ROCKTOBER BLOOD [1984]

 THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN!  COME BACK, RAINBOW EYES! 

Finally!  The cheezy, zero-budget, home-made horror flick I've been wanting to top off the Countdown to Halloween.  Damn, I thought I was gonna have to rewatch WINTERBEAST!  But here it is:  ROCKTOBER BLOOD!  The DVD I watched was definitely taken from a VHS tape probably on LP speed!  Never mind, though, because this is another of those hoot and a holler horror movies like the aforementioned WINTERBEAST that is just so much fun to watch.  There is just so much 80's vibe going on here that, while watching it, my jeans acid-washed themselves!  Our lead actress Donna Scoggins is either cocooned inside neon-coloured spandex or else she is disrobing.  A lot.  And the camera lingers on her each time.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  But no, this film was directed by a woman:  Beverly Sebastian.  She co-wrote it too.  Well, you can't say she doesn't know her audience.

You'd be excused from thinking you walked in halfway through the movie when it starts but you didn't.  Heavy metal singer Billy "Eye" Harper is in the music studio recording some tracks with his sorta girlfriend and backup singer Lynn Starling, his band, producer, recording engineer, etc.  Billy is a bit of an asshole and leaves to have a "quickie" with some wannabe singer. 

The rest of the bunch soon leaves with only Lynn, recording engineer Kevin and his assistant Mary remaining behind.  Lynn goes upstairs to the jacuzzi (first Donna Scoggins nude scene) while Kevin goes to the game room and Mary remains in the recording studio.  Then we see some boots enter the studio; Billy Eye is back.  He slits Kevin's throat, goes upstairs and finds the jazuzzi room door is locked (Curses, foiled again) then goes downstairs and garrots Mary, drags her across the room and Linnea Quigley's her onto a wall coat peg.  Lynn leisurely towels herself off, gets dressed and goes downstairs to find Billy Eye smoking a bowl with his feet up on the mixing desk.  He tells Lynn that Kevin has been "terminated" and Mary is "hanging around in the other room".  What a card!  Billy attacks Lynn and starts to cut her under her right breast when a security guard interrupts the proceedings.  Billy chases security guard. 

Smash cut to onscreen caption of "TWO YEARS LATER" and Lynn Starling has become lead singer of Billy Eye's band (renamed 'Headmistress') and Billy Eye has been executed for 25 murders (which we obviously didn't have a budget to show). We're now at the 'Rocktober Blood Tour Press Party' where the crowd is entertained by the antics of a guy in a robe and Halloween mask; it appears fans call this guy 'Fangface' and I approve.  Later, Fangface is stalking Lynn (who has gotten naked at least two more times) and reveals himself to be Billy Eye. 

Back from the dead to kill some more.  For some reason.  He's not a zombie, really.  He's just kinda . . . . around again.  Even though he's dead.  The state could've done a better job deading him!  He's not supposed to be running around killing people.  I mean, wasn't that what the trial and conviction were for?  I digress.  Billy chases Lynn around with a knife cackling and saying things like:"You know what happens when I get tense, don't you?!  I'm gonna cut your throat and I'm gonna have blood everywhere!"  I TOLD you he was a card, didn't I?  Anyway, Billy continues to stalk Lynn and kills various people along the way; however, he hides the dead bodies so no one believes Lynn's story.  Tray Loren as Billy Eye is actually very good as the crazed killer; he really sells the giggling nutjob.  And, unusually for a heavy metal horror movie, the music is actually decent.  Three actual existing metal bands were hired to provide the songs:  L.A. band Sorcery, Facedown and Eyes.  Believe it or don't, there was actually a soundtrack album and it was re-released in 2015 -- I really wouldn't mind tracking it down.

This is the epitome of the type of movie we used to rent at the local Erol's back in the 1980's.  Yeah, Erol's.  That's where I went before the monolith Blockbuster swallowed every store up.  Erol's was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.  While I don't remember renting ROCKTOBER BLOOD, it was probably on the shelf at Erol's in 1984.  I'm sorry but I have a lot more time for this sort of movie which may not be skillfully made but is very entertaining.     

