempts to save herself. Someone that stupid just made me laugh so hard. I know most characters in horror flicks don't think... but c'mon!

--I do not even know who the killer was, it was revealed, but House of Death has more holes than a fish net I was confused. Do me a favor...avoid this one. Do something more productive than wasting your time.

Death Screams or as i rented it under House Of Death has to be one of the worst horror movies ever made. the first 2 min are ok then the opening credits come on and are about 5 min with the worst music i ever heard in my life. the movie is so boring like the 35 min carnival scene. then there are like 7 kills in like 10 min too much too fast. they don't even show the kills. the back of the box makes the movie sound cool but don't be fooled like i was. Death Screams aka House Of Death is so bad and boring i give it 0/10. skip this one if you don't you will regret it big time 85min of my life was wasted on this trash

This film has no story whatsoever Teens at a fun fair go camping then go to a graveyard then they go to a old house One of them tells a horror story One goes swimming in the nude Another one goes for a crap and gets killed a couple of head get cut off All the time in the background a fat sheriff is looking for some missing kids .

The film just plods alone with nothing going on and random people are getting killed It Would be more enjoyable if there was more gore Its a shame because it started with some prospects and the atmos was kinda decent But there are a lot better slasher film out there.

Ricky Nelson's brother David directed this rare low budget slasher from the early 1980's which features the usual issues and tropes, shot on independent filmmaker Earl Ownsby's complex. It spends a lot of its 90 minute run time with character development saving the action for the final 15 minutes. As usual theirs some nice gore and plenty of nudity from a gorgeous looking female cast including playboy playmate and ex-pornstar Susan Kiger who surprisingly doesn't get nude. The main problem however is the print witch is very dark and murky which leaves the final very hard to see since its all in the dark. This thing really could benefit from a blu-ray release. It also has one of the best movie posters ever!!.

I have no idea what I was doing watching this film. I purchased it from Family Video for $2.99 to add to my already impressive horror collection, and I ended up suffering through the worst "horror" film in modern history. The movie takes over an hour to even get to the "House of Death", the characters are under-developed and not memorable, and - not to give away the ending - I was staring dumbfounded at the screen for a good six minutes after the credits rolled. Let's not even get started on the music, because I wouldn't know how to characterize the noise I heard. The only credit I can give this film is... no, I changed my mind, this film is worthless in every way. You'd be better off watching "The Beast Must Die."

A group of obnoxious teenagers attending the town's carnival is stalked and viciously murdered by a machete-wielding killer."Death Screams" by David Nelson is an okay slasher flick.The script is highly unoriginal and the acting is weak,but who cares.The location sets including a town's carnival,a graveyard and finally an isolated house add a lot of creepiness to the overall atmosphere of a quiet little town.The pace is quite slow,but during the carnival bloody murders are set in motion.The gore effects are fairly effective with decapitations,throat slashings,stabbings and chopped off hands to boost.The score by Dee Barton is also surprisingly moody.Overall,I rather enjoyed this rare slasher flick and you should too,if you are a fan of hack 'em up movies.7 out of 10.

I honestly did not understand this movie. In addition to the movie having terrible acting, thirty-something teenagers, and a lifted soundtrack, there didn't seem to be much motive or plot. The back of the box claims that the murderer was excluded from carnival activities as a child and was therefore getting his revenge. However, the movie never even touches on this. All we get are a few obscure and unexplained references. It is mentioned that Casey was driving a car that killed the sheriff's son, but nothing was confirmed. Casey's mother told him that stealing was bad, so he went and killed the one person he truly cared about. Then, towards the end, the weird flashback about him witnessing a woman taking money for sex. When it was all over, the one of the survivors asks the sheriff, "Why?"- I thought I was finally going to get some answers. Unfortunately, all the sheriff said was "I don't know". What kind of answer is that?!? All I was left with was a sense of bewilderment- and anger that I wasted my time with this movie- NO STARS!