Terreur à Alcatraz

SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK is a horror film that is not trying too hard to take itself seriously, which is good. For if it had, it would've been worse. This is the kind of film that you go into expecting run-of-the-mill slasher stuff, but instead you get a film that includes some great horror elements that include bringing in Alcatraz. Alcatraz is a great place for a horror film to take place, and although if they didn't have that stupid Sammy Mitchell bullsh*t this film would've been better, they played the film strictly for camp values. The whole Sammy Mitchell stuff is a big joke. In the beginning, that NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET dream stuff isn't played for laughs, but as soon as the teens hit the island, it's strictly camp. For a serious horror film, SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK scrapes the barrel, but for a campy, funny little horror film (which I presume and HOPE it was intended to be) SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK succeeds. There are worse out there people. **out of****For a stupid camp horror film.

Slaughterhouse Rock is pretty bad. Not bad in a good way, just bad. A college student has nightmares about Alcatraz, a spirit is trying to communicate with him, a rock band (led by Toni Basil) is slaughtered, and a "dream analyst" somehow knows what's going on...with a killer soundtrack by Devo. Sounds like a plot I came up with in 4th grade. None of this stuff fits together. The writer can try all he wants to, it's just not happening. It's a lame and incoherent set-up for a lame and incoherent horror movie. But then again what more do you expect from a title like Slaughterhouse Rock?

I recently watched Slaughterhouse Rock (1987) on Shudder. The storyline follows a man who experiences strange dreams about people who died at Alcatraz. He decides to visit the prison with his friend and becomes possessed by a demon. The spirit of a deceased female rock singer invades the man's dreams and tries to help him fight the demon in his head.

Directed by Dimitri Logothetis (Pretty Smart), the film stars Toni Basil (Five Easy Pieces), Nicholas Celozzi (Marked for Death), Donna Denton (Nashville), and Al Fleming (The Getaway).

This movie is a classic '80s horror flick with characters, circumstances, and a storyline typical of the era. The settings are well-chosen and help capture the imagination. The jail scenes are actually pretty good; unfortunately, the horror elements themselves are lacking, and the kills are very mediocre. The acting is adequate, and there's definitely some '80s horror hotties and nudity. The soundtrack is fantastic and maybe my favorite part of the movie.

In conclusion, Slaughterhouse Rock is a below-average addition to the horror genre that I would only recommend to '80s horror enthusiasts. I would score this film a 4/10 and recommend it with the appropriate expectations.

Making the film as dark and visually fuzzy as possible in order to cover up the budget deficiencies is an often-used strategy in low-budget horror films, but this one takes it too far. It is SO poorly lit and murky (and it takes place almost entirely at night, to boot) that you often end up virtually looking at a black screen (although perhaps the bad video transfer may also have had something to do with that). Alas, "murky" is also the best word to describe the movie's plot. The filmmakers throw in diverse (and unoriginal) horror ideas without any semblance of logic, and halfway through you get the feeling that they just about abandoned the effort to make a good horror film; you know it when you see characters who are supposed to be in mortal danger (or, in some occasions, even dead) making small talk....(*1/2)

This movie is not so good: it's supposed to be horror, and yes...it has some scary scenes, but on the overall it's pretty lame.Also a good thing is that the movie has got a plot, they thought very hard about it... Although I have to admit that the acting was very good (too good for an 80's horror movie), it just didn't scare me or touch me. So, rent it if you're a horrorfan who wants to see every horrormovie there is (like me), otherwise... NOT !