DOCTOR WHO: THE DAEMONS [1972]

 "CHAP WITH THE WINGS THERE.  FIVE ROUNDS RAPID!" 

This, one of the most famous quotes by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, can be found in this most Halloweeny of DOCTOR WHO stories.  It's night in the village of Devil's End where, in the midst of a massive thunderstorm, a man and his dog exit the local pub and stumble into something unseen which causes the man to scream!  Cut to the next day when the man has been found dead (don't worry the dog ran off to safety) and where local witch Olive Hawthorne advises that evil forces are at work in the village.  This is due, apparently, to the archaeological expedition on a local barrow that's being carried out (and televised) by a Professor Horner.  A wonderful televised debate between the Prof and the white witch is broadcast. The Doctor and Jo Grant race to Devil's End (oddly, the doctor taking the mystical witchy side of the argument) to try to stop the dig.  Locals have been having "Devil sightings" with the horns and the cloven hoofs and a 30 foot tall Devil.  Also there's been a stone gargoyle running around.  And, as this is the second series of the Jon Pertwee era (where the Doctor is stranded on Earth), the local Vicar conducting Satanic rituals in the village church is The Master!

That great, spooky opening of the rainy night with lightning flashing and thunder roaring proclaims to me a definite candidate for a Halloween watch and this story ties into that early-70's occult boom which was going strong at the time.  The magnificent Damaris Hayman plays the magnificent Olive Hawthorne who quite matter-of-factly proclaims to the television audience that she is a witch and, nicely, no one seems to have a problem with that.  There's no ostracizing her by the villagers or religious nuts proclaiming her "damned to hell" or a "devil worshiper"; she is simply the village's white witch and is accepted as such in the community.  Gee, isn't it a shame that nowadays she's likely have a lot of problems with that.  Just goes to show you that time may move forward but that doesn't mean we "progress".  I just love Hayman (who sadly left us this year)

and she's obviously the best part of the story; however there are other things to recommend it.  The previously-mentioned early-70's occult boom is in full bloom with the Master donning typical Satanic robes, magic circles and pentagrams with candles blazing in an ancient, stone-walled basement.  The story is credited to Guy Leopold which is a pseudonym for producer Barry Letts and writer Robert Sloman.  Letts wanted to introduce an occult story into DOCTOR WHO but didn't know how to do it in the scientifically-slanted show.  He was influenced by CHARIOTS OF THE GODS into making the Devil-figure into an alien lifeform called Azal who came to Earth eons ago and helped primitive man develop intelligence as something of an experiment.  Besides the CHARIOTS OF THE GODS influence, THE DAEMONS sports quite a few other obvious influences

from Hammer's THE DEVIL RIDES OUT as well as QUATERMASS AND THE PIT to THE STONE TAPE (the set for the church basement REALLY reminded me of the set used in THE STONE TAPE -- I wonder if it actually WAS the same set?!?!).  THE DAEMONS storyline also benefits from the extensive location shooting in the Wiltshire area with the main village exteriors shot at Aldbourne -- a place which looks so representative as our typical idea of a quiet English village that I would up sticks and move there if I could!  Nicholas Courtney is particularly excellent as the Brig in this one; his performance is just lovely with many great quips like his "Five rounds rapid" one.  The ending features another wonderful Brig moment as the baddies have been vanquished and all the villagers (along with The Doctor and Jo) dance around a maypole.  Captain Yates asks the Brigadier if he fancies a dance; the Brig looks sideways at Yates and says "I'd prefer a pint" and both men bound off for the pub.  THE DAEMONS is not anywhere near the best DOCTOR WHO storyline -- not even the best Jon Pertwee story -- but it certainly is entertaining as all hell and a favourite of mine as it introduces some well-needed spookiness into the series while we wait for the heights of the classic Tom Baker/Philip Hinchcliffe years where horror would be given full reign!

THE WITCH IN THE WOODS [1953]

 Written by Stan Lee.  Art by Joe Sinnott.  From MENACE #7 (Sept. 1953).

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY SAMHAIN!

 

CASPER'S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL [1979]

 IT PROBABLY COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT, SINCE I WAS KNEE-HIGH TO A GRAVE-ROBBER, MY FAVOURITE GENRE HAS BEEN HORROR. 

