Body Count

(**1/2 out of *****) For his first venture into straight slasher territory, Deodato (famous for the notorious gross-out classic "Cannibal Holocaust") pulls together an interesting, international cast of B-movie/genre film veterans, including David Hess ("Last House on the Left" and Deodato's "The House on the Edge of the Park"), Mimsy Farmer (Dario Argento's "Four Flies on Grey Velvet"), Ivan Rassimov (from Deodato's other cannibal `epic' "Jungle Holocaust"), John Steiner(Argento's "Tenebre" and Deodato's "Cut and Run") and Charles Napier (one of Hannibal's unfortunate guards in "Silence of the Lambs"). With Deodato directing and this unique cast (not to mention Claudio Simonetti of Italian group Goblin providing the soundtrack), I expected -- well, I don't exactly know what I expected, but what I got was a so-so thriller with some interesting ideas, a bit more plot than usual, and a few suspenseful chase and murder sequences here and there, but not a whole lot else. Hess and Farmer play a dysfunctional married couple who own a campground that was closed down after two kids were murdered by an `Indian shaman' killer. Well, it's fifteen years later, and the killings are starting all over again, and, coincidentally, an RV full of dumb teenagers (including the couple's traumatized son) just happens to show up for the onslaught. There's your typical horny stud who wants to screw all the girls, your typical prankster clown who you'd like to see get offed after about three minutes, your typical nympho babes who take showers every five or ten minutes, and the hit list goes on. Hess's character, while still decidedly mean and ugly, is at least not quite as despicable as the sadistic characters he played in the two afore-mentioned House movies. Deodato tries to make the identity of the killer a surprise, but it's still pretty much a no-brainer. Thanks to the "Friday the 13th" franchise, these killer-in-the-woods movies are the most prolific of the slasher genre.

HIGHLIGHT: Hess's and Farmer's son has a totally WHACKED-OUT dream with sexy severed legs, strangling tentacles, constricting nets -- it reminded me of some of the frat parties I went to in college.

Well, Body Count is as average a slasher flick as it gets. It's not a bad movie (if you like 80's slashers) but in no way is it good. The movie takes place out in a forest campground (sound familiar) where two teens are killed. Skip about 15 years later. A group of kids (teens or college kids?) decide to take a camping trip and they pick up a hitchhiker on the way who just got out of the service. He tells them they can stay at his place with his parents. His parents place just happens to be in the same forest that those murders took place in. When they all get there they are given a hole hearted welcome from service boys father (David Hess). It turns out that David Hess is a little on the angry side and is setting up traps all over the forest for a local legend called "The Shaman". Can you guess what happens with the rest of the movie? If not, go back and watch Friday the 13th.

As stupid as this movie is, it is still stand-able. The main problems are the characters are so cliché and the storyline has been done a million times. Ruggero Deodato directed this movie (Cannibal Holocaust, Jungle Holocaust) and it is hard to tell whether he was making this movie cliché on purpose or whether he was actually trying to make something original. The gore isn't even that great in the movie except for may be three or four scenes.

Nonetheless, great score by Claudio Simonetti and look for David Hess, Charles Napier and Ivan Rassimov. They all do fairly decent parts in the movie. 5/10

This a typical, formulaic, run-of-the-mill slasher movie from the mid-80s by a genre veteran ( Ruggero Deodato) who is known for his gross-out sensational jungle cannibals films ( CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST among others) of the late 70s. So I was expecting an over-the-top gory slasher with lots of body count but what I got is a routine slasher who has some decent moments but fails in delivering the goods in terms of bloodshed except for one or two enjoyable splatter sequences. There is nothing new here and it is rather dull but an interesting cast and the great soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti makes it a bearable ride if you don't expect too much.

In a camping area, two groups of friends simultaneously arrive to spend some days and practice radical sports. One by one is killed by a Shaman, who has been threatening the area for fifteen years.

"Body Count" is another B-movie sub-product of "Friday 13th", full of naked women and having non-original deaths. Even the soundtrack, when the killer is arriving, recalls the one of Jason. Its greatest attraction is the name of the cult Italian director Ruggero Deodato. However, it is a cheesy and slasher movie, with a silly screenplay, some beautiful breasts and naked bodies, and recommended for fans of this director only. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Contagem de Cadáveres" ("Body Count")

Obs: On 22 June 2008, I saw this movie again.

I first saw this in the late 80's on a rented vhs. As a kid in the 80s, the creepy vhs cover enticed me into renting this movie without any knowledge about the director. Revisted it recently. The main problem in this flick is the sheer tons of stupidity n the rubber mask.

It does boasts of lots of horror veterans, Mimsy Farmer, John Stiener, Ivan Rassimov, David Hess, Bruce Penhall and Charles Napier.

The best thing going for Body Count is the location which is definitely one of the pulling factors. The mountainous woodlands are a sight to see and have a very alienating feel that tells you that you are never safe, no matter if its daylight or night. The mountain pass, the lake n the woods r serene but creepy cos of the desolation.

Most of the kills happen in broad daylight, which i am a fan of. I hate darkly lit scenes, flickering lights n shaking cam stuff.

When i saw this for the first time in the late 80s, i enjoyed the nudity n found the kills very brutal but didn't noticed the stupidities.

Lemme point out some stupid stuff:

1)A girl is attacked by a fella n later she finds her boyfriend covered in blood but rather than running straight out in the open, she lies down on a bed...

2) A girl witnesses her boyfriend tumble down a mountain but rather checking on him or running to a populated place, she enters an abandoned bathhouse n removes her clothes....

3) The killer manages to convince a dead girl's boyfriend by jus wearing a wig. How the killer got the wig, how the killer assumed that the dead girl's boyfriend wont be able to recognize the difference in the body is beyond me. To top it all, the boyfriend ain't able to differentiate between a man n a woman's body structure.....

4) A doctor is somehow able to tell a story about a murder so fluently as if he witnessed the incident. That too, the doc tells this story to a cop who looks completely lost.....

5) The toy's significance is a big wtf....

6) The husband is aware of the wife's infidelity but he goes on with his life n his wierd obsession with the shaman n traps....

7) As audiences we r never explained how many similar masks r readily available whenever the killer wants to strike n that too outta nowhere..

8) And what's with the growling sound....