The Pick-Axe Murders Part III: The Final Chapter

A cast full of well likeable characters, all definitely teenagers on their way to a concert of the absolute highest echelon of music, preformed by Sacrilegious Desecration get brutally murdered by sack wearing, pick axe wielding, chokeslam giving mountain of meat and hatred.

The banter between the gas station/café couple was hilarious and wish we got more of their gems i.e. "you smell like hamburger grease and racoon farts" and "get on ya goddam knees and suck my flesh flute" another classic ill be using from now on was "I'll hold my nose and pretend its ya sister".

The capabilities of the actress at 58mins 20seconds needs to be acknowledged.. Absolute scene stealer.

Kills were a little repetitive.. but overall enjoyable to watch.

This movie reminds me of a Rob Zombie film, except with half of his budget and only a fraction of his imagination. Every single character is written exactly the same; each person, man or woman, is a *foul-mouthed *beer-swilling *drug-induced *sex-crazed *garbage human

That's pretty much the formula for Zombie films, and it's the same here. This one even has that same Zombie grit and filth to it on all the sets that Zombie and his fans seem to love. I'm actually surprised he didn't have anything to do with this.

Anyway, nothing new to see. On top of that, a less-than-captivating bad guy, less-than-inspiring heroes, subpar special effects, and tired story threads are a recipe for a stinker of a movie.

The traumatized survivor girl turns in a decent performance, I should say. Not enough to save the film, but enough for me to mention it.

As said, seen it before, done far better elsewhere. D grade.

First and foremost, of course this movie isn't good. I watched it because I was bored and hadn't seen Tiffany Shepis in anything in a while. Shepis was a B list scream queen in the 2000s appearing in low budget movies that were sometimes goofy (The Hazing), sometimes entertaining (Nightmare Man), and sometimes unwatchable (Nympha). Anyway, I've always liked her and her output has slowed in recent years.

She appears in this with A. Michael Baldwin, the other other guy from the Phantasm movies, as the sole survivors of a notorious rampage that ended with the killer being put down and them going their separate ways. He became a Sheriff, she became an obsessed alcoholic. Then some naked girl with no motivation resurrects the killer and he emerges, looking like a giant guy in a Halloween costume and nowhere near as cool as he does on the poster. Unsurprisingly.

Cut to a group of dumb, really dumb, people (I refuse to call them high schoolers) on their way to some screamo rock show. They holed up in a cabin and find themselves right in the path of the pickax wielding killer. And their only hope is Shepis and Baldwin, who are in the movie enough not to irritate their fans who only saw the thing because of them.

Positives for the movie are that it is relatively ambitious, with numerous locations and many different characters. So, it never gets boring. There is a fair amount of gore, some laughs that are so stupid you might smirk, really trashy women flashing skin left and right, and just general stupidity abound. In short, the movie's a hoot if you like low tier, cheesy horror.

The biggest downside is the image quality, which is relatively poor.

But I'd watch a sequel.

Quite possibly the worst movie in every way imaginable. Terrible special effects, awful acting, bad script. The Title states that it is Part III. There is no Part I or Part II. Obviously, it is some lame attempt at humor and an even lamer attempt to suggest that two other movies of the same worthless nature were made before it. The acting is just bad all around, in every way, in every second of this movie. I'll mention a few things concerning the special effects. No, you cannot behead someone with a pick-axe. Its just not physically possible to swing it once and cut the head completely off. Second, human entrails do not look like ketchup covered sausage links. Not even close. The only redeeming part of this movie that even warrants watching is the first 5 minutes with the nude girl. Turn it off after that. Truly a worthless piece. Do not waste your time.

The story keeps with a classic theme of a supernatural slasher. It is straightforward, methodic and light-hearted. Jeremy Sumrall celebrates those VHS horror tropes from 80's horror with fun enthusiasm. Although the film does have flaws, it is still a commendable ode. It keeps with a simple slice-n-dice format, there is a formidable killer, and plenty of flesh and blood.

With a couple recognizable indie names attached, "Pickaxe" receives some cred. Tiffany Shepis is a indie horror staple. Baldwin does a great job as the sheriff. The rest of the cast don't quite equal these two's performances, but they do well enough to move the story. There is some dialog issues and a few moments that feel contrived. I also found a few of the asthenic scenes tacky, set in a way that takes away from the moment than the intended effect.

The horror elements of the film are really notable, commendable aspects of the film. It is low budget affair, but the practice choices seemed to be approached with care. Reminiscent of 80's slasher gore films like "The Burning" and "Madman". I really enjoyed the kill scenes in "Pickaxe". Some of the setups to the kill sequences seemed a bit hokey, missing to create an added anticipation, and did more to lower the energy of otherwise cool kills.

Overall "Pickaxe" is a straightforward low budget slasher that only works in the indie horror community. It probably will disappoint mainstream movie goers with its low scale production, indie acting and 'on a dime' practical effects. Still there is some fun gore elements, a strong slasher and cool, creepy atmosphere. Check it out if you dig low budget movie making.