When my age was in single digits, I loved anything spooky: from my mother reading me Edgar Allan Poe and August Derleth's "THE LONESOME PLACE" to watching an airing of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) on PBS or watching DRACULA (1931) on Dr. Shock program and THE NIGHT STALKER with my grandfather.  And despite all of this, I was never a fan of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST.  When the original CASPER cartoons would air on Channel 48 after school, I would usually change the channel.  This may seem odd; however the answer is as simply as why I prefer THE ADDAMS FAMILY to THE MUNSTERS.  Casper was just too damn wholesome and saccharine to be any good.  There's nothing spooky about a goody two shoes ghost who avoids scaring people.  I mean, what's the point, right?  So here we have Casper's 1979 Halloween TV special (subtitled "HE AIN'T SCARY, HE'S OUR BROTHER") and, looking around the interwebs, it looks like most people think it stinks.  So going in, I'm not optimistic.

On Halloween, Casper decides that he's going to go out trick or treating without a costume and hopefully convincing people that he's just a boy in a ghost costume.  OK, that premise is actually pretty good.  Casper meets up with a group of orphanage kids trick-or-treating.  At first the kids think Casper is indeed a boy in a costume; however, once they realize Casper is an actual ghost they really don't care and accept him.  Also a pretty good plot point.  This way, we avoid the done-to-death scenario of Casper scaring everyone whose path he crosses.  Of course, we have a trio of naughty spooks (including ghosts named Harry Scary & Screech and Winifred the Witch) who want to foil Casper's plans, ruin the kids' trick-or-treating and scare everybody.  Now, those familiar with Casper might ask at this point:  "Who are THESE mugs?!?!  Where are the Ghostly Trio or Spooky or Wendy???"  Yeah, I thought the same thing.  There's only Casper here.  It's like Hanna-Barbera paid for licensing Casper but NONE of his supporting cast.  And let's face it:  stick-in-the-mud Casper is nowhere near as fun or interesting as his supporting cast.  So what we have here is a Halloween special without anything we haven't seen before and things come across pretty flat.  The animation is rather threadbare but not unwatchacble.  And that's probably the best way to describe CASPER'S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL is that it IS rather tired and threadbare but still watchable if you've got 25 minutes.  But it's not really a perennial Halloween rewatch.      

BLADES [1989]

 "OH NO!  NOT AGAIN!" 

This is one I went into totally blind without knowing anything other than I once saw it included in a three-fer pack of Troma movies along with BLOOD HOOK.  And since I knew nothing ahead of time, I'm going to say a lot here that's been said a million times already.  But give me a break!  It's my first time watching BLADES.  Immediately the film starts like it's a slasher version of CADDYSHACK; however very quickly you twig to the concept of the film as two young lovers go off into the tall grass for some smoochee-smooz.  Coming at them is a POV shot of something plowing through the tall grass to music that sounds deliberately like it's meant to evoke John Williams' JAWS theme.  And it is.  What we have here (and this is NO spoiler) is a remake of JAWS which substitutes a killer lawnmower for a great white shark!  Yes, you heard me (those of you who didn't already know this).  And despite having the Troma logo on the front of the movie, things are played completely stone-faced straight.  And THAT'S what makes it so great.  And funny.  I hesitate to use the word "witty" when referring to a killer lawnmower movie but it really is quite good!  I was shocked how good this is!  And there's not a single tongue in a single cheek; it's all played completely straight.  The structure of BLADES even follows most of the same plot structure as JAWS; even replicating many well-known scenes.  

