Blood Theatre

Movie House Massacre (1984)

* (out of 4)

Three college students are asked to clean up an old movie theatre so that it can open back up. It doesn't take long for the three to regret taking the job.

This forgotten film is out there under a couple different titles including the catchy MOVIE HOUSE MASSACRE as well as the better known BLOOD THEATRE. No matter what you call it, it's doubtful that you're going to be overly entertained by this thing, which tries to put the slasher genre inside an old theatre. Obviously one will think of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA but sadly there's just not too much going on here.

The biggest problem is that there are some really bad performances, not enough violence and what violence there is all happens off screen. For a horror movie, even by 1984 standards, this here is rather lame as it just doesn't feature enough to keep the viewer entertained. There are a couple quick shots of nudity but that's about it. The story has a few interesting ideas and a better screenplay would have helped but sadly there's just not enough going on here to make it worth watching.

I stumbled upon the 1984 horror movie "Blood Theatre" by random luck here in 2024. And of course I opted to sit down and watch it, since it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen before, nor actually heard about. And the fact that Mary Woronov was on the cast list, definitely was a plus.

Writer and director Rick Sloane delivered a very stale script for the movie. It felt like a farce at times, because it was so cliché and generic. In fact, it felt like something that was either taken out of the 1970s and dressed up in a 1984 outfit or something that was an homage to the old Lucio Fulco movies, given the way it looked and sounded.

Regardless of what "Blood Theatre" was supposed to be, then it wasn't a movie that particularly entertained me much. It was somewhat of a struggle to sit through.

Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, then I was only familiar with Mary Woronov. The acting performances in "Blood Theatre" was nothing to write home about.

If you enjoy horror movies, then this movie is hardly something you should rush out and get to watch. And it definitely isn't a movie that will grace my screen a second time.

My rating of "Blood Theatre", from writer and director Rick Sloane, lands on a three out of ten stars.

Mary Woronov and the chick that plays Selina (the bitch of the group) were the saving graces of this movie. There is barely any blood, the acting is bad, the killings are off screen, but on the other hand it has a couple of funny moments, topless nudity, it has a high body count and a lot of good one-liners. See it, you'll laugh a lot.

The acting is mostly horrid, the plot is pretty lame, and the ending is pathetic. Yet...it does have a certain charm about it, it's almost so bad that it's kinda good. It's at times more of a comedy than a horror movie, just listen to some of the lines and sound effects. It reminded me a lot at times of the comedy/horror spoof movie "Student Bodies". I like the early electronica music that runs throughout the film, it's repetitive but effective, I would compare it as very similar to the music from the first "Slumber Party Massacre" film. I think if the killings would have been a little more realistic and unique, and that if the ending would have been a lot better and explained things this could have been a more highly regarded film. It would have also helped if the movie was about 10 minutes longer in length, 75 minutes did seem quite short watching it...

A movie house was closed down after tragic fire and mass murder.Manager of Spot light Cinema Murdoch chooses three of his best employees to get the old place ready for opening night.The killings begin...Suspenseless and horribly clichéd slasher spoof with eleven goreless killings and lame slapstick scenes.People wander into the cinema and are stabbed to death by the old manager.There is truly badly done decapitation scene plus a little bit of sleazy nudity provided by the chick in gold satin hot pants.The score is horrible and the sound effects are even worse.The ending doesn't make any sense,but it's always nice to see lovable Mary Woronov and her gorgeous legs.6 out of 10.