Directed by Michael Laughlin
Written by Bill Condon and Michael Laughlin
Starring Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis and Arthur Dignam
Australia/New Zealand/USA, 1981
This is the second Horrorfest movie in a row that has a small-town sheriff running around trying to figure stuff out, and so of course, it is also the second Horrorfest movie in a row that reminds me of JAWS. The similarities stop there, though.
This time out, Michael Murphy (the mayor of Gotham City!) is the sheriff, and the murders are focused on teens. But this isn’t your usual slasher stuff as there’s a crazy scheme at work at the local lab, where mysterious scientific studies are being conducted on teens and children. We get a glimpse into this as the sheriff’s teen son (Dan Shor) signs up as a test subject for some quick cash.
This flick is sort of a genre bender as it starts off in slasher territory, shifts gears for conspiracy-type mad scientist stuff and then even manages a twist ending. Along the way there are some truly memorable and squirm-inducing gags including an eye-injection scene and a bloody visit to the bathroom.
As a sidenote, one of the main characters’ buddies is played by Marc McClure who you may remember as Jimmy Olsen in the SUPERMAN movies or as Marty McFly’s brother in BACK TO THE FUTURE. I’d just like to note here I find him to be an incredible likable actor and wish he was in more stuff.
Oh, oops, one more side note – in one sequence a killer wears a Tor Johnson mask. I’d have my Ed Wood fan club card revoked if I didn’t point that out.
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