Robert North and his patented confused expression

Leading man Robert North plays Roy Kent (Roy Scheider easter egg) as the new golf pro who becomes embroiled in the series of murders by lawnmower) and he is absolutely priceless.  I think he has the same confused expression in almost every scene!  Jeremy Whalen plays Deke Slade:  a groundskeeper who is falsely arrested for the killings because he has a lawnmower.  Um, kinda comes with the job, I think.  Deke is our Quint surrogate of the film.  When Roy and his fellow golf pro Kelly (Victoria Scott) go to check out Deke's lawnmower for evidence, the lawnmower is hanging up just like the tiger shark that's erroneously thought to be the killer shark in JAWS.  Roy and Kelly empty out the lawnmower bag (in the same way as the contents of the tiger shark's stomach) and items fall out including grass, leaves, golf balls and a Playboy magazine.  Nope, no body parts or blood in there.  We've got the wrong lawnmower, folks!  Roy also tries to convince the owner of the golf course to postpone the big pro golf tournament just as Roy Scheider tries to convince the mayor to close the beaches.  Nah, this golf tournament must go on; it's the event of the year AND it's gonna be televised!  Roy gets slapped and told off by the widow of a victim of the killer lawnmower (just like the mother in JAWS tells of Roy Scheider).  "I just wanted you to know!"  The JAWS structure works so well and the references to the Spielberg film are just wonderful.  I had SUCH a great time with this movie!  This is seriously one of the biggest happy surprises of any movie I saw this year!  Oh and don't miss the post-credits sequence; it's also hilarious! 

Oh yeah, about that quote up there?  When the killer lawnmower finally attacks the pro golf tournament, a guy watching the match on TV at a bar says:  "Oh no!  Not again!".  I mean, c'mon.  That's just the icing on the cake!  Priceless!

A HALLOWEEN FROLIC

 

PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE [1996}

 EVIL COMES WITH STRINGS ATTACHED.  

Seems we have an unwitting Kevin Tenney double feature here!  It was not planned but after watching Kevin Tenney's THE CELLAR, I randomly reached for PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE -- also directed (and written) by Kevin Tenney!  Our story concerns a defense attorney Jennifer Garrick (Rosalind Allen) who is defending a man accused of murdering his own son; where he buried the boy's body he also buried a carved Pinocchio puppet that he made for his son.  The puppet somehow makes it's way into Jennifer's car and her boyfriend David (Todd Allen) mistakenly thinks it's a birthday present for Jennifer's daughter Zoe (Brittany Alyce Smith) and gives it to her.  Zoe becomes immediately attached to it and, despite it's being evidence in a murder case, is allowed to keep the puppet.  Coming as a surprise to no one except the characters in the film (who apparently haven't seen many of these movies), "accidents" begin happening to anyone who is "mean" to Zoe.  A schoolmate who has been bullying Zoe goes flying under the wheels of a school bus and even David takes a flying header down the stairs and cracks his skull.  Of course, it's the evil Pinocchio puppet that's doing it -- and of course, nobody believes Zoe when she tells them this.  Eventually, Pinocchio convinces Zoe to let him become a real boy . . . if she will just cut his strings.

What you get with PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE is exactly what it says on the tin:  a homicidal wooden puppet killing people.  There's unfortunately not that much new here as the strong influence of Chucky as well as (in the final act) the Zuni fetish segment of TRILOGY OF TERROR.  It's funny how Tenney's comments on THE CELLAR (which he was hired for after the original writer/director was fired after 5 days) are that the script of THE CELLAR wasn't that good and that even Tenney's "director's cut" version of the film is merely OK.  In PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE, it's the script (written by Tenney) which is a little lackluster and I actual prefer his director's cut of THE CELLAR to this film!  Just shoes to go ya that the artist is the last person to accurately judge his own art.  Actually, the best thing Tenney did was casting Dick Beals as the voice of Pinocchio!  A casting coup!  You'll know DIck Beals' voice immediately; if not for the several Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes cartoons in which he voices little Ralph who constantly daydreams, then definitely as the voice of Speedy Alka-Seltzer!  PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE is a nice enough time-waster which, after a kinda slow first hour, is a decent amount of fun if you're in the mood for a killer doll movie.

THE CELLAR [1989]

 THE FILM I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS THE NEW "DIRECTOR'S CUT" VERSION OF THE FILM ON THE RECENT SUPERB VINEGAR SYNDROME RELEASE. 

I've never seen the producer's cut which was the one available on video for years but I know everyone from the film's director Kevin Tenney to the entire cast hates that one so I chose to watch the new director's cut which everyone seems to prefer.  And this version of the film of pretty terrific.  Now I'm a little interested to see the OG version to see how bad it it.  THE CELLAR is a really solid (in this incarnation) horror film involving some sort of subterranean evil which is held at bay by Native American magic.  Near a Texas dry oil well in the (I believe) 1930s, an ancient evil is released from underground and kills the father of a boy named T.C.  A Native American shaman traps the evil back underground with a spear containing shamanic charms and rabbit's feet.  Cut to today (1989 rather) and T.C. is now an old man who is being forced to see the property and house by a douchey local businessman.  A young family (Manse and his pregnant second wife Emily buys T.C.'s old house.  Emily has the baby and the Cashen family moves in.  Shortly thereafter, Manse's son Willy from his first marriage come to stay for the summer.  Willy is a pretty handy kid with electronics etc. a la Tommy in DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS.  A china cabinet T.C. tells them not to move . . . . they move.  Behind it is a boarded up door covered in Native American protection items.  This leads to the cellar which is half submerged in water.  Willy convinces his Dad to let him also have the spear he finds sticking in the ground; the one that's holding the evil monster at bay.  So guess now WHAT ELSE is in the cellar!  

Kevin Tenney was finishing up WITCHTRAP when he was called in to direct THE CELLAR; the original director (who also wrote the screenplay) was fired after five days shooting.  There is nothing here to light the night on fire but I think Tenney did a very good job and ended up (in his director's cut) with a good horror movie.  The cast of Patrick Fitzpatrick (Manse), Suzanne Savoy (Emily), Chris Miller (Willy) and veteran character actor Ford Rainey (as the elder T.C.) all give really good performances; they demonstrate terrific chemistry on screen and act with real sincerity and warmth. 

Patrick Fitzpatrick, who at the time specialised in playing bad guy/psycho parts, is excellent cast against type as the caring but insecure father trying to bond with a son he only gets to see once a year.  Savoy is given some nicely witty lines and actual business to do rather than having her character some cringing woman who needs saving; she battles for her family. 
Never a fan of child actors, I was pleasantly surprised by Chris Miller's likeable, non-saccharine and non-annoying performance as Willy who must go it alone when his parents don't believe his "monster in the cellar" stories.  And Ford Rainey, as always, is superb in his role of the old man T.C. whose fear of the creature being let loose is palpable.

Kevin Tenney, during interviews included on the new blu ray, downplays his new "director's cut" as just OK while everyone else seems to praise it a terrific.  Tenney believes that it's only terrific in comparision to the butchered released version.  Not having seen that, I can't comment.  However, the film I watched was very good.  In the words of actor Patrick Fitzpatrick, Tenney managed to turn "chicken shit into chicken salad". 

  

  

DEVIL DOG: THE HOUND OF HELL (1978)

 "SOMETIMES YOU JUST FEEL LIKE A DEVIL DOG". 

We venture again into the Made-For-TV horror film with this lovable little flick helmed by veteran director Curtis Harrington which brings in the ever-present Satanic cults of the 70's combined with the killer animal genre.  I mean, what can be more 70's than those things?!?!?  Martine Beswick goes to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm (not) to buy a dog to mate with the Devil and produce a litter of 10 puppies from Hell!  Mike and Betty Barry (Richard Crenna & Yvette Mimieux) are driving home when they see their dog dead in the road. . . . on their daughter's 10th birthday, yet!  They break the news to their kids Bonnie & Charlie (Kim Richards & Ike Eisenman).  R.G. Armstrong drives his fruit and veg truck up to the Barry home and just happens to have a litter of (Satanic) puppies to give away and before you know it, the Barrys have a new dog named Lucky.  Maria the housekeeper takes an immediate dislike to the puppy and, while lighting candles and saying her rosary, the evil devil dog causes her to burst into flame.  But of course, it must've been an accident.  A year later, Lucky is no longer a puppy and nearly succeeds in causing Mike to shove his hand into a rotating lawn mower blade. 

The neighbour's dog, who senses something wrong with Lucky, constantly barks at him until it is found ripped apart; the distraught neighbour blames Lucky and threatens to shoot him until he is eventually found dead in his swimming pool.  Charlie runs for class president and the guidance counselor (Ken Kercheval) accuses Charlie of dirty tricks to discredit his opponent; the Devil Dog visits the guidance counselor and sends his screaming into the street to be run over by a car.  During all this time, Betty and the kids are acting stranger and stranger as the evil influence of the devil dog possesses them and Mike has to find a way to stop Lucky's evil reign of terror.  Mike takes Lucky out to a remote location to shot him but bullets have no affect.  After consulting the proprietor of an occult bookstore, Mike travels to Quito, Ecuador where legends of this 1000 year old demon dog originate.  Mike consults with an ancient shaman (Victor Jory) who gives him a handy tattoo which will defeat the hound of hell.  

No one's going into this expecting a masterpiece of gasping terror.  It's a Satanic dog movie from the 70s and as long as you're OK with that, you should have fun with this.  I will say that the devil/demon dog sets his goals rather low; besides killing anyone who threatens him, Lucky seems only interested in such deviltry as making Mike and Betty swim naked in the neighbour's pool and fixing a local school election for class president.  No other over-arching plan is mentioned or even hinted at by the Satanic Cult or the script; the devil is summoned back to Earth in order to merely commit some low-level hijinks.  Anyone who's not OK with that, Lucky will then kill.  It is also great to see some beloved faces from spooky cinema turning up for this movie:  Hammer Scream Queen Martine Beswick, veteran character actors R.G. Armstrong and Victor Jory are old favourites of mine and always welcome.  Funnily enough, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenman were both unaware the other actor was cast to play their sibling; the young actors of course had already worked together is Disney's WITCH MOUNTAIN movies.  I have a lot of time for 70's made-for-tv horror movies -- especially with so many beloved faces taking part -- and this one's pretty OK.

BLACK DEMONS [1991]

UMBERTO LENZI'S LAST HORROR MOVIE! 

Jessica, her half-brother Dick and her boyfriend Kevin are on vacation in Brazil.  Dick's had a nervous breakdown in the recent past and, because it's the thing to do in that situation, sneakily witnesses (and tape records) a "voodoo" ceremony and acquires some otherworldly powers (because . . . . well one does, doesn't one) which he uses (because . . . . I got nothin') to raise from the dead six slaves from a slave rebellion 150 years previously.  Oh, wait a minute . . . . so the title BLACK DEMONS should really be BLACK ZOMBIES and the "black" in the title means the RACE of the zombies?!?!?!? 

Oh.  Not sure I would've gone with that title, Umberto.  Even if the English language isn't your jam.  The word "negro" is bandied about quite a lot and that would've been inappropriate in 1991 let alone now.  Another problem I have with the film is that, oddly, it seems like this is one Italian-made film from this time period that was shot with live sound instead of the usual dubbing later.  Particularly with Italian horror movies, every actor speaks their native language and no sound is recorded during filming; later on the film is dubbed into whatever language it's being sold to.  Here every speaks their lines in English with their various accents evident.  This perhaps unfamiliarity for filming with live sounds finds much of the movie dialogue muffled as if the actors were not mic'd properly.  Third problem is the reference to "voodoo" for this movie which, being set in Brazil would probably be more like Macumba.  One character finally, after an hour in, does refer to Macumba.  But either way, there's nothing accurate about the depiction of either religion here.  The zombies have ropes hanging around their necks and carry sharp instruments like axes, machetes, knives and sickles.  They also have chains trailing from their wrists and feet which make them probably the slowest of the slow zombie genus of horror films. They are also the most polite zombies I've ever seen.  In one scene, a zombie is sneaking up behind a guy and, when the noise of someone else coming in, the zombie politely backs away!  What, was he afraid of getting a police record if seen by a witness?!?!?!?  Being an Italian zombie films helmed by Maestro Lenzi, there is gore (particularly of the eye trauma variety) and some nice "rotting zombie faces" make-ups, so for a Lenzi zombie flick it's still pretty entertaining.  And really . . . . what's better than having your film's heroine constantly running around calling for "Dick!  Dick!  Dick!"?   

NIGHT TERROR [1977]

 OBJECTS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR ARE OUT TO KILL RHODA! 

C'mon, the seventies were the greatest era for made-for-TV horror flicks!  Here's one of them.  Sort of a poor man's DUEL, NIGHT TERROR aka NIGHT DRIVE (not sure which title I prefer . . . probably the latter) stars Valerie Harper as Carol Turney, a mom whose plans for a family vacation go tits up when first her husband has to meet up with her later because of work and then her 7 year old son is hospitalized while she is stuck in a motel in Phoenix, Arizona.  She must drive alone the route from Phoenix to Denver where her son is in the hospital.  With her gas tank on 'E', she is constantly thwarted from filling her tank.  At night on the highway, a car speeds past her in the right-hand lane and a patrol car pulls the car over. 

Pulling up alongside the stopped cars, Carol (ugh, that name!!!) Turney tries to ask the policeman where the nearest gas station is when the patrolman is gunned down by the man in the pulled-over car firing a shotgun.  Turns out the man is some sort of contract killer who we've seen earlier in the film (played nicely by Richard Romanus with a nasty scar down his throat who can only speak with a, electronic vocalizer.  Now, the movie chase is on as the killer chases Rhoda as the only witness to the murder.

As I say, the Spielberg TV blockbuster DUEL will immediately come to mind but this is nowhere near the callibre of that earlier film.    What we have here is something like a DUEL-lite.  But frankly, there isn't any point in comparing NIGHT TERROR with DUEL (one of the greatest made-for-TV movies ever made!) since NIGHT TERROR is not a carbon copy of the earlier film.  My little synopsis up there should show that NIGHT TERROR is quite a bit different and, on it's own merits, is a fine TV thriller.  Valerie Harper is perfectly fine as our beleaguered lead but, while she is frazzled and panicked throughout, she doesn't seem to convey a real sense of peril; at least until around the final reel when she starts to show some gumption.  Richard Romanus has that kind of face which probably condemns him to bad guy roles and here he's appropriately cool and reptilian as the evil killer determined to hunt down and kill the only witness to his murder.  Everyone else in the film is kinda just there except for a nice (if small) turn by John Quade as a homeless man.  ANd I particularly like the final scene in which Harper has a good laugh at her condescending husband!  While no masterpiece, NIGHT TERROR is definitely worth your time.

RUSH WEEK [1989]

 IT'S A PICTURE PERFECT COLLEGE WITH A PERFECTLY TERRIFYING SECRET. 

Tambers college journalism student Toni (Pamela Ludwig -- who we saw in LAST year's Countdown to Halloween in the film PALE BLOOD) is in search of a good story for the school newspaper.  One by one, busty college co-eds start going missing (usually right after engaging in some form of naughtiness) and Toni's nose for news is on the trail.  Kinda like a Nancy Drew mysteries . . . with a lot of boobs.  Toni becomes involved with the prez of the most Animal House-like frat on campus:  Jeff (played without moving his facial muscles as much as possible by soap actor Dean Hamilton)  who has recently started to act . . . odd. 

Roy Thinnes plays Dean Grail who doesn't want Toni to stir up embarrassing publicity for the school.  Then there's Toni's journalism teacher Cosmo Kincaid played by (I kid you not) Gregg Allman!  That's fun!  We are treated to a view of our slasher killer:  a hooded robed, cadaver-faced maniac wielding a double-headed axe.  There's not much blood, guts and mayhem on display; many of the kills cut away as the axe comes down to focus on the hooded killer instead of the victim.  

I'm not really sure how seriously we're supposed to take this film.  It's definitely NOT a horror comedy; however there are some parts which surely aren't meant to be taken seriously -- especially near the end of the film where we are treated to a running Toni being chased by the axe-wielding killer.  The camera cuts to a close up of Toni's running feet which shows her tripping over . . . nothing at all.  Either the director is incredibly inept here or else he's commenting on the slasher genre.  I prefer to think it's the latter.  RUSH WEEK is a competently-made late-80's slasher which is just not lively enough to generate much interest.  It's fine but not really top drawer without very much horror action and too much campus life.  RUSH WEEK is just one of those movies where just enough happens to keep you interested (if only mildly).  The young cast is actually rather engaging, I suppose, so that you don't mind watching them interact too much.  And just before you get sick of that, the director will usually provide something interesting to break the monotony.  There are a lot worse slashers you could watch which will bore you to tears so I guess this is a mild recommendation if you have nothing better to watch.